By Aimee Hansen
As #GivingTuesday approaches on November 29th and Giving Season kicks off, are you making the most of your donation dollars?
During the last six weeks of the year, up to 40% of all charitable donations are made ($373 billion in 2015). Individuals are reported to contribute 72% of all total giving that nonprofit organizations receive.
Though strategy is a big part of our professional lives, when it comes to giving, many of us tend to be far more reactive than strategic.
“Most people spend more time researching a new recipe online than they do a charity to give to,” say Eileen Heisman, CEO of National Philanthropic Trust. We spoke with Heisman about how to make your giving dollars go further this year.
Set A Giving Budget
It’s helpful to set a general giving budget – for example 1%-12% of income, although any donation is significant.
“One of the many benefits to a budget,” Heisman notes, “is that it empowers you to decline impulsive requests from co-workers and friends now and throughout the year.”
If you’re serious about philanthropy, she recommends to go beyond only reacting to asks and get invested: “take stock of what you think is important in your life.”
Find Out What Matters to You
“You need to make it manageable: what are the three causes that are really important to me in my life?” Do you want to make impact on a national, local, or international level? What causes matter most to you? Girls’ education? Supporting local initiatives in impoverished countries? Inner city opportunities?
One idea is to involve your children in this discussion, asking them to research and propose charity ideas to you, while increasing their own social awareness.
Select Organizations Active In That Area
Heisman advises that for each area you wish to support, “You can find three or four organizations and then narrow it down and pick one.” Some people prefer start-ups, others prefer big organizations. “You have to know who you are as a donor.”
One insider tip is to look at which organizations have big institutional funders (Gates, Rockefeller, Ford), because these entities have been carefully vetted, which is akin to a credibility endorsement.
You are also able to access an organizations 990, read newspaper articles, look at annual reports, and check out the board. Avoid scams by donating online (never on phone), such as at the charity’s website, and/or confirming the organization is a registered 501c3 at IRS.gov.
If it’s important to you, be aware that “just because it’s on GoFundMe doesn’t mean it’s a charitable gift.” Not all donations are tax-deductive, so confirm if it matters.
Check Your Overhead Bias
“I think there’s been a demonization of overhead that’s been really unfortunate in the sector over the past decade.” says Heisman. “You need overhead.”
She points out that overhead includes staff training and development, technology and resources, program strategy and development, impact evaluation – collecting data, crunching numbers, generating reports.
“Research and development, which most charities don’t have, is a normal part of overhead in most for-profit organizations. Most professional women would realize,” says Heisman, “when they see the categories that fall under overhead, that those are things that need to thrive to have a healthy organization.”
“If you really love an organization and think it’s well run,” she recommends, “give them an unrestricted gift and allow them to spend it on what they think is the most important thing for them, because you’re also investing in leadership.”
When you give an earmarked gift, it can keep a charity from being able to optimize their resources to meet their needs. Giving an unrestricted donation demonstrates that you are behind the mission and the leadership.
Build A Relationship
“If you have $1000 to give away, instead of giving it away to ten charities for $100, pick four charities and give $250 each,” advises Heisman. “Larger gifts to fewer charities creates bigger impact.”
Heisman suggests to pick three focus areas and one charitable organization in each area. Also, it’s expensive for a charity to find donors, so it’s better to build continuity.
“Stick with those entities for a while. Number one, it will save you time. But also, it takes a while to achieve goals in the social sector. They can’t turn a problem around in a year.”
Many charities have excellent dashboards and general reports available about their program impact. If you are a high value donor (eg. $5,000 or more), only then should you ask for a special report.
“I think donors are usually driven by the heart and emotional reasons,” says Heisman,“ but what often keeps donors connected is knowing the nonprofit is doing a good job at trying to address that issue.”
Leverage Giving Technology To Make It Easy
These sites can be very helpful in easily navigating the giving landscape:
Global Giving – This site is “the first and largest global crowdfunding community that connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country around the world,” helping resources reach locally-based nonprofits.
Network for Good – Find charities easily, keep a track record of your donations, and make last minute (literally) giving for year-end deductions.
Small Token – Easily and quickly give a gift to a friend or family member by making a donation on their behalf.
Kiva – Through this micro-lending site, provide a loan to your choice of many domestic and global projects, and you can choose to re-gift your loan when you receive repayment.
Donors Choose – Choose a public school project and help teachers to bring their classroom dreams to life.
Heisman says of the last two, “If you’re somebody who has no idea of where you want to start, these are two great places to start.”
What if women’s career opportunities are your passion?
Education Fund – Support women 35 years and older to return to education after adversity with the charitable arm of the Women’s Forum of New York.
No matter your giving interests, with both intention and attention, your giving dollars can go further.
Voice of Experience: Rana Yared, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Voices of Experience“Stand out by owning your own details,” says Rana Yared of Goldman Sachs, offering advice she learned as an analyst. “Commit to knowing the specifics of every assignment and how they relate to the bigger picture. That’s how you establish you reputation as a thinker, not just a doer,” she says, noting that this advice has helped propel her career.
After earning a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSc from the London School of Economics, Yared believed her next step would be to earn a PhD. However, she says, “a function of luck, great mentorship, and letting opportunity come to me rather than having a pre-set plan,” propelled her on an alternate path.
Never before having considered a career in finance, Yared joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2006. She moved up the ranks, eventually becoming a Managing Director in 2013, and today she leads both the New York and London-based Principal Strategic Investments (PSI) teams in the Securities Division, which are responsible for market structure strategy and the firm’s financial technology assets. In this capacity, she represents Goldman Sachs on the boards of several companies that PSI has invested in.
“I’m excited about the team’s role in reimagining how we serve our clients as we improve both the workflow and the quality of information that we can share in this time of digital transformation,” she says. Goldman Sachs is at the forefront of harnessing financial services innovation, and the transformation within the firm has been exciting. “There’s been a fundamental change in our business model and how we approach capital and liquidity,” she says. “It’s been fascinating to think of ways to optimize these varied opportunities.”
Yared is not only proud of the work the team has done for the Goldman Sachs franchise, but also that she has become a leader for the next generation. One career milestone she cited was being asked to speak at the First Year Securities Analyst Orientation. “I always remembered the female partner who spoke at my orientation upon joining the firm, and the impact her comments and advice made on me. It’s an honor to be trusted with making a first impression on our newest joiners,” she explains.
She also reflected on the moment she was able to tell her parents she was promoted to Managing Director. “As the child of immigrants, I was proud to share with them my accomplishments.”
Work Hard, Play Well
One of the lessons Yared has learned over the years is to have more fun. “When I first joined the firm in New York, I enjoyed the work but didn’t take the time to fall in love with the city,” she says, noting that it was initially challenging to manage her work-life balance. When she moved to London with the firm in 2008, she placed an emphasis on maintaining a balance between work and her outside activities. Now that she has returned to New York, Yared has remained committed to establishing ties to her neighborhood and exploring the city.
Another mentor provided a different success formula that has stuck with her: Q x A = E. “This means that the quality of one’s communication times its acceptance equals its effectiveness. In other words, the way that your message is delivered and heard is as important as your content,” she says.
Improving on all the advice she has received is a constant work in progress, but there’s another area that takes no second thought: “If there’s a day that your conscience is tested, that’s the day to walk away,” she says with conviction. “If something is making it challenging for you to sleep easy, you’re in the wrong place.”
Active in Programs Inside and Outside the Firm
Yared highlights that Goldman Sachs’ Women’s Career Strategy Initiative, a program tailored for associates, helped her refine key attributes, such as messaging and presentation skills. She recognizes that the bar of excellence can be higher for women to meet in the workplace. “It’s a tricky balance on how you should portray yourself, but it has become easier to navigate as my career progresses,” she says. She strongly supports the Female Trader Initiative, where female analysts and interns who have strong quantitative skills are provided mentorship.
A devotee of philanthropic causes, particularly those related to public education, Yared is a member of the Penn Fund Executive Board at the University of Pennsylvania and sits on the advisory board of Wabash College’s Democracy and Discourse program. “I was especially proud to have been asked to join the advisory board of this school, which has a long history of educating first-generation college students,” she says.
In her spare time, Yared loves traveling, cooking and photography.
Mover and Shaker: Sara Donaldson, Vice President, Proxy Voting at Voya Investment Management
Movers and Shakers“That’s not my job’ is something I would never say,” asserts Voya’s Sara Donaldson. “If something needs to get done, with the support of the individual ultimately responsible for it, I will take responsibility for it to make sure it gets done.”
Part of that value includes following up when needed. “It’s ok to say you don’t know something, but you should also work toward a resolution by asking questions and putting that knowledge to work,” she says, a strategy much better than making something up or not following through with an answer.
Proud to be a Corporate Governance Professional
Donaldson began her career at a real estate advisory firm, overseeing investor relations, marketing and legal support and regulatory compliance. She became interested in equities and in 1997 accepted a position as a paralegal at a global equity advisory firm, believing that once she proved herself she could expand her responsibilities.
In that role, she oversaw U.S. compliance, mutual fund administration and global proxy voting. Some of the firm’s institutional clients compelled the firm to take a more active oversight role in the companies in which they were investing. Chairing the global proxy committee, and working closely with the investment team and corporate governance committee during this time, prompted her interest in corporate governance. In 2014 she joined Voya to concentrate on that field.
“Voya Investment Management and the Voya mutual fund board are committed to voting proxies in our clients’ best interest,” she says. “One of the Voya mutual fund board members described my role as an advocate for our mutual fund shareholders, and I take great pride in that. I also take pride in representing Voya when I engage with the public companies in which we are invested.”
Through her years in corporate governance, she has been impressed by the power that shareholders have to influence the companies in which they are invested. “I have become much more interested in how companies and shareholders address environmental, social and governance issues. It is fascinating that shareholders could materially influence how companies approach some of these issues,” she says, noting such topics as the “old boy’s network in the board room,” CEO pay, environmental risk and others. “Additionally, investment advisers are looking at more than just financial statements; they are also considering these issues when evaluating companies.”
Right now she is involved in transforming the proxy voting process she had inherited upon joining the division. Currently, they process and vote at more than 8,000 meetings annually. Historically, the analysis and all of the documentation for every meeting has been printed. In order to gain efficiencies, promote sustainability and reduce costs, they are moving to an electronic process.
Through her many years, she has built numerous skills, and one she recommends refining is public speaking. “When I give a presentation, I make sure I have rehearsed so I can interact with the audience rather than reading from a slide deck or paper,” she says. “Having your talking points well prepared allows you to relax and perform better.”
Networking Inside the Company and Industry
Donaldson participates in a few of the networking programs at Voya, but also finds great value in a group of women in corporate governance who meet at industry conferences. She considers the other members to be role models and appreciates the candid conversations they can have about similar issues they face when making decisions on how to vote on behalf of shareholders.
“Corporate governance is always evolving, so it is advantageous to have this network as a resource,” she says.
She also believes in bolstering other women’s talents. When she first joined the financial services industry, she saw that the layers of middle management were male dominated, as historically this had been true.
“Back then, I saw some of my female peers not being able to achieve the same level of success as men, even if they were equally qualified or more accomplished,” she says, noting that women are making great strides but this is still the case in some areas of the financial services industry.
Enjoying Her New Desert Lifestyle
Donaldson moved to Arizona from San Francisco when she accepted her current position. As empty nesters with three grown children, she and her husband were excited to pack up their two dogs and move to Scottsdale to enjoy new adventures.
They have embraced the beautiful weather. As avid cyclists, they enjoy riding with local clubs. “I especially enjoy walking my dogs early in the morning and watching the sunrise and then enjoying the sunset while we eat outside,” Donaldson says.
‘Surround Yourself’ with Guys Who Get It!
Career AdviceWe have only to watch the progress of the U.S. presidential campaign to understand that bias (against any underdog group) and bullying are contagious. But so, in my belief, are courage, integrity, and commitment as demonstrated by the male professional athletes who have stood up to say, “not in my locker room!”
In these days fraught with public statements about women as sex objects, as inferiors, as people easily dissed and dismissed, we need to consciously refocus our attention on men who respect and value us. Even more, we need to think and talk widely about the corporate and government leaders who champion women and our achievements.
This is not only to keep our own spirits up, but to have an impact on the young men around us, especially those in our families. A variety of research has shown that boys, more so than girls, are particularly sensitive to social influences and role models. With the powerfully negative male role-modeling broadcast daily from the campaign trail, we owe it to our boys to show them men with positive attitudes toward women.
Where to find them? On an international level, you can start with President Obama’s “This is what a feminist looks like” moment and Justin Trudeau’s now-famous answer to the question of why 50% of his cabinet is female.
Our partner, theglasshammer also has been an inspiring place to see a series of articles on individual “Men Who Get It.” There are good guys out there, young and old and male MBA students who have chosen to support gender equality and take what they’ve learned into the companies they are going to work for can be seen on the Forté Foundation’s page on Men Making a Difference.
Dr. Michael Kimmel also gives a worthwhile TED talk showing that men who support gender equity will be happier, healthier, and even more sexually satisfied. And he does it with panache and humor!
We are hosting Guys Who Get It Awards, a celebration luncheon in San Francisco on Jan. 26, 2017, to acknowledge the vision and leadership of C-level executive men from Fortune 500 companies who really “get it” about Gender Partnership™. We will be honoring male leaders from across industries and government to showcase that such partnership is not only possible, but is already being achieved by these executives with great results. (Each award-winner has at least 35% women on his leadership team.) Attendees will learn about their best practices and how these “guys who get it” are working to establish gender equality as a cultural norm within their organizations – or their city. (One of our winners is the mayor of a major U.S. city.) We hope you can join us there!
Rayona Sharpnack is CEO and founder of the Institute for Gender Partnership and the Institute for Women’s Leadership
Giving Season: Make Your Donation Dollars Go Further
Career Advice, NewsBy Aimee Hansen
As #GivingTuesday approaches on November 29th and Giving Season kicks off, are you making the most of your donation dollars?
During the last six weeks of the year, up to 40% of all charitable donations are made ($373 billion in 2015). Individuals are reported to contribute 72% of all total giving that nonprofit organizations receive.
Though strategy is a big part of our professional lives, when it comes to giving, many of us tend to be far more reactive than strategic.
“Most people spend more time researching a new recipe online than they do a charity to give to,” say Eileen Heisman, CEO of National Philanthropic Trust. We spoke with Heisman about how to make your giving dollars go further this year.
Set A Giving Budget
It’s helpful to set a general giving budget – for example 1%-12% of income, although any donation is significant.
“One of the many benefits to a budget,” Heisman notes, “is that it empowers you to decline impulsive requests from co-workers and friends now and throughout the year.”
If you’re serious about philanthropy, she recommends to go beyond only reacting to asks and get invested: “take stock of what you think is important in your life.”
Find Out What Matters to You
“You need to make it manageable: what are the three causes that are really important to me in my life?” Do you want to make impact on a national, local, or international level? What causes matter most to you? Girls’ education? Supporting local initiatives in impoverished countries? Inner city opportunities?
One idea is to involve your children in this discussion, asking them to research and propose charity ideas to you, while increasing their own social awareness.
Select Organizations Active In That Area
Heisman advises that for each area you wish to support, “You can find three or four organizations and then narrow it down and pick one.” Some people prefer start-ups, others prefer big organizations. “You have to know who you are as a donor.”
One insider tip is to look at which organizations have big institutional funders (Gates, Rockefeller, Ford), because these entities have been carefully vetted, which is akin to a credibility endorsement.
You are also able to access an organizations 990, read newspaper articles, look at annual reports, and check out the board. Avoid scams by donating online (never on phone), such as at the charity’s website, and/or confirming the organization is a registered 501c3 at IRS.gov.
If it’s important to you, be aware that “just because it’s on GoFundMe doesn’t mean it’s a charitable gift.” Not all donations are tax-deductive, so confirm if it matters.
Check Your Overhead Bias
“I think there’s been a demonization of overhead that’s been really unfortunate in the sector over the past decade.” says Heisman. “You need overhead.”
She points out that overhead includes staff training and development, technology and resources, program strategy and development, impact evaluation – collecting data, crunching numbers, generating reports.
“Research and development, which most charities don’t have, is a normal part of overhead in most for-profit organizations. Most professional women would realize,” says Heisman, “when they see the categories that fall under overhead, that those are things that need to thrive to have a healthy organization.”
“If you really love an organization and think it’s well run,” she recommends, “give them an unrestricted gift and allow them to spend it on what they think is the most important thing for them, because you’re also investing in leadership.”
When you give an earmarked gift, it can keep a charity from being able to optimize their resources to meet their needs. Giving an unrestricted donation demonstrates that you are behind the mission and the leadership.
Build A Relationship
“If you have $1000 to give away, instead of giving it away to ten charities for $100, pick four charities and give $250 each,” advises Heisman. “Larger gifts to fewer charities creates bigger impact.”
Heisman suggests to pick three focus areas and one charitable organization in each area. Also, it’s expensive for a charity to find donors, so it’s better to build continuity.
“Stick with those entities for a while. Number one, it will save you time. But also, it takes a while to achieve goals in the social sector. They can’t turn a problem around in a year.”
Many charities have excellent dashboards and general reports available about their program impact. If you are a high value donor (eg. $5,000 or more), only then should you ask for a special report.
“I think donors are usually driven by the heart and emotional reasons,” says Heisman,“ but what often keeps donors connected is knowing the nonprofit is doing a good job at trying to address that issue.”
Leverage Giving Technology To Make It Easy
These sites can be very helpful in easily navigating the giving landscape:
Global Giving – This site is “the first and largest global crowdfunding community that connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country around the world,” helping resources reach locally-based nonprofits.
Network for Good – Find charities easily, keep a track record of your donations, and make last minute (literally) giving for year-end deductions.
Small Token – Easily and quickly give a gift to a friend or family member by making a donation on their behalf.
Kiva – Through this micro-lending site, provide a loan to your choice of many domestic and global projects, and you can choose to re-gift your loan when you receive repayment.
Donors Choose – Choose a public school project and help teachers to bring their classroom dreams to life.
Heisman says of the last two, “If you’re somebody who has no idea of where you want to start, these are two great places to start.”
What if women’s career opportunities are your passion?
Education Fund – Support women 35 years and older to return to education after adversity with the charitable arm of the Women’s Forum of New York.
No matter your giving interests, with both intention and attention, your giving dollars can go further.
Voice of Experience: Meltem Cagan, Managing Director – Country Team Head for Turkey, UBS
Voices of ExperienceBy Cathie Ericson
Meltem Cagan made an assumption that many women do when they’re starting their careers. “I always thought delivering the results was the most important component, but now I see that relationships and how you position yourself politically are hugely important, particularly in financial institutions,” she says.
Very numbers driven, she underestimated the critical nature of perception, which created some unfair situations in her view. “If you concentrate on delivering results, that’s important, but there’s this other component I wasn’t aware of at first that factors equally,” she says. “As a logical and straightforward person, I realize I was naïve to not understand this as a significant element in the industry, and I am eager to share that knowledge with others.”
A Career Destined for the Top
Cagan’s career has had a clear theme: Start at the bottom and climb the ladder. That was the case when she started as a trader in Turkey: During her 10-year tenure, she ended up running the trading floor for a medium-sized bank. Then she decided to move to wealth management, which took her to London with Citi where she started as a private banker and built her business before being asked to head Citi’s private banking business.
After her Citi stint, she joined Morgan Stanley to fulfill her desire to work for an investment bank; three-and-a-half years later she was approached by UBS, fortuitous timing since at the time Morgan Stanley was planning to sell its business. She happily accepted UBS’ offer to join the biggest wealth manager in the Turkish market, where she has been for almost three years.
“My career has taken me through all types of banking, and due to my team’s success, I have always been offered increasing responsibility. That’s what drives me,” she says.
She appreciates the current flexibility she has and the opportunities she’s had to work in Turkey and London, where she is a managing director. “It was a difficult ascent as a woman and I am proud of my career path,” she says.
Over the past three years, she has been focused on growing the business and is excited to see how they can take it to the next level. “Rather than growing 10 percent, I’m wondering how we can double it,” she says, noting that it’s not just about growing the business but enhancing their reputation. “We would never grow the business at the expense of our reputation. The challenge is to successfully do both together.”
With that goal in mind, Cagan also acknowledges the industry is going through a difficult period in terms of growth. Still not fully recovered from the 2008 crisis, many countries are experiencing anemic growth, which keeps interest rates low and injects a great deal of volatility into banking, creating a low- or no-growth environment. In addition, in many markets there is much inefficiency and regulation, which can conspire to create a difficult environment to deliver results. “We have to deal with cost pressure and margin pressure, but we will be successful,” she says.
Barriers for Women are Largely Self Imposed
“Most women, including myself, are perfectionists. We expect too much of ourselves and can be harsh and critical. But this mindset puts you in a situation where you don’t highlight what you are good at and that can translate into a weak position,” she says.
The remedy is to change your focus from what you don’t have, to a “glass-half-full” perspective. Ultimately this will change how you present yourself and help you go into situations like negotiations with a stronger positon.
“Some people are good at marketing themselves and others find it degrading,” she says. “There’s the perspective that you do a good job; the numbers show it; people acknowledge it and you don’t find the inclination to market it, but that can work against you.”
That’s why she advises young women to work on honing self-esteem and confidence, which can be aided when you start as a subject matter expert with a specialization. “While you are increasing your general knowledge, you will increase your confidence. It goes together as a package.”
As women climb the ladder, she encourages them to stay results-oriented, noting that many women work hard and produce lots of activity but not necessarily the outcomes they need. She suggests finding an efficient way to get results, while being mindful of the importance of being supportive of one another and curbing rivalry.
“We can get into competition later when there’s more of us,” she says wryly. “Part of self- confidence is building others up.”
Cagan builds her own knowledge by being active in “A Women’s Network,” which is focused on top women in wealth management. She appreciates its networking environment and forums with trainings on topics such as personal brand, management skills and more.
An Eye Toward Philanthropy and Family
With a family spread between Turkey, the United States and the U.K., Cagan devotes much of her spare time to travel.
“I am naturally a curious person so the diversity of culture enriches me,” she says, not just with her family but with their friends and extended circles.
In addition, she is an active philanthropist and finds it particularly meaningful to support the education of girls in her country, a cause that is dear to her heart. She also is working to become an advocate for incoming refugees, especially girls, offering financial as well as one-on-one help.
Voice of Experience: Lisa Mitnick, Managing Director, Accenture Digital, Accenture North America
People“A career is a journey. Things will change and you’ve got to be adaptable,” says Lisa Mitnick, Managing Director, Accenture Digital. “What you chose to do getting out of school doesn’t have to define you, but it is something that will ultimately shape you and help you grow. My advice to young women starting a career in tech is to always continue to learn – technology changes rapidly – and network like crazy to build strong relationships.”
Op-Ed: What I’ve Learned as a Woman in Technology
Op-Ed, Women in TechnologyAs a woman and leader in technology over the past 30+ years, I have seen a lot. I have witnessed and experienced the tremendous progress we have made. Yet we still have a long way to go to reach an equitable playing field in attracting and retaining more women in technology. Not to mention, leading!
It is undeniable that women leadership has had a successful impact in the world of business. Currently in the US there are just over 9.4 million women-owned businesses generating revenues of $1.5 trillion — up 79% in nearly a 20 year period. According to Dow Jones Venture Source, analysis of more than 20,000 venture-backed companies showed that successful startups have twice as many women in senior positions as unsuccessful companies. Tech companies led by women delivered higher revenues using 30-50% less capital. They were also more likely to survive the transition from startup to established business.
Yet, the overall percentage of women in technology is woefully low. In 2015, women made up 25 percent of computing-related occupations. The retention rate is even more troubling. In the high tech industry, the quit rate is more than twice as high for women (56 percent) than it is for men.
The sad and hard truth is that Women in STEM also were more likely to leave in the first few years of their career than women in non-STEM professions.
I was fortunate that early in my career I got involved with technology. I worked for Exxon Corporation in NYC in various staff positions and then made the jump to sales — selling Exxon’s line of office technology on Wall Street. I immersed myself in the technology, early as it was, and found that I had a natural affinity to it.
More than any other role, Sales prepared me for 31 years as an entrepreneur in so many ways —-it taught me to be courageos and fierce every single day!
These qualities serve me well in my current role as the Chief Executive Officer of TCGi. It is my responsibility to craft the vision and strategy for the firm. I also am chiefly responsible for cultivating and managing excellent client and partner relationships.
Life as a CEO keeps me on the go 24/7, but it is the giving back that completes the circle. Sharing the experience of my journey, lessons learned, successes and failures with women who are entering the field will help them tremendously.
Being a successful woman leader in technology inspires me to want to see more women of color participate and succeed in this field as well. My work with NCWIT (National Center for Women & IT) supports this desire. I am an active Board Member as well as the National Spokesperson for the ‘Sit With Me’ Campaign.
Early education is key to attracting more girls, women and people of color to Tech. Another is mentorship and advocacy. Senior Leaders must actively advocate for and sponsor diverse candidates for leadership positions within corporations. With too few women in tech positions and tech leadership roles, it is impossible for girls and women to aspire to positions or cultures where they see no one who looks like her.
Women have made great strides in the workplace today, and we shouldn’t downplay this progress (0 CEOs of Fortune 500 in 1996 and 20 years later there are 21). But we need to accelerate progress—and I believe progress in increasing women in leadership goes hand-in-hand with increasing women in technology.
Conclusion
Technology is still a very male-dominated industry. What that means is the technology being invented by largely homogeneous groups (White and Asian males) isn’t as deep and rich as it could be. Once women and people from all cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds begin to fully participate in the invention of technology, we will solve societal problems in a mighty way and ultimately change the world!
Avis Yates Rivers is the President and CEO of Technology Concepts Group International, LLC, (TCGi), an asset, expense and procurement management firm. Ms. Yates Rivers has worked tirelessly to increase the development and utilization of minority and women-owned businesses in both the public and private sectors. She has held leadership positions in various supplier diversity advocacy organizations. Ms. Yates Rivers is also a staunch advocate for increasing girls’ and women’s participation in Information Technology. She is on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Women and Information Technology and serves as the spokeswoman for the organization’s Sit With Me campaign.
You can learn more about the lack of women in technology and Avis Yates Rivers by purchasing her book ‘Necessary Inclusion: Embracing the Changing Faces of Technology’ which will be in bookstores and online in early December.
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Voice of Experience: Michele Trogni, Executive Vice President, Consolidated Markets and Solutions, IHS Markit
Voices of Experience, Women in TechnologyWith a longstanding career working for and selling to financial institutions, Michele Trogni, Executive Vice President of Consolidated Markets and Solutions at IHS Markit, shares her best piece of advice – success isn’t achieved by one person alone. It’s all about everyone involved, whether it’s your team, your customers or your community.
In her current role, Trogni leads the delivery of data-driven solutions for customers in product design, technology, and managed services including digital, tax solutions, counterparty manager, Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Third Party (KY3P).
She is responsible for helping customers achieve their business goals and competitive advantage through focused, scalable solutions which reduce cost of ownership, improve decision making, lower risk and engage end clients.
Banking and Tech Combine for Ideal Career
As the first in her family to attend university, Trogni has always been a trailblazer. Her career in banking was built during the 25 years she spent at UBS. She first started as a financial controller, often working on integrations and merger-related projects. It was a very acquisitive time, and she was often required to close transactions in a tight timeframe. “It was a perfect fit for me as a tech-savvy accountant with a rambunctious personality,” she says.
As she took on more and more projects, her career took her from the UK to Chicago. She became more involved with the technology function, which spurred her enthusiasm as she saw the potential of combining tech into future strategy.
After a brief stint in Chicago, Trogni upped roots again and headed to New York in 1997. “My CIO at UBS was impressed with the directing I’d done on a wide variety of merger projects, but he told me that if I want to be given the opportunity to do something big, I have to really know the ins and outs of how it all works.”
Trogni was advised to move into technology to be at the coalface running the IT function, and that’s exactly what she did. “Learning how to run the division was an important milestone that propelled my career. I couldn’t have accomplished what I have, if I had stayed on a superficial level,” she says.
She was asked to become group CIO in 2009, overseeing a $5 billion budget and more than 17,000 employees – an impressive achievement considering there were still so few women in tech. After five years she decided to retire from banking, but her best-laid plans for a year off were undone when she was offered the opportunity to move from building tech to selling it through Markit after just six months into her retirement.
It is a perfect fit: selling products she understands to customers like banks and hedge funds that she knows well. “They know I have sat in the buyer’s seat which is compelling to them,” she says.
Now Trogni is responsible for a much larger role within her firm. In July 2016, Markit merged with IHS to create IHS Markit, a global powerhouse and leader in critical information analytics and solutions that drive economies worldwide. She is excited to bridge two firms from both the cultural and operating perspective, creating a new vision for the combined firm.
Making Sense of Diversity
While Trogni has the intellectual skills to succeed, she also has a high “EQ,” an emotional quotient that has served her well and, she believes, enabled her to navigate successfully as a woman in a world that is heavily male dominated. “Some colleagues ended up obsessing about that, but I never did,” she says.
Prior to the financial crisis, firms were working hard to embrace diversity, but Trogni believes that their emphasis on diversity shifted to crisis management. “We’re gradually getting back to where we were,” she says, but notes that there is still a lot of unconscious bias in the workplace that the next generation will have to deal with – something she feels positive about given the fact that millennials are a less-judgmental generation. “I’m very optimistic that they are the perfect ones to address and overcome it,” she says.
It’s the Team That Leads to Success
Over the years, she has had many peer sponsors and managers, and she believes in paying it forward, focusing on ongoing coaching. “No one’s career can be just about them,” she says.
Trogni feels professionals get the best results when they have multiple sponsors, rather than relying 100% on one person to offer the next opportunity, which can lead to burn out. These various sponsors have modeled qualities she wants to emulate, and she also takes inspiration from West Coast entrepreneurs – people who “break the mold,” like Sheryl Sandberg and Elon Musk.
She also has seen the importance of surrounding yourself with a team that offers different specialties. “I don’t need all Type A people, or sales guys or marketing pros,” she says. “You need a combination of a wide variety of skill sets because you only win when you cover all your bases.”
Of course, a sense of humor, and ability to laugh at yourself never hurts, she adds.
A Robust Life outside Work
Community service has long been an important component of Trogni’s life. She has been active with the UBS-sponsored Bridge Academy, a half industry and half governmental-supported school focused on math and music in a low-income part of London. Through fundraising activities she helped spearhead, the school was able to raise £1.5 million, allowing it to expand to offer classrooms for Sixth Form, the equivalent of US 11th and 12th grades. She also worked with the school to create female empowerment groups that introduced girls to coding and tech.
In addition, she spent four years on the board of NPower, a tech charity that trains young, underprivileged adults in the skills they need to build websites and then matches them with clients.
Mom to four kids, ages 18, 15 and 13-year-old twins, Trogni stays busy with their sports and enjoying the “loud family fun” that kids bring – fitting in CrossFit workouts when she can. The family likes to travel and relishes time spent at their home in Nantucket.
Closing thoughts
When asked to point to career achievements that she is most proud of, Trogni turns to her role leading Investment Banking Operations at UBS during the financial crisis. It was a time of high emotions in the industry as well as tremendous risk, she recalls. “Turning to sponsors, mentors and my team helped to ease this burden and proved to be a time when my EQ really came to the fore. The last thing a leader wants is to get to the top of the hill with no one behind you.”
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Finding Your Own Answers to Navigate 2017
Career Advice, Career Tip of the Week!I publish theglasshammer to help you excel at work. In 2017 theglasshammer will turn ten. We provide career advice and you can see how other women have climbed to the top, you can catch up on the research and academic studies in a digestible way to know the trends of what is happening for professional women at work, for diversity and inclusion patterns and to consider leadership strategies. However, career advice is just that; advice on how you can do things. Useful for some and not a fit for others and it is important to know what works for you -both personally and in context of where you are working and living.
Coaching on the other hand is about you finding answers to your own questions. We became coaches here, legitimately studied and got qualified as we saw that you can lean in, we saw that systemic work takes time and we now know that there is no method more effective than changing one person to change the world.
One more inclusive male leader changes lives, just as one more woman advancing is a piece of puzzle and if we can help you then you can help others. Criteria mass theory – does it work? We do not know as we are not there yet. I guess what we saw in this election is that by virtue of being a woman, that does not by default make you not sexist. I have discussed this at length in other posts and tune in on Friday December 16, 2016 for a fuller exploration.
Sometimes we just do not know what is going on until we have a coach to help us explore it safely. It is useful to understand the context, to explore the content of the challenge and to then find out a way to safely explore options before taking an action that will help in solving an issue or perhaps it will provide a step in achieving a longer term plan. Your plan, your agenda.
That is why, a coach can play such a unique role in your career trajectory. A mentor gives advice, a sponsor advocates for you but a coach can help you look at what you really want and help you get it.
I have three questions for you to ponder as we wrap up the year:
What do you want in 2017? How can you get it? What does success look like for you in 2017?
These are some questions to think about. Are they your questions? What are your questions? Marilee Adams wrote a clever book which I recommend you ask Santa or your gift bearer of choice to give you this holiday season called “Change your questions, change your life“. Often we just are not asking ourselves the right questions and are busy judging ourselves and others. In your life, in your career and managing your team, are you telling yourself and others the way it is more than questioning what you and others need and want?
We do not know what new macro-level obstacles will appear due to the changes in government in the US and with Brexit in the UK, but we do know that we can examine how we feel, think about what we want, assess risk and talk actions accordingly- at work and in life. You might find it gives you peace of mind in these volatile times.
Theglasshammer is offering a post-election special on coaching- 2 sessions for $399 to be used before Jan 20th.
Nicki Gilmour is a qualified individual/organizational psychologist and founder of glasshammer2.wpengine.com
To Pioneer or Not to Pioneer? Being the First Female President of the USA
Career Advice, NewsIt has been quite difficult to avoid the US election season this year, even if you do not live in the United States. I have avoided writing about it for many reasons including general fatigue with the whole topic and not wanting to further burden people who want to see some other topic discussed in the media. But, today is election day so how can we avoid it? Today is the day to talk about how it matters and how it should not matter that the potential next President of the USA is female.
Like her or loathe her, Hillary Clinton is doing it. She is determined, smart and driven. You should admire her ambition and her sheer stamina in trying to fulfil it. Equally, we should all understand our immediate blind spot that we have as we would never think about a man’s ambition level. We expect them to be ambitious whether they are or not, just as we expect them to be leader-like in their natural born traits whether they are or not. I have written about this many times and Virginia Schein has pioneered this research for 40 years in her “Think Manager, Think Male” work since the early 1970s.
Many countries including countries that do not have clean drinking water have had female premiers, so again no matter what your politics are or personal sentiments are towards Hillary; she is pioneering and going where no woman has gone before in the USA.
Why does it matter that she is a woman? And why does it matter that you are a woman at work?
Sexism is real. I want to thank Trump for helping us see the real and ugly effects of talk and actions that for too long have been described as innocuous. If he wins today, then we know the road ahead for what it is. The issue is on the table at last, a discussion that can be addressed, as it is most dangerous when subverted and it had lurked under the table pretending that we had already sorted it out when we clearly had not.
If Hillary wins today, then we know that she as one person has a lot of work as President and we should be careful that we do not project all our fears and hopes onto her. One woman in charge does not gender parity make and it will be fascinating to see what happens as research has shown that often a woman in charge is not necessarily great for the talent pipeline.
Asking her to run the free world and change gender inequity without help is a disaster waiting to happen. So, many will relish her being judged about the topic just as so many are questioning why Obama did not fix racism. Sometimes it is easier to not be the identity in question. Asking him to fix racism and asking Hillary to fix sexism is in fact racist and sexist and impossible without everyone doing behavior change yet this is pretty much what we ask diversity managers to do every single day at work.
We have written about assimilation and we have talked about the Queen Bee syndrome. Clinton has been given narrow behavioral parameters during the campaign battles from which she can operate, as all women are. The most encouraging element of this game show competition to be President, is that we can see that women are not going to put up with the sexist nonsense anymore and those who do are exposed for the role they play in what was previously covert collusion with the patriarchical status quo. Equally good men, truly good guys are also going to bat for women in their actions. Discussions can be had and progress can be made, as soon as we get out of the messy middle!
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