The Glass Hammer
The Glass Hammer is an online community designed for women executives in financial services, law and business. Visit us daily to discover issues that matter, share experiences, and plan networking, your career and your life. Get a new job right here!
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Happy Labor Day!
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) Dear Readers, The Glass Hammer is taking a few days off to celebrate Labor Day. In the meantime, check out some of our recent popular articles. Voice of Experience: Erika Karp, Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research, UBS Investment Bank On Being Bold: Thought Leadership and Why It Is Risk/Reward New Solutions: Developing Diverse Leadership at ING Five Innovative Ways to Improve Gender Diversity at Your Company Also, don’t forget to check... |
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35 Under 35: Lisa Bebchick, Partner at Fried Frank
By Erin H. Abrams (New York City) “You need to be able to learn from someone who has the career and work life balance you aspire to,” said Lisa Bebchick, a 33-year old partner in the litigation department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, explaining why she makes time in her busy schedule to mentor junior associates at her firm. Bebchick, who works in Fried Frank’s New York office, focuses her practice on all aspects of civil and criminal litigation, and has expertise... |
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Networking 2.0
By Cleo Thompson, founder of The Gender Blog “I haven’t got time for networking”, one senior woman from a major City of London investment bank told me recently. “All that standing around in rooms full of complete strangers, drinking either bad wine at the end of a long day, or bad coffee and stale croissants at the start of another day – no thanks. It’s so unstructured and unfocused, and such a bad use of my time. I’m sure there probably ARE useful and interesting people at some... |
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Engaging Men in Culture Change: “Would You Want Your Daughter to Work Here?”
By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles) A few months ago Deloitte’s Ann Weisberg shared an anecdote with The Glass Hammer that struck a chord with many of us. She relayed the story of a Deloitte senior male partner who spoke on a panel about the issue of gender diversity. He asked the audience, “Would you want your daughters working here? If the answer is no, then you should own part of the solution.” It got us wondering: Could the simple question “Would you want your daughters working here?”... |
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Voice of Experience: Christine Hurtsellers, Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income, ING Investment Management
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “When I first started, I may have been too competitive,” said Christine Hurtsellers, CIO of Fixed Income and Proprietary Investments for ING Investment Management. She explained, “I had to be the smartest, best, hardest working person… Since then, I’ve learned a lot about working as part of a team. Growing up and evolving is the key to my personal success – as well as great people who’ve helped me out.” Hurtsellers, a marathon runner... |
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Head Over Heels: Web Radio for Professional Women
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) The web provides so many ways to bring women together, and help them get to the next step in their careers. And The Glass Hammer is always looking for ways to collaborate with and support other publications that have a mission similar to our own – to inform, empower, and inspire professional women to break glass ceilings every day. But with the vast wealth of information on the internet – including websites, social networks, newsletters, and more –... |
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Employee Wellbeing, Stress, and Engagement
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) This article originally appeared on our new site Evolved Employer, a website dedicated to good corporate citizenship, diversity, and employee engagement best practices. Last month’s issue of Wired Magazine featured an article by Jonah Lehrer detailing the effects of certain kinds of workplace stress on the immune system. “Under Pressure” discussed the work of Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University, as well... |
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Movers and Shakers: Niamh Bushnell, North America Senior Vice President, MoneyMate
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “Advise and evangelize, that’s what interests me,” said Niamh Bushnell, North American Senior Vice President at MoneyMate, a provider of investment data management solutions to global asset managers. Bushnell, who’s worked throughout Europe and now in the US and was recently named one of the 50 Most Influential Irish-American Women in 2010 by the Irish Voice, has made a career of helping technology companies strategically position themselves... |
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Is Now the Right Time to Go Back to School?
By Elizabeth Harrin (London) Have you dreamed of going back to school? Hours in the library, long conversations with intelligent professors and nothing to worry about except the deadline for that next assignment. Studying as an adult isn’t much like that, unfortunately. However, if you are unemployed with time on your hands, or want some extra skills to boost your resume, this could be the ideal time to dust off your books and get back in the classroom. What’s your existing skill set? “Everyone... |
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Examining Education and Economics – What ‘Opt Opt’ Revolution?
By Hua Wang (Chicago) Dubbed the ‘opt out revolution’ by the New York Times, the phrase refers to the mass exodus of highly educated professional women from the workforce when they become mothers. These women presumably made a conscious choice to forgo earnings for the luxury of raising their children themselves. Is the opt-out revolution a proven phenomenon, or is it just media hype? Women Are Not Abandoning the Workplace: The Facts According to 2007 Census Bureau data, only about 26... |
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Voice of Experience: Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO, Lebenthal / Alexandra & James Co.
Image via JW MagazineBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) The best piece of advice I ever got,” said Alexandra Lebenthal, CEO of Alexandra & James, a financial firm specializing in tax-free municipal bonds and high net-worth wealth management, “was in reference to driving a boat. ‘Whatever happens, just relax. You’ll always be able to turn around and get out of it.’” “Sometimes you glide on the water, sometimes you go against a current – as soon as you relax... |
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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up
Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc. More weak economic data out of the US increased fear of a slower recovery. China overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. US and UK bond yields sank to record lows. Overview Another round of weak economic data out of the US this week increased fears of a deeper slowdown. There were weak manufacturing reports in the New York and Philadelphia regions and initial jobless claims hit 500,000 again for the first... |
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Five Important Steps to Secure Your Financial Future
Contributed by Pari Hashemi, Financial Advisor, Financial Planning Associate, The McFadden Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC Are women conditioned from an early age to not focus as much on money as men? Think of the daily chores a brother and sister in a household might traditionally be expected to take on. As her daily chores the girl is asked to do the dishes, set the table, or clean the house. The boy is asked to take out the trash, mow the lawn, or perhaps rake the leaves. This... |
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Jobs Returning to Wall Street: 5 Tips to Get that Promotion, Raise, or New Job
By Stephanie Wilcox (Connecticut) Good news, bankers and insurance professionals: financial services companies in New York are hiring again, and you’re among the most desired candidates. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that employment in the industry grew by 6,800 in New York City from the end of February through May, the largest gain in financial services in almost two years. Whether you’re returning to work after being underemployed in other disciplines or industries or returning... |
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New Solutions: Developing Diverse Leadership at ING
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “Our CEO challenged his team to increase diversity – to come up with plans to accelerate the development of female talent,” said Brannigan Thompson, Head of HR for ING US Insurance. “We needed to not just say that we are a diverse company, but to act like a diverse company.” Rhonda Mims, President of the ING Foundation and Senior Vice President, Office of Corporate Responsibility and Multicultural Affairs for ING added, “Finding creative ways... |
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The Benefits of Hiring Women Returning from a Career Break
Contributed by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin In the June issue of INC Magazine, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard is interviewed about a range of topics relating to managing and motivating employees. When asked at the end of the interview: “If you were starting a company today, what would you do to create the best possible workplace?” Chouinard gave an incredibly powerful response: “…..I would search out older women as employees. Ones that have already raised... |
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Three Things Professional Women Should Know About Nannies
By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles) Once upon a time nannies were only for the über-rich, but, for some, times have changed. For many working parents forced to put in long hours at the office, nannies have become an essential and irreplaceable part of the family; someone entrusted with the well being of their child. If you have a nanny – or you’re thinking of hiring one, there are three things you need to keep in mind – new legal considerations, administrative and style questions, and that... |
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Voice of Experience: Erika Karp, Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research, UBS Investment Bank
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “I believe diversity is an economic imperative – period,” said Erika Karp, Managing Director and Head of Global Sector Research at UBS Investment Bank and Chair of the Global Investment Review Committee. A founding member of the UBS Executive Diversity Council, a steering committee member of the firm’s All Bar None women’s network, as well as the business champion behind the creation of UBS Pride, UBS’s GLBT employee network, Karp is dedicated... |
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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-Up
Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc. In the UK last week, the Bank of England, lowered its growth forecast, saying recovery will be “choppy” and warning that inflation will remain above target. And In the US the Federal Reserve downgraded its outlook for US economy, signaling its intention to continue quantitative easing to maintain liquidity and to keep interest rates low for a “significant period”, and confirming that US trade gap is continuing... |
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Suburbs or City – What’s Best for Work/Life Fit?
By Kate McClaskey (New York City) The debate over city life versus suburb life has been raging for years and will more than likely rage on for years to come. In the last U.S. census, almost two-thirds (64%) of college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds said they looked for a job after they chose the city where they wanted to live. But it’s not just recent college grads who thinking hard about where to live. As more women enter the career force as professionals, the issue of work/life fit is... |