The Glass Hammer
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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... |
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What Does The Dodd-Frank Act Mean for IROs?
By Natalie Sabia (New York City) What does the Dodd-Frank Bill mean to you? That’s the million dollar question that is being asked in every conversation centered on the economy. The 2,300 page bill that was recently passed, introduces the largest wave of changes in financial regulation since the turn taken after the Great Depression in 1930. It will enforce new rules among banks and financial institutions. No matter what side if the bill you’re on, it will continue to spark all angles... |
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35 under 35, Molly McGregor, Director of Corporate Affairs, International Securities Exchange
By Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago) It is Wednesday morning when I sit down to interview Molly McGregor, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the International Securities Exchange. McGregor is getting ready to attend a conference in Rhode Island as the representative of ISE’s Political Action Committee (ISE PAC) the upcoming weekend. “That’s one thing that has changed,” said McGregor, “I used to throw a few items in my suitcase, and I was out the door. Now, I have to consider the baby’s... |
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Ask-a-Career-Coach: How to Get Focused on Your Future
Contributed by executive coach Ann Daly There’s no way around it. Career advancement requires strategy: intentional, ongoing, long-term thinking and action. But today’s “on-demand” workplace conspires against full presence and total attention. It’s a challenge these days for anyone to look away from the current client crisis to focus on her own future. But look away we must. If you’re serious about giving your career the sustained attention it requires, here are three strategies for... |
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On Being Bold: Thought Leadership and Why It Is Risk/Reward
By Melissa J. Anderson and Nicki Gilmour (New York City) Thought Leadership is creative, progressive and often full of risks as you need your team to follow through on your vision, whether it is the next innovation of a product or just a process that needs to be improved. “If you’re scared of offending people, don’t be a thought leader,” said Nicki Gilmour, Founder and Publisher of The Glass Hammer at a panel discussion on thought leadership. The event hosted by Barclays Capital’s... |
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Voice of Experience: Dorothy Collins Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Collins Capital
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “It’s a good thing I’ve been blessed with two things – I’ve been blessed with lots of energy and a love of the vertical learning curve,” said Dorothy Collins Weaver, Co-founder and CEO of Miami-based hedge fund of funds, Collins Capital. From founding her hedge fund of funds, to supporting an orphanage in Colombia, to chairing the Miami Federal Reserve, to chairing “We Will Rebuild,” the federal relief effort following Hurricane... |
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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. British banks produced encouraging Q2 results, mainly due to a reduction in impairment charges and booming retail and commercial business. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank left benchmark interest rates unchanged. THe ECB president announced eurozone economic recovery “surpasses expectations”. In the US, non-farm payroll figures raise the prospect that the Fed will reinstate a quantitative easing programme... |
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Three Measures of Accountability Key to Sustainability Initiatives Moving Forward, Say CEOs
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) In June, Accenture released “the largest CEO-based study on sustainability of its kind to date,” based on more than 100 in-depth interviews with world business leaders and an online survey of 766 UN Global Compact member CEOs. The study, entitled “A New Era of Sustainability,” [PDF] reveals the attitudes toward sustainability held by top leadership in a variety of sectors, including “automotive, communications, consumer goods and services,... |
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35 under 35: Carol Paterson Smith, Head of Hedge Fund Clients at Rothschild Blackpoint
By Cleo Thompson (London), founder of The Gender Blog Carol Paterson Smith has one key piece of advice for women in business – and it’s a good one. And, as a hugely successful and influential woman in the City of London, her words of wisdom carry some weight. Paterson Smith is head of hedge fund clients for Rothschild Blackpoint and, in her early 30s, is one of the City’s most connected and stylish players. Early days “When I graduated, I knew I wanted to do something intellectually... |
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Five Innovative Ways to Improve Gender Diversity at Your Company
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) What makes a firm’s gender diversity programming really work? According to Jacqueline Akerblom, National Managing Partner for Women’s Initiatives and Programs at Grant Thornton LLP, it comes down to culture change. For the Global 6 accounting firm’s workforce, she said, diversity initiatives are “fully ingrained into the culture of the firm.” But it wasn’t always like that. Six or seven years ago, Akerblom said, the company noticed... |
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Hard Questions: Why won’t we work for women?
By Elizabeth Harrin (London) You don’t have to look too far into management research to uncover that all the statistics point to one thing: we prefer to work for men. When Ella Edmonson Bell asked her MBA students whether they would rather work for a woman or a man, most of them said they’d prefer a male boss. When ForbesWoman asked their Facebook community the same thing, the answers were the same. Admitting our preferences doesn’t seem to be a problem – we’re happy to confess that... |
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Shaking Up Bankers’ Bonuses: New Legislation in the EU and UK
By Elizabeth Harrin (London) “Since banks have failed to reform we are now doing the job for them,” says Arlene McCarthy, the vice chair of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) and the woman who has just spearheaded new rules on bankers’ bonuses. “We have a duty as legislators to respond to the public’s concerns by voting in favour of these tough reforms to end the obscene bonus culture. At a time when the government is making substantial cuts,... |
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Voice of Experience: Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, President, Citibank California
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “Helping others be the best they can be is a big motivator for me,” said Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, President of Citibank California. She focuses on providing the best experience for the customers of Citibank, as well as supporting her team to ensure they have everything they need to win. She said, “Helping customers be financially successful and seeing the team succeed is very motivating. Nothing can make me happier – it’s why I come to work... |
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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. The US has avoided a double dip recession, although the Fed reported that the recovery has slowed. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision softened some provisions in Basel III, watering down earlier definitions of capital and including a long phase-in period to comply with new requirements about leverage and liquidity ratios. BP announced that Robert Dudley will replace Tony Hayword as its CEO. Economic Backdrop In global... |
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Take More (Calculated) Risks: Five Ways to Build Your Risk Instinct and Get Ahead
By Kate McClaskey (New York City) At The Glass Hammer’s recent panel on women in IT, several of the women spoke on the importance of taking calculated risks in order to get to the next level career-wise. But many women have a problem “sticking their neck out” and taking that big assignment. Why? Is it related a physiological or body-chemistry factor? Or is it about cultural conditioning? One one hand, a 2009 study revealed that women with more testosterone take more risks than women... |
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Not Just Pajama Parties: Making Remote Working Work
By Elizabeth Harrin (London) “People would love to work in their pajamas, on their own schedule and get around the consistency of 9-5,” says James Sinclair, CEO of OnSite Consulting, a U.S. based consulting company that focuses on insolvency, distress, and concept repositioning, with a mission to help remote workers be more productive. “However, remote or flex working is wholly dependent on the employee and their ability to work in a quasi-autonomous environment and use it to their advantage.... |