Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Non-escapist Ellen

Meet Ellen J. Kullman, the new chief executive and President of Dupont, making her one of the few women to rise to the top of the chemical industry and putting her among the handful of women running the nation's largest companies.

Congratulations Ellen! Ain't no escaping corporate America here. But it's how she likes it and that's what matters.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Glass Ceiling Disintegrates?

Even though this is happening in India, it's pretty similar to the United States. Women at the top are still rare. India should focus more on grooming women to own a business and less on helping them become managers within companies.
Women leaders in India's corporate world, though still small in numbers, see the situation changing for the better as the gender divide narrows and the glass ceiling disintegrates.

"If women want they can reach the top in the corporate ladder. There is nothing like glass ceiling for women in corporate sector. Moreover, with the diminishing of gender divide, women with their ability are best suitable to head corporate businesses," asserts Kalpana Morparia, CEO of JP Morgan India.

"As a woman from the corporate world, I say all the aspiring women leaders and entrepreneurs have the ability to take a risk in their careers and come out of their comfort zones," says Shanti Ekambaram, group head, Wholesale Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.
Read the article here.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Underrepresentation of Women Entrepreneurs in the Government Marketplace

Women senators are watching out for us but good along with WIPP President Barbara Kasoff so let's put our hands together and applaud them for their efforts, on behalf of all women entrepreneurs, to get the money we so richly deserve under the SBA's women's procurement program rule.
The letter also says that, despite comprising a third of the nation's small businesses, women entrepreneurs only received 3.4 percent of federal contracting dollars in 2006. It continues by stating Congress established the women's procurement program in 2000 to help address the underrepresentation of women entrepreneurs in the government marketplace. "Now, over seven years later, the SBA produced a fundamentally flawed proposed rule in its insufficient attempt to implement the women's program," says Barbara Kasoff, President, WIPP.
They keep working it and we should too. Don't settle for less -- ever.

Among the women senators who support women-owned businesses, they are:

Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D- Wash.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine, Elizabeth Dole (R- N.C.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Blanch Lincoln (D- Ark.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D- Wash.) and Debbie Stabenow (R-Mich.).

To view the full letter, go to (PDF file):
http://landrieu.senate.gov/news/08.09.22_Women_Senators_SBA_Letter.pdf
Like the shirt? Buy it here (we have no affiliation).

Friday, September 19, 2008

Connecting Can Make a Difference

Women entrepreneurs can be overwhelmed with all the social networking sites -- as well as the concept itself. Time and resources are tight but everyone's talking about "Web 2.0." The question you need to ask is: Who do you want to reach? If you find out it's a good fit -- go for it!

Runa Magnúsdóttir is the founder and CEO of Connected-Women.com, a global social search and networking site for professional women used by organizations of women entrepreneurs worldwide.

Take a test drive here.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Corporate Women Make Fairly Big Bucks

Curious as to who are the highest paid women in Corporate America? As an entrepreneur, when it comes to pay, do you think you hold a candle to any of them? There's only one way to find out. Visit here. If you leave men out of the picture, they make fairly big bucks. We'll come back to that in a moment.

To accompany the above referenced report published by ForbesLife, Executive Woman, one of my favorite authors, Judith Dobrzynski, wrote an essay entitled, The Highest-Paid Women In Corporate America. You absolutely don't want to miss it. Here's a clip:
If, as so many men have often said, money is just a way to keep score, the list is yet another indicator that women aren't achieving equality at work. U.S. Department of Labor statistics peg the salary gap between women and men at just over 21 cents on the dollar--but at the top, matters seem to be worse. Yes, at least 100 women pulled down $3 million last year, but the 100 best-paid men in corporate America--all chief executives--each pocketed at least $18 million. You don't need a calculator to figure out that pay divide.
Read the entire piece here.

Note: To my knowledge, Bonnie Raitt (pictured) is not one of the highest paid women in Corporate America but she produced the song, "Let's Give Them Something To Talk About" which is totally in line with Ms. Dobrzynski's fabulous piece.

More to come.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Call to Action to Help Women Business Owners

While the number of women-owned firms grows at a rate almost twice that of all businesses, women entrepreneurs lag behind in capital, contracting awards and their ability to access viable networks. Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, addressed these critical concerns at a roundtable on 9/9/08 - 20 years after the passage of the Women's Business Ownership Act.

Read more here.

Interested in learning more about The Center For Women's Business Research -- and donating to this worthwhile cause that supports all of us 10.4 million women entrepreneurs? Go here. Spread the word. Together, we can make a difference.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Smart Ways To Break Through Glass Door

There's a glass ceiling -- we know that for sure because that's what makes business ownership so appealing -- but did you know there is a glass door to go along with it? But it's not what you think.

Glassdoor allows people to post salary information anonymously.

They say "information is good and more information is better." What do you think? What's next?

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Think Happy Thoughts

Finally, a young woman is given a voice! No, not Palin but Tinker Bell who never spoke in Disney's 1953 classic "Peter Pan" yet is about to say a word or two or three. Disney hopes some pixie dust and the recasting of a classic favorite will lead to a soaring profit.

So, profits give a voice. Profits put women on Boards. Profits help women ...