Very often, thanks to our members, we get to hear about
great sites, uplifting news and useful information for professional
working women. Galia's researches for our new website and Sarah's
recent venture into the world of Twitter have both revealed some
real gems.
We don't have a good place to put all these resources right
now - roll on completion of our major revamp of Professionelle's
site! - so for now, this is our solution.
NZ: Prime Minister endorses a Women on Boards report
On Monday 25th May this week, emails started flowing in to us
from our members. They were all about the media coverage of last
Thursday's release of a report by the Ministry of Women's Affairs,
the Institute of Directors and Business New Zealand that was
endorsed by NZ's Prime Minister, John Key. The report looks into the current situation for women and boards in
NZ. There is a comprehensive page on the MWA site dedicated
to this, from which you can navigate to a downloadable pdf covering
a variety of local and international statistics
and research (many of which will be familiar to our
readers!)
If you prefer, you can watch news clips about the report, its
objectives, and why we should care about the gloomy statistics. The first, from TV3 features Peter Kerridge
and the second from TVOne is with Jan Dawson, CEO of KPMG in
NZ.
USA: A huge breakthrough in the Fortune 500
It was good enough news that, late in May 2009, Xerox announced
a woman CEO to replace its woman CEO - this kept the female CEO
statistics stable, after all. What made it truly noteworthy is that
the new appointee, Ursula Burns, is African-American. She is the first black woman ever to head a Fortune 500
company.
Have you read Galia's Queens of the Hill, all about
woman rising to positions of prominence in turbulent times and in
situations when change not only needs to be pursued, but also to be
seen to be pursued? Burns (and Mulcahy, who she succeeds) is one more
statistic supporting the Queens of the Hill theory.
The transition from Mulcahy to Burns is also being hailed as a
text book case for succession planning: " That gradual shift
and power-sharing is what Ms. Mulcahy and Ms. Burns have managed to
do... expect[s] that to continue while Ms. Mulcahy remains
chairman, even though that arrangement often doesn't work. "This
will be the exception," Ms. Soder says. "They have worked together,
planned it, and also as people they don't seem to be caught up in
the ego.""
Well duh. They're women!
A US-based site for professional working women
Lurking on Twitter, Sarah spotted a link to a new-to-us site
that has been around 18 months or so. It's called The Glass
Hammer. It describes itself like this:
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!
The articles and interviews are well worth a look, even if the
job offer may not be entirely relevant for many of our members in
New Zealand! Check out the new interview with the VP and Assistant General Counsel at Burger
King and the recent article on whether the recession is tipping the work-life balance
scales.
A podcast all about the labyrinth in women's careers
Flick on your iPods (if you're like Galia) or find the brass key
to wind up your Walkmans (if you're like Sarah). Whatever your
technology, you won't want to miss this excellent not-quite-9-minute podcast from DDI World.
Recent, wide-ranging international research by DDI's lead
researcher, Dr Ann Howard, measures and reveals the hidden
processes by which men are supported into senior executive
positions, while women are unaware they're "on the slow, local
train instead of the express."
A practical, results-oriented Positive Psychology site
Galia found this one a fortnight ago. It's called Happier.com. and
is endorsed by Professor Seligman, who appears on the site in a
number of video cameos. The thing that marks this site out is that
it helps you measure, track and improve your own happiness, through
online tests and exercises. You can sign up for a free week's trial
and try out one or more of the three main programs. Check out the demo tour.
Subscriptions are very affordable. The site launched last
Christmas but is still expanding its offer. In this last week,
Happier.com started offering an exercise in 'Active Constructive
Responding.' Stop Press: As of May 29th, a video library has
been added. A small selection are available without signing up for
the trial.
The site saves your data from day to day, allowing you to see
improvements and to record your thoughts in a "mindfulness
journal". It's personalised, effective and backed by serious
science. Tell us what you think!
NZ: a business referral community for women in regional
towns
Another one we have only just heard about... Venus
Clubs began last year in Tauranga, driven by Vanessa Davey, and
has expanded to several other regional centres such as Hamilton and
Rotorua. The Venus Clubs aim to provide practical resources for New
Zealand female entrepreneurs as well as opportunities to connect,
support and promote this group of women. There is a
membership fee which entitles women to attend six meetings over
three months.
We hope you find something useful among the resources we've
rounded up in here!
© Professionelle Ltd 2009