Why was outgoing FDIC chair Sheila Bair routinely ignored and frozen out of the old boys' club in DC?
That's the question Joe Nocera asks in this excellent NY Times magazine cover story.
Bair anticipated the subprime mortgage crisis, tried to increase regulations on the industry and opposed big-bank bailouts, instead favoring initiatives designed to help homeowners, not bond owners.
Was she venerated for her foresight and celebrated for her savvy strategy?
Well, not exactly.
Actually, she was vilified for being "difficult" and informed about decisions already made by her male government counterparts. As she leaves her post, she speculates - was she marginalized for being a woman in a man's world, or patronized because she is not an Ivy Leaguer in a power-hungry society?
Read the article and see what you think.
Showing posts with label women entrepreneurs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women entrepreneurs. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Winning Women
A few months back, I wrote about how few women enter business competitions each year.
That article also talked about the organizations trying to remedy this underrepresentation. One of them is Ernst & Young, which has been running a business contest specifically for women business owners for the past four years.
Now, the company is announcing the last call for applications for this year's Entrepreneurial Winning Women competition. The program is designed to help accelerate the growth of women-owned businesses.
Frankly, I think it is too bad that we can't all compete together, regardless of gender. But after very few women entered their general entrepreneur contests, E&Y felt it could boost participation if it established a special contest geared toward women.
And it has been successful. If you want to enter, or nominate someone else, you can submit online.
The application deadline is June 30, 2011. Ten winners will be announced in October 2011.
That article also talked about the organizations trying to remedy this underrepresentation. One of them is Ernst & Young, which has been running a business contest specifically for women business owners for the past four years.
Now, the company is announcing the last call for applications for this year's Entrepreneurial Winning Women competition. The program is designed to help accelerate the growth of women-owned businesses.
Frankly, I think it is too bad that we can't all compete together, regardless of gender. But after very few women entered their general entrepreneur contests, E&Y felt it could boost participation if it established a special contest geared toward women.
And it has been successful. If you want to enter, or nominate someone else, you can submit online.
The application deadline is June 30, 2011. Ten winners will be announced in October 2011.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Negotiate From Strength
There are many explanations for why women don't advance sufficiently in business.
One of them is that women don't play hard ball during negotiations like men do.
One of the workshops I was sad to miss at the Invent Your Future conference last month was about negotiating.
Now it's being offered online, for a reasonable $25. Eat at your desk next week and pick up some invaluable tools that are tailored to female entrepreneurs and professional women.
We can all use a refresher on this topic.
One of them is that women don't play hard ball during negotiations like men do.
One of the workshops I was sad to miss at the Invent Your Future conference last month was about negotiating.
Now it's being offered online, for a reasonable $25. Eat at your desk next week and pick up some invaluable tools that are tailored to female entrepreneurs and professional women.
We can all use a refresher on this topic.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Bluster - or Buster?
Should women entrepreneurs learn the art of "bluster" - or "leave it to buster"?
Check out the interesting column sparked by a reader's observation on my recent column about how women do not enter business competitions as often as men do.
Check out the interesting column sparked by a reader's observation on my recent column about how women do not enter business competitions as often as men do.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Female Empowerment
It's Woman, Hear Me Roar week at Bloomberg Businessweek this week, thanks to yours truly.
I have two female-empowerment tomes posted just today, rather coincidentally in terms of timing, but both worth checking out (IMHO).
One is on a new book that highlights how minority women entrepreneurs are doing business differently than the "norm" but still succeeding.
The other, which also appears in this week's print edition, is on the perplexing and little-noticed problem of how few women entrepreneurs enter business contests.
Contests, schmontests, you may say. But hold on a minute! Those contests do wonders for business owners in terms of training, increased confidence, expert feedback and exposure to investors and potential partners. And that's not even mentioning perks like money, awards and publicity.
And yet, the contests are thoroughly dominated by men, though there are moves afoot to increase women's participation. An interesting conundrum and one that allowed me to conduct a bunch of fascinating interviews.
Like Janelle Shubert, who's quoted in the piece, sometimes you just want to "put your head down and weep."
I have two female-empowerment tomes posted just today, rather coincidentally in terms of timing, but both worth checking out (IMHO).
One is on a new book that highlights how minority women entrepreneurs are doing business differently than the "norm" but still succeeding.
The other, which also appears in this week's print edition, is on the perplexing and little-noticed problem of how few women entrepreneurs enter business contests.
Contests, schmontests, you may say. But hold on a minute! Those contests do wonders for business owners in terms of training, increased confidence, expert feedback and exposure to investors and potential partners. And that's not even mentioning perks like money, awards and publicity.
And yet, the contests are thoroughly dominated by men, though there are moves afoot to increase women's participation. An interesting conundrum and one that allowed me to conduct a bunch of fascinating interviews.
Like Janelle Shubert, who's quoted in the piece, sometimes you just want to "put your head down and weep."
Friday, September 24, 2010
Where Are the Women?
Yesterday, I was one of three women on a 15-member judges panel for the GSEA student entrepreneur awards at USC. It was an interesting and inspiring event, but the two other female judges and I couldn't help but notice that all six contestants were young men. The business school dean at USC apparently has a tough time getting women to sign up as business majors, let alone start companies in school and compete in rigorous, international contests.
Today at BusinessWeek, we feature an annual survey of the 25 most promising entrepreneurs under 25. I contributed by writing about how young entrepreneurs can get funding.
The slideshow presents an impressive and creative group, many of them former college roommates, but something stuck out as I clicked through the list. There is one - count 'em, ONE - woman included. And her business is a partnership with a male entrepreneur.
Every day, it seems, I get pitched about "mommy entrepreneurs" - women who have young children and decide to run home-based businesses to accommodate their families. That's wonderful, I'm thrilled for them, but I have to wonder why so few young women study business and start companies when it would be much easier and more logical: Before they have spouses and children!
It's sad for me, in this day and age, to see how sparse the participation of women is in the business world. I realize that entrepreneurship, in particular, is a big risk that takes swagger, self-confidence and - some might say - "balls." I just hope that's not literally true.
Today at BusinessWeek, we feature an annual survey of the 25 most promising entrepreneurs under 25. I contributed by writing about how young entrepreneurs can get funding.
The slideshow presents an impressive and creative group, many of them former college roommates, but something stuck out as I clicked through the list. There is one - count 'em, ONE - woman included. And her business is a partnership with a male entrepreneur.
Every day, it seems, I get pitched about "mommy entrepreneurs" - women who have young children and decide to run home-based businesses to accommodate their families. That's wonderful, I'm thrilled for them, but I have to wonder why so few young women study business and start companies when it would be much easier and more logical: Before they have spouses and children!
It's sad for me, in this day and age, to see how sparse the participation of women is in the business world. I realize that entrepreneurship, in particular, is a big risk that takes swagger, self-confidence and - some might say - "balls." I just hope that's not literally true.
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