New Study Shows Working Mothers Do No Harm to Their Young Children

A new "long-term study by University College London suggests young girls fare better if their mothers go out to work." (link to article and study) I wish that wasn't the headline. I wish that we were past needing or wanting studies and headlines like this that pit working mothers against stay at home ones. Reality is though we still live in a world were women who work, whether by pure economic need or other reasons, are too often made to feel or just feel, that their children will suffer because of it.

We also still live in a country that does not do enough to support working parents. "The ideal scenario for children of both sexes was for both parents to live at home and for both to be working, a finding that will encourage policymakers' moves to help families stay together, if not critics of the rising numbers of working mothers." This should have been the headline for the research. Policies and practices like maternity leave, pay-equity, paid sick leave, compassionate leave are not women's issues, they are family issues and need increasingly to be framed as such for the health of our children, our communities and our nation.

To learn more about the issues please check out the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

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Pat Mitchell is one of my favorite women on the planet. I can think of few others that advocate for the advancement of women and girls more then Pat. She serves as President for The Paley Center of Media which "with locations in New York and Los Angeles, leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public."

In a blog posted today she talks about a new initiative called She’s Making Media. It is a "new series of programs that puts a slightly different lens on the subject of women’s role in media. We are going to celebrate, curate, and build a special collection (and a new television series) with women who are making media for a very specific purpose." The program was launched earlier this month with playwright, performer, artist, and activist Eve Ensler. "She is making media that makes the world safer for women and girls."

At our recent Women Moving Millions gathering in April we had the pleasure of participating in a conversation with both these amazing women. ( photo above ) The topic of the discussion was how to leverage media to create social change. There is likely no better example of that then the work of Eve Ensler. "From her productions of the groundbreaking play, The Vagina Monologues (5000 performances a year in 140 countries raising 80 million dollars to end violence against women and girls) to her television documentaries, books and social media campaigns, Eve and V-DAY, the organization she built, are inspiring examples of making media that matters and, in fact, changes lives. My(Pat's) hour interview with Eve, featuring excerpts from the plays and films, will be posted on Paley Center’s video section within the next couple of weeks and an edited version will be part of a new TV series, network to be announced later." Check back to the Paley site to watch.

One thing that Eve said that has really stuck with me is this concept of "thingafying." The idea that if we just do this thing, or that thing, then problems will be solved. In the world of economic development that thing might we provide a girl with an education, or access to health services, or a micro loan. The reality is that issues like violence and poverty are very complex and we need to acknowledge that complexity and structure it in to the solutions we are championing.

Thanks to Eve and Pat for the amazing role models you are to all of us. Love you.

The End of the Mancession? ...and women's increasing economic clout

"The End of the Mancession?" is the title of this article in TIME but the story is really about the growing economic power of women. It is not surprising that men outpaced women in recent employment gains - "Men gained over a million jobs last year, while women gained only 149,000."( link to article ) Men lost the majority of jobs over the past couple of years due to the hard hit areas of construction and finance. Those areas have recovered and many men are back at work, awesome. Though women stand to gain jobs over the longer term because of the sectors of the economy that are growing, my worry is that these areas tend to be lower paying industries like health-care. Overall the future employment outlook for the US remains a big concern.

We need to be a country that continues to emphasize innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. In these areas women are underrepresented for a variety of reasons and in addition face barriers to accessing capital. This concern fuels my passion for "Gender Lens Investing" - the proactive stance towards using one's investment dollars to support and empower women.

The good news, as the article points out is that " BCG estimates that women will earn the majority—some $5 trillion-—of the world's new income over the next five years. No wonder banks like Goldman Sachs are starting to rate industries according to how much of the female dollar they are poised to capture. Merrill Lynch recently went “long on women” and companies targeting female consumers, noting that it expected women to “increasingly become the -higher-income earners of U.S. households.” In my view, that's the most important reason that you'll ultimately see female employment rebound. The growth industries are those that cater to women. And you can bet that the people who run those companies are going to want to hire plenty of female employees who understand those markets, and those consumers."

"Power Unused Is Power Useless" - A Case For Gender Lens Investing

"Gender Lens Investing." This is the piece I have been wanting to write forever, and I thought this new site for Women Investment Advisors would be a great place to launch it! Thank you to Ruthie Ackerman for the encouragement. I hope to write a lot more about this topic and will be building out my web-site to hold more information related to how we can use our money power to drive positive change.

"Non-profit dollars will never be enough to solve the complex issues and negative outcomes associated with gender inequality. By thinking about gender when investing, we can use the markets to narrow the gender gap which, as studies show, has the additional benefit of fostering economic growth and creating jobs. Moreover, many government, economic and business entities have showered us with research saying that, in addition to positive economic and social implications, increased political stability is also highly correlated to the status of women and girls. In other words, greater gender equality results in greater economic and human security."

Goldman's Research on Women

There are a lot of reasons not to like Goldman Sachs right now (including that they only have one board member that is a woman) , but let me give you a BIG positive. For years now Goldman has been producing cutting edge research on women and the economy. They have highlighted the growing economic power of women in terms of their collective purchasing power as well as how a country will be better off on multiple fronts by working to narrow the gender gap. Please find below a link to their reports and a synopsis. Thanks to Goldman for this compelling reserach.

"Australia's Hidden Resource: The Economic Case For Increasing Female Participation" November 30, 2009

-An alternative source of highly educated labour is already at Australia's disposal and with the right set of policy options this pool of labour can be unlocked. Closing the gap between male and female employment rates would have important implications for the Australian economy. The authors estimate that closing this gap would boost the level of Australian GDP by 11%. Indeed, much progress in closing this gap has already occurred over the past 30 years with the rise in the female employment rate since 1974 boosting economic activity by 22%. In this respect, Australia is only 2/3rds of the way to unlocking the hidden value of the female labour pool.

"Power of the Purse: Gender Equality and Middle-Class Spending" August 5, 2009

-In the BRICs and N-11 countries, gender gaps in education, employment, health and political representation are narrowing. At the same time, laws and social norms that have discriminated against women are shifting in many countries.Together, these factors are giving women greater decision-making power. Improving gender equality coincides with the rapid growth of the “global middle class.” Sectors likely to benefit from women’s growing buying power include food, healthcare, education, childcare, apparel, consumer durables and financial services.

"Women Hold Up Half the Sky" 2008

-The Chinese proverb that ‘women hold up half the sky' has long been more aspiration than fact. In developed and developing countries alike, gender gaps persist in education, health, work, wages and political participation. Education is key to gender equality. Educating girls and women leads to higher wages; a greater likelihood of working outside the home; lower fertility; reduced maternal and child mortality; and better health and education. The impact is felt not only in women’s lifetimes, but also in the health, education and productivity of future generations.

"Womenomics: Japan's Hidden Asset" October 2005

-Don’t underestimate the power of the purse. Higher female participation in the workforce can help mitigate some of Japan’s demographic pressures and raise the long-term trend growth rate. Womenomics is likely to become a secular investment theme, and we identify potential beneficiaries.

Equal Pay Day

April 12th was "Equal Pay Day" and I wanted to share this thoughtful piece written by Linda Basch, President of the National Council for Research on Women. I remain a Board Member Emeriti of NCRW and partnered with Linda to write the "Women In Fund Management Report" in 2009.

"On Equal Pay Day -- April 12th -- it's time to stop using our economic doldrums as an excuse for indifference and inaction. For how many more years are we going to dutifully report on the stagnant gender wage gap? Women who work full-time, year-round are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts or $10,622 less per year in female median earnings, a gap that yawns wider for women of color and older women [National Women's Law Center, NWLC]. "

Women, Money, and Power...and superheros

My most perfect and amazing visit to NYC continued yesterday. We ( me, my 11 year old daughter and au pair/assistant Mandy ) started the day on Wall Street. I walked with Allie on the exact path I walked thousands of times from the subway to the entrance of 85 BROAD street. I remembered so vividly 23 years ago when I made my way for the very first time, having arrived hours early for day one as an analyst and I sat outside on the benches, shaking, unable to really comprehend how I went from a very small town in Canada to NYC. I decided to film a little video clip in front of the now abandoned headquarters for Goldman Sachs which I will post when I return. Has so much changed for women on Wall Street? Sadly, no.

We did out little tour of downtown including the NY Stock Exchange, the Fed, and of course a picture with the bull, before heading back uptown for lunch, and shopping. I slid in a meeting for Women Moving Millions before attending the SOFA Opening night art show with my buddy and collector Ann Kaplan, a board member of the Museum of ART and Design. It is official. I am a collector of superhero art. The very first piece that caught my attention as I walked in the building was a huge, 68 by48, comic book/paper piece. The title - Where are our heros now? A close up of the piece is pictured and it is made entirely of pieces cut from comic books. A sign you might ask? YES, absolutely. The world needs superheros and darn it I am going to work on that superhero screenplay this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But the concept is bigger then that. The concept for me is that everyone can be a superhero. Everyone and anyone can and should aspire to be the best they can be and it is in living to that potential that we will create a more just and equitable world for all. "Be the change you want to see in the world."

So that leads me in to dinner where the conversation was about women using their power. My dinner companions were two of the most fabulous women - Author Leslie Bennetts ( of The Feminine Mistake and a contributing editor for Vanity Fair) and Katharine Henderson, President of Auburn Seminary and author of God's Troublemakers - How Women of Faith are Changing the World. I have to run off to a 3 hour Women Moving Millions meeting so cannot write fully about it now BUT let me say this - it is about empowerment. It is about us all developing confidence in their own capacities to make a difference. ( the art piece???) More specifically it is about our economic empowerment meaning that we choose to use our financial resources more fully to drive the change we want to see. Ponder that today.... Another day in New York - yeah me!

Say NO to All Male Corporate Boards! - HUFFPO

It was an honor to co-write this oped with Joe Keefe, CEO of PAX World Funds. There is so much discussion about the lack of women on corporate boards, and here is something YOU can do to take action. Vote your proxy! PAX is leading the way in this effort and also writing letters to CEOs with all male boards putting forth the evidence that more diverse boards lead to better decision making. Thank you Joe I will hope others will follow - institutional investors, investment advisors and individuals!!

For more information on PAX Click here.

"A Club for the Women Atop the Ladder" - NYT

I hope you caught a great article by Pamela Ryckman called "A Club for the Women Atop the Ladder" featured on the front page of the Sunday NY Times Business Section yesterday. The article was primarily about a very cool women's club called the Belizean Grove . Though I am not a member, many of my friends are, and it is a very interesting group indeed. The article describes how through this network women help each other become more successful personally, and hopefully as a movement as well. That is my challenge to this group, to figure out how they can leverage their collective power for maximum impact.

That is exactly what we are thinking about as group of funders of women and girls. I am heading to NY tomorrow for a Women Moving Millions gathering where, with the most fantastic Mayree Clark, we will be leading a discussion on how we can have greater collective impact. Our event is at capacity and in addition to our presentation, we will hear from many experts on how media can be used to advance social change. Guest speakers include Eve Ensler, Pat Mitchell, Gloria Steinem, Jennifer Buffett, Lisa Witter, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous and more.

For the following three days I will be attending the Women's Funding Network Conference in Brooklyn, where over 500 people from around the world will be gathering under the umbrella of this powerful global network. The panel I am most excited about is on Friday, where I will be speaking on the topic of investing for gender equality. I hope to hit this topic in an interview with Bloomberg Television to be taped on Thursday which will likely air Friday morning.

A big thanks to Pamela for mentioning Learnvest in this article. If you have not yet signed up for their daily updates, or financial boot-camp, please do. Pictured above is Founder Alexa Von Tobel, investor and best bud Ann Kaplan, and moi!

Have a great week and I hope to blog from the road.

Women and Wall Street - We Need them!

Did you know the number of women working on Wall Street has decreased dramatically? An article back in September in the Wall Street Journal stated that "in the past 10 years, 141,000 women, or 2.6% of female workers in finance left the industry.The ranks of men grew by 389,000 in that period, or 9.6%." New research released this past week says that "less than 5% of the most senior executives at investment banks are women." This is a serious issue that we need to care more about. Let me tell you why.

There is a large amount of research, summarized well by Nicholas Kristof in this article , and in this research report by the National Council For Research on Women, that having women present in critical mass in leadership and decision making positions could lead to better outcomes.

We just went through a massive financial crisis, one characterized by excessive risk taking and greed, led my men, and now we have even more of the same in decision making positions. Please someone show me the list ( and it should be long ) of senior people who lost there jobs over this? Please someone give me examples of firms that said you know we messed up, we want to be better next time, and we are going to shake up our leadership teams, think out of the box, add talented, diverse people because hey, we don't want this to happen again. Now the numbers show not only is this not true, but we are moving even more in the direction of homogeneity.

Every time I write something like this I get a whole bunch of nasty responses saying I am out to lunch, that women are as greedy as men, that women should not be favored, blah blah blah.... I say PROVE IT. Find an example of a women leading organizations or systems where the outcome was the loss of trillions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of jobs..... Or perhaps this is easier, show me the EVIDENCE that rooms and buildings full of white, American, upper-class men have done such a good job creating a somewhat just, equitable, well functioning financial system. When is it time to take a leap of faith, embrace the research, and enact the solutions so that diversity on Wall Street might finally be achieved? I am not talking about a women take-over, I am talking about a goal of critical mass, 30% women on the board and in senior leadership roles. The goal is greater balance. Our current system is out of balance!!!

If you have any doubt that our financial system is run my white guys, watch the Academy Award Winning film "The Inside Job." Read any one of the now hundreds of books telling the tales of the crisis and get a highlighter out when they mention a woman.

The real question is how do we get there. That I need to tackle in another post but read the NCRW report!!!! As a co-writer and funder of this research it tells you how. It is a road-map for how to increase diversity in the financial services sector.

These numbers are shocking, disturbing and everyone who ones a stock, a bond, a house or gives a hoot about our collective economic future needs to care.

Resources

This article was just written today by Amy Siskind of the Daily Beast on the same topic. ( click here to read it)

"Ranks of Women on Wall Street Thin" by Kyle Stock

"Revealed: scale of gender bias in investment banking" by Elena Moya and Shanny Basar

Link to research mentioned

"Where are the Women on Wall Street?" The Female Factor - NYT

"Terminated: Why the Women of Wall Street are Disappearing" - Anita Raghaven FORBES

Museum of American Finance - History of Women on Wall Street

"Why I am a Male Feminist"

Ok I realize I have been a very lazy blogger of late. Rather then writing about my own thoughts on various topics I link to other people's writings that move me. In part it is a time issue, but the larger piece is that there are just so many great articles and stories out there worth sharing. Below please find an excerpt from an article by Byron Hurt on "Why I am a male feminist." The entire article can be found by clicking here.

"Like most guys, I had bought into the stereotype that all feminists were white, lesbian, unattractive male bashers who hated all men. But after reading the work of these black feminists, I realized that this was far from the truth. After digging into their work, I came to really respect the intelligence, courage and honesty of these women.

Feminists did not hate men. In fact, they loved men. But just as my father had silenced my mother during their arguments to avoid hearing her gripes, men silenced feminists by belittling them in order to dodge hearing the truth about who we are.

I learned that feminists offered an important critique about a male-dominated society that routinely, and globally, treated women like second-class citizens. They spoke the truth, and even though I was a man, their truth spoke to me. Through feminism, I developed a language that helped me better articulate things that I had experienced growing up as a male.

Feminist writings about patriarchy, racism, capitalism and structural sexism resonated with me because I had witnessed firsthand the kind of male dominance they challenged. I saw it as a child in my home and perpetuated it as an adult. Their analysis of male culture and male behavior helped me put my father's patriarchy into a much larger social context, and also helped me understand myself better.

I decided that I loved feminists and embraced feminism. Not only does feminism give woman a voice, but it also clears the way for men to free themselves from the stranglehold of traditional masculinity. When we hurt the women in our lives, we hurt ourselves, and we hurt our community, too. "

I want to thank Mr. Hurt on writing such a brave and powerful article. He gets it. He gets that feminism is not a women win and men lose thing. Feminism is about creating a better world for all. When men and women more equally share in power and decision making, when they make an effort to more fully understand each other, when we work to bring out the full potential in each other, then we will have a more just, equitable and peaceful world. This is what it is about!!!!! Men have much to gain in this new paradigm and I hope and pray that more men gain this perspective and claim their feminist voice.

Have a wonderful Sunday. We are off to church where I will pray for this future.

Widows in Afghanistan

This is why I care so much about working for women and girls around the world.

"After more than 30 years of fighting, Afghanistan has one of the highest percentages (6-8%) of widows in the world. Although the Afghan government doesn't have an accurate total for widows in the country due to the lack of a recent census, some officials estimate the number to be upwards of 2 million. By extrapolating from other demographic data, it's thought that the average age of an Afghan widow is about 35, that 90% of widows have children to shelter and feed, and that 94% are unable to read or write.

In Afghanistan's patriarchal society, the death of a husband not only diminishes a woman's economic security, but also removes her social protections, putting her at the lowest level of society. As a result, the most pressing issues for most widows are making a living and finding some measure of social protection. To survive and provide for their children, many Afghan widows find menial work weaving carpets, working in tailor shops, begging on the streets, or becoming prostitutes.

In response to this crisis, numerous international volunteer groups, churches, and other non-governmental organizations, as well as ISAF teams of female military personnel are working in Afghan villages to equip widows with the life skills they require to survive. The goals of such programs are generally tow-fold: the first is to teach widows how to live independently and earn a living wage without relying on government handouts and terrorist provided security which subjects them to human rights abuses; and second to demonstrate that ISAF forces are indeed in their country to protect them and help them rebuild their shattered country so that they can provide a future for their children. "

More on the White House Council Report

Two weeks ago the White House Council on Women and Girls released a report titled "Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being" (available by clicking here )the most comprehensive report on the state of women in the United States since the Kennedy administration. The report uses data collected from a wide variety of government agencies and paints a picture of women in five focus areas: People, Families and Income; Education; Employment; Health; and Crime and Violence. The results were mixed--some good news, some bad.

First, the good news: We've seen positive changes with respect to education, employment and violence against women.

Women ages 25-34 are now more likely than their male peers to have attained a college degree, which is a reversal of the norm 40 years ago. They are also attending graduate school in greater numbers--11 percent of women compared to 8 percent of men. Overall, women have outpaced men in educational attainment over the past 40 years.

Unemployment rates for women have risen less for men in the most recent periods of recession, and women's labor force participation rate has held steady around 61% since 1997.

Between 1993 and 2008, homicides and nonfatal violent crimes committed against women both declined. Additionally, nonfatal attacks on women by intimate partners declined between 1994 and 2008.

The picture isn't quite as rosy as we might hope based on that news though. Women may be making great gains in education, and while we know that education increases earnings for both women and men, it doesn't translate to a closing of the pay gap. More women than men work part time, and occupational segregation persists. Women are also still working a "second shift"--In households with employed husbands and wives, women spent an average of 2.6 hours on household activities and caring for family members, while men spent about 1.6 hours on the same activities. Female headed families also had the lowest earnings among all family types, and the poverty rate for female householders with children under 18 years of age is still nearly three times as high as the overall male and female poverty rates.

Women's health is also worse than men's--more women than men report having chronic medical conditions, and more females over the age of 12 report experiencing depression than their male counterparts. Additionally, more than one third of women age 20 and older are obese.

With respect to crime and violence, women are a small but growing share of individuals arrested for violent crimes other than homicide, and the imprisonment rate for females has increased significantly since 1985. On the other side of the equation, women face a greater threat of stalking victimization.

There was also one slightly misleading statistic included in the crime and violence portion of the report as well. According to the data, reported rapes declined during the '90s and have remained stable since then, hovering around 1 per 1,000 females aged 12 and over. However, in the notes, the authors write "Other government studies that asked more detailed questions specifically about sexual assault have found higher rates of victimization." Similarly, it is also worth noting that 54 percent of women surveyed who reported being raped did not notify the police. The culture of silence around sexual assault is truly pervasive. If someone had their wallet or their purse stolen, they would report it to the police, but when women have their dignity stolen they blame themselves--and others place the blame on them as well. True change will happen when rape is viewed by the public like the crime it is, rather than a private, personal problem.

We've made progress in important areas, but as the numbers show, we've still got a long way to go.

( thanks to Erica O-Neil for researching and writing this post)

International Women's Day!!! Time to celebrate or ??

Today is the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day - "It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements." ( Wikipedia) So if you are a woman, be sure to get lots of of extra hugs today from the men in your life, and give your sisters some high fives.

But here is the question - As American Women ( full disclosure I am Canadian living in the US ) do we have a lot to celebrate or if this a moment to say where we are is unacceptable and it is time to step up and create positive change? Here are some facts to help you think about your answer:

• The US ranks 37^th in gender equality among the world's 42 most highly developed nations
• The US ranks 64^th globally with a 19 percent wage gap between male and female full-time workers
• The US ranks last among the world's top 11 industrialized nations in both infant and maternal mortality ( above from the Ms. Foundation )
• Nationally, women are 57% of all college students but only 26% of full professors, 23% of university presidents and 14% of presidents at the doctoral degree-granting institutions
• Among Fortune 500 companies, women constitute only 3% of the CEO's, 6% of the top paying positions and 16% of the corporate officers
• In film, women constitute 16% of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers and cinematographers
• Of the top 15 media corporations (which include a mix of print, online, television and radio businesses), all CEO's are male and only 17% of board members are women
• Despite being nearly half (48%) of law school graduates, women make up only 18% of law partners and only one in four are judges.
• The military remains the only profession in the United States which under Department of Defense policy prohibits women from taking certain jobs. This hinders women from being promoted to the top levels of leadership
• Women make up only 17% of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate; no women have ever been presidents or vice president. Women of color are completely absent from the Senate and only account for 5% in the House of Representatives

I assume you can guess where I am on this issue. This is unacceptable to me. Unacceptable. It has been and will continue to be my life's work to help in whatever way I can to narrow these gaps and help create a world where both men and women, boys and girls, can live in a more peaceful and just way. So when I raise a glass tonight it will be NOT be to toast our progress, but to recommit myself to the promise of a better future. Be part of the solution. Be the change you want to see in the world. Believe that gender inequality is an important issue and deserves your attention no matter what you age, race or gender.

Many of the statistics above were pulled from this comprehensive study - White House Project's Benchmarking Study. Take a look. ( click here )

The list of amazing articles that were written in honor of today is very long indeed and I will in the next blog attempt to gather the best of.

For now watch this new video just released by V Day! V Day's mission, to end violence against women and girls. Eve Ensler thank you for creating such a powerful movement. You have made such a difference. ( click here to watch )

Women In America!

After 10 days of travel - LA for fun and San Fran for a 3 day Women's Funding Network Board Meeting and Retreat I am back and caught up! I am suffering from blog constipation. There are SO MANY topics all blocked up and I need to get them out!! I will try a blog a day for a while. After three years of blogging without focusing on how to really get my blog out there, I think it is time to get my act together. I just read about a mommy blogger who has millions of followers. Inspiring! Ok, on to the topic for today!

It is Women's History Month!! In honor of this the WHITE HOUSE is having a call on WOMEN IN AMERICA! They just released a HUGE report on this topic and can be downloaded here. It looks absolutely incredible. Be sure to check it out and share the link.

Women on Boards - The Dumb Comments Continue

The issue of women on boards continues to make headlines. Many countries are wrestling with the idea of quotas and others have already implemented it. Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank Germany, recently made a remark about this issue which got him in a lot of hot water. Responding to a question at last weeks annual results conference he stated "I hope it will be prettier and more colorful one day". Mr. Ackermann's comments were attacked by many prominent women in German business, including Ilse Aigner, minister for consumer affairs, saying: "Whoever wants things more colorful and beautiful should go to a flower meadow or museum".

Mr. Ackerman here are a few words of wisdom for what to say next time. "We are well versed in the incredible amount of evidence that greater board diversity leads to better decision making and are trying to get over this white male bias that clearly is reflected in our current lack of diversity. We say we cannot find talented women to fill these board seats but really, we are not trying very hard and this will change. We recognize that women are half the population, are clearly as smart and capable as men, and although there are fewer women with CEO experience that is often a prerequisite for board placement, we will find the talent BECAUSE we know that greater board diversity will lead to better outcomes. We did not do well in the financial crisis as you know, and our hope is that a more robust board going forward will help us weather the next storm more soundly."

Some facts

"Deutsche Bank has no female executive board members and last year only 2.2% of executive board members at the 30 companies in Germany's blue-chip DAX index were women. Germany also came last in ranking if women's representation on executive boards."

- 14.8% of Fortune 500 board seats were filled by women (2009)

-15.4% of Fortune 500 corporative officers were women (2009)

-During the four-year span of their study, Fortune 500 companies with the highest percentage of women on their boards, and greater numbers of women in the clout titles, saw 53% higher returns on equity than those companies with the fewest number of women on their boards.

-Return equity for companies with at least three women on their boards was 16.7%, compared with 11.5% for the average company.

To read more about the article visit Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, or The Telegraph.

Our foundation has created a "Why Diversity on Corporate Boards Matters" Brief - if you would like it please email me at pursepundit@gmail.com .

Are Women Leaving Men Behind?

A while back Hanna Rosin wrote an article for the Atlantic called "The End of Men." ( click here from FB) Needless to say it caught my attention. Sorry Hanna but although you made some great points in the article about the rising economic power of women, I truly hated the title. Hated it. The idea that when women rise men must fall is just plain wrong and truly damaging. It is not an either/or, but a both and.

Today this oped appeared on CNN and it links to Hanna's talk at TED Women, a conference I recently attended. Sorry again Hanna, but I really did not like your talk for the same reason I did not like the title of your article. It was too anti-men. Watch it for yourself and leave a comment.

Men need to be our partners in advancing gender equality. I truly believe that when women more equally share in all forms of power in our society, we will have a more just and equitable one, and a growing number of men believe that too. So please Hannah, no more putting men down and making them feel like the 'losers.' Last time I checked, despite all the facts you quote ( which I fully agree with), men still do run the world, and we need them to support us running in it with them.

Women are more Generous!

It's official, women give more. ( click here from FB) This is the conclusion of a recent report by "The Center on Philanthropy" at Indiana University. They studied the giving behaviour of single men and single women and reached this powerful conclusion. Why does it matter? Because it highlights" that women play a distinct and powerful role and philanthropy."

To download the full report click here.

This finding is deeply connected to my work with Women Moving Millions, an initiative to encourage million dollar gifts to organizations that support, promote and include women and girls. Why? Because for the first time in history women are starting to fund women and girls and this report highlights the growing power of women to give and drive social change and all income and wealth levels. Look for more, much more, on this initiative on PursePundit.

on the report...

- WSJ reports on the study.

- blog post from the Case Foundation on why it matters.

- CBS news on the report.

on Women Moving Millions

- press release from The Women's Funding Network

- Huffpo blog post on WMM

- NYTimes on WMM by Lisa Belkin

Paycheck Fairness Act - Defeated

Last week this bill was defeated. (click here from FB) There were many articles written about this issue which frankly left me somewhat confused. Like many, I quote the statistic that women in the US continue to be paid 77 cents to the male dollar, and taken at face value, no one would say that is fair. But this is a complex number. Clearly some of the difference can be explained by the fact that women often opt for lesser paid jobs, often work part-time, require more flexibility, and often withdraw from the work-force for periods of time. That said many experts say there is still a hefty residual that cannot be explained by these factors.

This was from the White House - " Most economists agree, however, that no matter how many variables you control for an unexplained wage gap between men and women persists. For example, Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn did an excellent breakdown of the wage gap in 2007 and identified that 41% of the wage gap between men and women could not be explained by controlling for variables. Regardless of the precise percentage of the wage gap, we have a responsibility to ensure that no one in this country makes less as a result of his or her gender."

This from Valerie Jarrett's office - Click here. Lily Ledbetter pictured.

Financial Times - Women At The Top

The FT published a list of their top 50 women in world business. It is a fascinating list. Many of the obvious Fortune 500 Women CEOS were of course there, but this list is a global one, and it included many women I have never heard of. Of particular note were a number of young women business owners from China who founded billion dollar companies. Wow.