Women, Education, Ensuring the Future

The 35th annual dinner of the Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund was a delightful affair last night. To begin with, I had the best seat in the house, between keynote speaker Elizabeth Kiss, President of Agnes Scott College, and Barbara Dixon, JRF’s first scholarship awardee.

Barbara, a widow with two daughters, decided to go back to school and become a nurse after caring for her husband in the hospital and at home, prior to his death. The Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship Fund (then still known as the Jeannette Rankin Foundation) made it possible. Now retired, Barbara had a long, rewarding career as a nurse, was able to send her children to college (they are now nurses themselves!) and is actively supporting her family’s third generation of college students.

Elizabeth focused, needless to say, on the importance of education for women – education not only makes their lives better, but also the lives of their family members (see Barbara Dixon’s story!) and their communities. Her “homework” for the audience: call your representative in Congress and tell him/her not to let the Pell grant for low-income students disappear.

Dear to my heart, she also mentioned equality for women, which seems still so far, far away. And, of course, she mentioned the intrepid Jeannette Rankin in her speech, without whose $16,000 estate gift in 1976 thousands of women across the United States would not have had their chance at an education and a meaningful career.

One of these scholars sat at our table also, last night, and gave the dinner’s customary scholar’s speech. Patricia Garcia is now a hydrogeologist, has worked in Mexico, Nepal and West Africa, and teaches earth science at Utah Valley University. The chain continues . . ., from Barbara Dixon to Patricia Garcia, to many beyond the room we were in last night and the years across which the organization has done its commendable work, to the future. On to the next 35 years!

When Women Build Community

It’s not even 5 months since Atlanta Social Media Women came into being (its Facebook group has 65 members as of today – “by invitation only”) and already it has the characteristics of a community. We share, empathize, brainstorm, support and encourage.

Women, it has often been said, are good at building networks but then they don’t know what to do with them. ASMW is the group that proves that notion wrong.

Why does this group work where others have not? It may well be its diversity – in ages, in business niches, in global experiences, in interests and areas of expertise. And it’s the Social Media phenomenon that provides the glue. If we formed a company . . ., imagine what we could accomplish!

Over the past few months, I have written a few paragraphs now and then about one or more members of the group. Let me not change that habit today. I’d like to shine a bit of a spotlight on Judi Knight, who owns New Tricks, a Design, Blogs & Social Network Marketing enterprise she runs from her home on Krog Street. Since we only just met yesterday and do not yet know each other (I learned that she builds houses and started a software company she sold some time ago, plus owns a loft B&B – definitely an entrepreneur with many interests and capabilities!), I can only give you an impression (sincere person, who knows her stuff) and further refer you to her web site, which I imagine you will like.

Now we look forward to building a tribe in Triberr (thanks, Desiree Colonna Scales!), and to meeting up in Kennesaw next month for the Social Media Integration conference.

Women Supporting Women - Not!

It was a revelation to me, a few decades ago, when it began to dawn on me that women do not support other women in the business world. The past almost-20-years at the helm of Atlanta Women in Business have provided ample proof (they have also provided some wonderful contradictions of the phenomenon).

So, now I am reading Leslie Grossman's blog post about a conversation between Gloria Steinem and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and find out that women do not support each other in religious institutions either! Women who have money to give to religious institutions would rather give it to those led by men than those led by women?

Most of my clients, as those who are familiar with my business know, are men. On a daily basis, I observe men recommending other men for jobs, connecting them with experts whose services they need, giving them networking tips, following up with them - even years later - when a relevant issue emerges. Women? Not so much. What's wrong with us?

Some Women . . . .

 . . .  can come across as women’s worst enemies when it comes to support for each other.

I watched a few minutes of The View this morning and could not believe Barbara Walters talking about Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest for sexual assault as a matter of “sexual addiction”. Come on now! How can rape be excused as a symptom of an addition? Does she want to put us back into the stone ages, when men taking advantage of women was common and tolerated?

Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck were more astute in their observations, with the former applauding the victim for coming forward (not an insignificant step for a hotel maid to take against one of the most powerful men in the world!) and the latter trying to get a word in edge-wise and correctly identifying “power abuse with impunity” as the issue to focus on.

Barbara Walters may well have interviewed this man more than once, may have a social relationship with him, but let me tell you this, “Baba Wawa”, a rape is a rape and any woman who tries to smooth it over is no friend of other women.

Women & Media

If we don't tell our stories, if we don't support other women - in business, the arts, governance, everywhere - who will?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gkIiV6konY

Women & Equality

How long have we been talking about this? Too long!

It’s been nearly 20 years since I started Atlanta Women in Business to help women in the workplace find equality. With a mission of providing networking and educational opportunities, we have made some progress, but not nearly enough.

Last year, I had an op-ed in the paper on the minimum wage and was interviewed on TV about the Lilly Ledbetter Act and received some attention for my network and its efforts, but equality as a normal, everyday thing we don’t even have to think about remains elusive.

I experienced that gap last week, when a business weekly published an article about Social Media, for which the writer had interviewed at least five practitioners (five were quoted in the article) – all men! To add insult to injury, the writer was a woman.

Well, that was last week. This week, award winning social media marketing strategist Toby Bloomberg deserves our attention. She has started Atlanta Social Media Women, with an immediate membership of 29 (yes, I’m among them!) and a determination to make some noise and get some attention.

Way to go, Toby!

We've Got it!

It's an amazing phenomenon to me that many men don't seem to 'get it' that we are not helpless creatures, who need to be educated on how to live our lives or run our business. The most recent example, yesterday, is a man who wanted to meet with me and discuss a training session for Atlanta Women in Business members, on how to use the telephone or e-mail to seek business appointments, and how to conduct a meeting after an appointment had been secured.

He had no clue, apparently, that women do this sort of training also, and that some of them might even be members of Atlanta Women in Business. Or, that we already know how to do this sort of thing.

The frequency with which I receive requests from men for opportunities to address my network, so that we can be educated on wealth management, hiring practices, insurance policies, acquiring real estate, conduct sales meetings, etc., is staggering. No offense, but . . . we already know!

Being First; not always a good thing!

Tiger Woods, who cheated on his wife with numerous women who have since last Thanksgiving sought their own 15 minutes of fame, is going to resume his golf career next month at Augusta National (“The Masters”), a club that has no women as members. Does anyone else find this amusing?

Augusta is, of course, delighted; hotels and restaurants will be full again and the city can use the revenue. Mr. Woods, in the embrace of an all-male environment, will be free to demonstrate his skills (as a golfer, I mean), and Billy Payne, who brought the Olympics to Atlanta, can chalk up another success.

Membership in Augusta National is by invitation; there are reported to be women on the waiting list and one expects one or more will eventually receive an invitation to join. In this environment, I’d hate to be first.

“Nice” is the Winner!

Natalie won and Russell did not, on Survivor Samoa. Good for her, and good for women everywhere who are often underestimated in their capabilities and overshadowed by overconfident men.

Russell’s strategy was to “do whatever it takes” to become the winner: betrayal, disloyalty, deceit, conniving. That’s how he figured he could not fail to win. Natalie, on the other hand, stuck to values of honesty and integrity, was thought of as a nice person, and beat the bully.

Russell’s strategy failed because he had apparently not taken into account that the people he had betrayed were going to be the ones casting the final votes. Oh, oh – if you are not nice to others, what incentive do you give them to support you when you are in a contest?

Sure, it was only a TV reality show, but here’s a lesson for us in the business world: treat others well, apply The Golden Rule.

You go, girl, Natalie!

Women's Equality Day

August 26 of each year is designated in the United States as Women's Equality Day.

The late Bella Savitzky Abzug, member of Congress from New York, is owed thanks for this day.

In 1971, her efforts resulted in a Joint Congressional Resolution, designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day. This, in recognition of the fact that in 1920 women in the United States had won the right to vote.

So, now we can vote.

Equality, meanwhile – it remains elusive!

I have seen proclamations from President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush; is President Obama forgetting?

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Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971Designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.

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"WOMEN HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A LIPSTICK. THOSE DAYS ARE OVER!"
Bella Abzug (1920-1998)

"I Can Do It!" Oh, really?

I met an extraordinary woman the other week. She owns a farm, with horses and goats, meadows, a pond and herbs. She grows incredible produce and handcrafts fragrant, organic soaps.

She does not have a business card (at least not at the event where I met her and we were two of more than a thousand people in attendance); her brochure is unattractive and lists “new” products for 2003 (I kid you not!) and her web site has that painful appearance of a home-made effort by someone who is not a designer, developer or writer; there is no mechanism for buying the soap.

Why do so many business people – women in particular – think they can do it all themselves? Making the product, keeping the books, finding the markets, selling products and collecting payments, cleaning out the manure, growing the herbs, mowing the meadows, tending to the livestock – and then designing and launching a web site that does nothing for the business?

It’s a puzzle to me. One I encounter frequently.

Another woman, owner of a professional services firm – with employees! -- with whom I had a telephone conversation a day or two ago, confessed that she is “not in love with writing”, even though she does it all the time – newsletters, promotional pieces, her web site and her blog. She’s got it figured out, though. Her passion, she has discovered, is mentoring and inspiring others. She is working towards having an office manager and a few more service providers in her growing business, so that she can go on the road for speaking engagements and workshops. And, she wants to hire a writer (that’s why we had that telephone conversation).

This is the idea: in your business, do what you love best and what you’re good at (“follow your passion”) and farm out the rest. It’s the only way to grow a business and achieve more than middling success.

Professional Development

Are women truly interested in professional development opportunities in the furtherance of their careers or enterprises? If they are, are they willing to make an investment in this - as in "paying money" . . .? I doubt it, but if you have a different opinion, I'd be interested in reading it.

Welcome!

After having been an "Atlanta Biz Woman" for a while, I founded Atlanta Women in Business in 1992 - a membership organization of business, career and professional women that provides networking and educational opportunities.

Over the years, this organization has had its ups and downs (know of any that have not?), and today we are once again on an upswing, with new members, new interests, new initiatives - and a few discards. With regard to the latter, we are not necessarily doing away with our annual Results Count award, but I will give up its web site.

That is a "less". Now a "more": we have started a book project in which all members can participate (limit: 20 - first come, first in!) as chapter authors. The project is under the leadership of Angela Durden, a writer herself and a longtime member of our organization.

I have a wonderful Advisory Board for Atlanta Women in Business this year: Patricia Bowen (like me, an international business woman who is choosing to stay closer to home these days), Pamela Van Fleet (banker) and Jennifer Wightman (project manager for a technology company and, like Pam, one of our career members). That reminds me, I should explain what I mean by "business, career and professional women". Business women are entrepreneurs, working for themselves, either by themselves or as employers of others; career women work in the corporate world, and professional women are members of what is generally considered "the professions", e.g. attorneys, engineers, physicians, scientists, etc. The breakdown of these groups within our organization is roughly 40%, 50%, and 10%.

There is, by the way, a membership application form on our web site - in case you'd like to join us. You are welcome!