Welcome to the Women's Initiative at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Congratulations to many of our students on summer internships.  New students that will be attending Ross in the fall we welcome you. 

We hosted many events and programs in the 2008 – 2009 academic year.  Many of our alums and Women’s Council members joined us and provided support for our students.  We greatly appreciate this and encourage your continued involvement in our activities.  Please be sure to visit our events calendar on a regular basis as we update this continually.

Save the Date for the 17th Annual Women in Leadership Conference.  This conference will be held in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business new building and begins with “Cocktail Connections” on Thursday, October 8, 2009, evening.  The conference, “Creating Your Sustainable Advantage,” follows on Friday, October 9, 2009.  The Thursday reception and Friday conference are open to all Ross students, faculty, alums, and Women’s Council members, and we would love to have your participation.

Have a wonderful summer, and we look forward to the fall of 2009.

-Mary

Mary D. Hinesly
Senior Associate Director
Women’s Initiative

Stephen M. Ross School of Business Women's Initiative Smart Brief News
                    

Women in the News

African-American woman to lead Xerox
Ursula Burns' promotion to head of Xerox makes her one of the most prominent African-American CEOs at a Fortune 500 company. Burns, a 33-year veteran of Xerox, replaces Anne Mulcahy, who will retire on July 1.

Reuters (5/22) Full Article

Entrepreneur takes women's message to Senate panel
While Rosie the Riveter was an acknowledgment of the role women played in rebuilding the economy in World War II, the modern-day equivalent would be Ellie the Entrepreneur, according to this Reader's Digest blog post. Theresa Daytner, a mother and founder of a million-dollar construction company, represented women entrepreneurs in testimony recently before the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee.

RD.com (5/26) Full Article

Management and Leadership

IBM makes priority of multicultural inclusion
Working Mother magazine recently listed IBM as one of the five "best companies for multicultural women." IBM considers diversity a cornerstone that distinguishes it from other companies, Chief Diversity Officer Ronald Glover said.

The Times Herald-Record (Middleton, N.Y.) (6/1) Full Article

6 tricks for dodging failure
Honesty is the best antidote for a bad idea, writes Mark Dziersk, the vice president of design at Brandimage-Desgrippes & Laga. Be honest with co-workers about which ideas are winners, he writes, but also with yourself when you think can do better.

FastCompany.com (6/1) Full Article

Marketplace

Women move ahead; men fall behind
As more women take the driver's seat in the work force, men more often are taking the back seat, according to statistics. More men than women are in jail, are likely to be alcoholic and die in traffic mishaps, this article notes. In addition, women achieve more college degrees than do men.

The Wall Street Journal (6/2) Full Article

Finance seen as less flexible than other fields for women
Research indicates that the field of finance is less flexible than law, academia or medicine for women hoping to achieve a balance in their career and home lives. Women in finance generally have more difficulty getting back on track with their pay and careers when they return from part-time schedules, according to this article.

The New York Times (free registration) (5/26) Full Article

Best Practices

Ledbetter: "Women need to not be so trusting"
Lilly Ledbetter, whose battle against pay discrimination led to a change in federal law, was honored in Chicago by Women Employed. In an interview, she said the issue of pay is not just for individual women at a certain point in their lives but for their whole lives and their whole family. "My retirement was based on what I earned, my 401(k), my contributory retirement, and now my Social Security," she said. "So it will affect me for the rest of my life."

Chicago Sun-Times (5/20) Full Article

Innovation seen as a key to success
Women who are leaders in information technology, retail, venture capital and other industries recently participated in Cisco's Annual Connected Women Leadership Forum, where they shared ideas on success. Leaders at the conference talked about what innovation means to them and how they apply it in their arenas.

CIOL (India) (5/28)  Full Article

B-School Basics

2 CEOS, twice the trouble?
The idea of having two people share the chief executive spot may appeal to some corporate boards, writes Jena McGregor, but the practice leaves a company divided and distracted over the long haul. Sharing the top spot at a company requires a clear pecking order and a clean division of labor, she argues, a plan that works only when one CEO is planning to step down in the near future.

Business Week (5/29) Full Article

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur finds magic in being her own boss
Marcie McGrath, who started Balloon Fairy Magic, has this message for other women that dream of starting their own business: "Make it happen." "I think a lot of people are really good at what they do, but the business end puts them under," she says.

Asheville Citizen-Times (N.C.) (5/24) Full Article