 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
    |
|
News For You - Spring 2007We have developed this page to give our visitors the opportunity to see what's new, at a glance, in the business world and how it relates to our program. Take a moment to browse and see what's of interest to you!
Female President a Harvard First
Female President a Harvard First The announcement that Harvard will be led by a female president sent shock waves through the ranks of their alumni and benefactors. After being run by men for 371 years, Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust has been named the first female President. Gilpin succeeds Lawrence Summers, who quit after raising a storm among faculty members, students and alumni by suggesting that innate differences are the reason fewer women than men are successful in math and science. Harvard and its governing board have now caught up with other notable universities that are run by women. For example:
Faust describes herself as “a rebellious daughter” who never took her mother’s advice that “It’s a man’s world, sweetie, and the sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be.” A magna cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr, Faust has had a distinguished career as an educational executive at both Penn and Radcliffe. According to University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutman, “Drew Faust is a natural. She has all that it takes to be a wise, visionary leader who inspires collaboration across Harvard’s many distinguished schools.” Source: USA Today, Friday, February 23, 2007
Gussack becomes first woman chair of a big city law firm Nina Gussack, named the first female Chair at a top Philadelphia law firm, didn’t give much thought to her promotion until she began receiving letters from women telling her that she has inspired them in their own careers. “It really didn’t occur to me because it really wasn’t a big deal at the firm,” Gussack said. “But then with all of the press coverage, I began to receive these extraordinary letters.” Gussack’s position as Chair may not seem like a big deal at Pepper Hamilton, but in an industry where women are earning more than half of law degrees yet only 17 percent are big firm partners, it has certainly drawn attention. Gussack, 51, has spent her entire 27-year career at Pepper Hamilton and has been a partner since 1987. She is Chair of the firm’s health effects litigation practice, where she defends pharmaceutical and medical-device companies in product-liability matters. A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., she made her way to Philadelphia to attend the University of Pennsylvania before heading to Villanova University School of Law. While at a law seminar, one of her professors encouraged her to speak with Edward W. Madeira Jr., considered the dean of the practice. The interview turned into a job and Gussack quickly rose through the ranks. “She says I was her mentor, but she was the one who kept me out of trouble. I may have started the practice but she has really grown it,” says Madeira. Gussack wants some time to assess the firm and her new role before mapping out her strategy but has indicated that she wants Pepper Hamilton to expand geographically with its core litigation and corporate practices. Source: USA Today, Feb. 23 – March 1, 2007
Browsing designer shoes was a refreshing way to get to know one another for 53 female lawyers of Bryan Cave LLP and their female corporate clients and friends. It was also one that was supported by the top brass. “We’re in a relationship business, and we have to constantly think of new and different ways to spend time with clients—so when ideas pop up that make sense, we do them,” says Dennis Fleishmann, managing partner of Bryan Cave’s New York Office. Still, holding women-only networking events raises some complicated issues. Are these single-sex events just as exclusionary as the traditional spectator sports events and steak-and-cigar dinners have been for men? Some male executives think ambitious women would be wiser to learn to play golf—still a primary way for men to socialize and lay the groundwork for deal making. However, there’s a growing chorus saying there’s nothing wrong with recognizing that women have different tastes and different interests. Women-only events are also getting a boost from business clients, who increasingly want to do business at firms that have diverse leadership. About 500 corporations have signed a document called the Call to Action, initiated by Sara Lee Corp.’s General Counsel four years ago, agreeing to work with firms that have “consistently taken action” to increase the number of women and minority lawyers they hire and retain. “When your clients are asking, ‘Where are the women and minorities in your pipeline?’ there’s a lot of impetus to make sure they get help networking in whatever way they feel comfortable”, says Susan Saltonstall Duncan, president of RainMaking Oasis in Madison, Conn., which advises companies on business development. “Some people might wonder, ‘What does this have to do with law?’ but we work long hours with clients on deals and litigation and everything goes a lot smoother when you know the people you’re working with,” says Hope Goldstein, a Bryan Cave partner. Source: Wall Street Journal, March 29, 2007
Leaving Your Mentor, the Right Way No one ever said break-ups were easy. And, mentor-protégé relationships are no exception, but how should a protégé go about breaking up with a mentor? “You want to leave any relationship with a good taste in your mouth,” says Sharon Griggs, who is on the board of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association. When you decide to move on, Ms. Griggs recommends discussing the benefits of the relationship so that your mentor feels the time together has been worthwhile for both parties. Both the mentor and the protégé should discuss their expectations at the beginning of the relationship. One early challenge is determining how structured the relationship will be. Regardless of how you decided to structure the relationship—formal or informal, in person or by phone—it is important that you both know how the relationship is going to play out. “If you are having conversations with your mentor and having interactions that help you come to your own decisions about how it is that you would like to handle things to further your career, you are getting good mentoring,” says Debra Alligood White, a partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and the head of mentoring at the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. And, if you feel you aren’t getting enough help or guidance from your mentor, make an effort to express the shortcomings. One indication a mentor relationship has run its course: you have achieved what you sought. When you’ve achieved your goal, Ms. Alligood White recommends a gradual separation. However, there is one exception to the rule of slow disengagement. If the mentor’s ethical standards differ from yours, Ms. Griggs recommends getting out of the relationship as soon as you realize there is a problem. Nevertheless, no matter what the circumstances of your breakup, when you see the person again, always be polite and friendly. You never know what the future will bring. Source: Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Scant Progress On Closing Gap in Women’s Pay Throughout the 1980s and early ‘90s, women of all economic levels were steadily gaining ground on their male counterparts in the workforce. By the mid-90’s, women earned more than 75 cents for every dollar in hourly pay that men did, up from 65 cents just 15 years earlier. Largely without notice, however, one big group of women has stopped making progress: those with a four-year college degree. These trends suggest that all the recent high-profile achievements do not actively reflect what is happening to most women, researchers say. Last year, college-educated women between 36 and 45 years old, for example, earned 74.7 cents in hourly pay for every dollar that men in the same age group did, according to Labor Department data analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute. A decade earlier, the women earned 75.7 cents. The reasons for the stagnation are complicated and appear to include both discrimination and women’s own choices. The number of women staying home with young children has risen recently, according to the Labor Department; the increase has been sharpest among highly educated mothers, who might otherwise be earning high salaries. Like so much about gender and the workplace, there is more than one way to view these trends. Women, faced with most of the burden for taking care of families, are often forced to choose jobs that pay less—or, in the case of stay-at-home mothers, nothing at all. Another view is that women do not consider money a top priority and that many actually relish the chance to care for children or parents and prefer jobs, like those in the nonprofit sector, that offer more opportunity to influence other people’s lives. Whatever role their own preferences may play in the pay gap, many women say they continue to battle subtle forms for lingering prejudice. Indeed, the pay gap has barely budged since 1990. Source: New York Times, nytimes.com, December 24, 2006
Traditionally, leadership from the top is firmly embedded in the corporate culture. But at most companies, top management is already overburdened by the demands from investors and analysts. In that case it is often up to managers below the C suite (CEO, COO, CFO) to take the initiative – and risk – to lead change efforts. Based on seven years of studying the process of ‘leading from below’ in companies around the world, there have been clear patterns identified in how managers succeed—and fail—in this effort. The patterns suggest two broad lessons: For the vast majority of business managers, there are practical ways to play a leadership role that helps their companies and improves their career prospects. And for those who occupy the C suite, there are practical ways to encourage the kind of leadership from below that provides energy, innovation and advantage. BECOMING A LEADER
FOSTERING LEADERSHIP
If viewed as a resource rather than a threat, leadership from below can be a powerful force for creating change, developing organizational flexibility and helping companies flourish in a dynamic world. Source: The Wall Street Journal Online, www.wsj.com, March 3, 2007
|
|
