Upcoming Event
Women Standing Together Lunch - Portland
Begins Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Christy Hemenway of Gold Star Honeybees wants your ideas for staffing her growing business! Christy’s business and share your suggestions on how to plan her staff growth so…
Women’s Leadership Series
The Maine Women’s Fund’s Regional Advisory Councils will host a series of four, free leadership seminars that engage Maine’s female leaders in juicy conversation and community to support their efforts in creating long lasting change.
Shaping the Agenda
May 4: Lewiston YWCA RSVP
May 5: Portland @ CIEE (300 Fore St) RSVP
May 6: Bangor Public Library RSVP
May 11: Rockland Public Library RSVP
Traditionally, women leaders do not define themselves by the positions they hold, opting instead to affiliate with the cause or the meaning of their work. In such a context, women rely upon their innate abilities to influence and build collaborative relationships that work toward a common cause. In organizations that work within hierarchies and politics, this can take time and dogged persistence. It can be inefficient and frustrating, often frittering away time, talent and, ultimately, money. Today, women are stepping into leadership roles more than ever before. Join us to discuss how women are shaping the agenda and moving organizations forward faster with innovative solutions and yielding higher returns on talent and investments. These brown bag lunch events are free and open to the public. RSVP at 207-774-5513 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Past Events
Womenomics: November 2009
Described as a mega-trend, Womenomics refers to the powerful collision of two simple realities. Women are demanding new rules of engagement at the very moment they have become the hot commodity in today’s workplace. Simply put, it’s about businesses and women recognizing the power and position they currently hold in the marketplace. Never before has there been more hard data to suggest women’s positive financial contributions to the bottom line of business. Coupled with the purchasing power women hold as consumers and the educational backgrounds women have achieved, this time in history is a fitting match for the strength and influence women hold, and positions them to be a force for change to both improve the bottom line for business and revolutionize workplace culture.
The Difference: January 2010
The focus on women and leadership has long been centered on the notion of equality. Until recent times, research has positioned women’s advancement in business as a “women’s issue,” reinforcing the concept of a “woman in a man’s world” through language that would have women “breaking glass ceilings,” “playing with the big boys” or other means of somehow “leveling the playing field.” Not so true for today. There is much research that now invites businesses to openly acknowledge and, in fact, optimize gender differences as a means to improve business performance. Yet there continues to be the practice of “neutralizing gender,” reinforcing the belief that leadership has nothing to do with gender. It seems we are at a critical juncture for the advancement of women leaders and the complexity and controversy that surrounds this topic discourages the discourse that might be beneficial for both women and businesses. In the face of an obvious dearth of women leaders in top positions and a stalled wage gap, it remains uncertain if the wisest course of action is to differentiate or diminish the relevance of gender in the leadership conversation.
Stepping Up, Standing Out, Staying In: March 2010
The trend is clear: women are leaving companies as fast as they can. Tired of subtle (and not so subtle) cultural messages suggesting women leaders “fit in,” many women have opted out – and not for lack of ambition or desire to work. The other trend? They represent the biggest and fastest growing sector of the entrepreneurial sector. The bottom line is that women are getting the job done – on their own terms and with profit – and in the process are creating a workplace revolution. In the face of a looming talent crisis created as the baby boomers phase into retirement and with the most recent research citing the need to put more women leaders in charge to positively impact the bottom line of business, an interesting turn of events is happening. A critical mass of businesses are beginning to discuss gender as not just a “women’s issue,” but a “business issue,” and are unleashing the full power of women to lead organizations into the future.
