Happy Monday!
To begin with, kudos to Cheryl Alston of Dallas ERS for her unique approach to adding emerging managers to her pipeline. As you will see from the attached press release, Dallas ERS will be hosting a series of open houses aimed at meeting managers in a small and user-friendly setting. Cheryl feels this model will be easy for plan sponsors of any size to adopt. Read on:  http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-dallas-employees-retirement-fund-begins-unique-program-to-encourage-diversity-among-its-fund-managers-300186546.html
In case you missed it, last week Michael Moritz of Sequoia shared with the world that the reason they have not hired more women is that they are not willing to lower their standards. Ouch. The full article can be found here:  http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/12/michael-moritz-sequoia-women-partners-tech  Jessica Nordell wrote a great follow up on the issue – this is not a case of foot in mouth disease, this is unconscious bias rearing its ugly head: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-foot-mouth-diseae-jessica-nordell
On the other end of the spectrum, the New York Times did a great piece on TSG Capital that actually sees gender equality as a competitive advantage. Love that! The full article can be found here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/business/dealbook/pursuing-gender-equality-as-a-competitive-advantage.html
On the issue of classroom diversity that is before the supreme court, two professors (one from UT and the other from Columbia conducting a series of experiments where they had groups competing to find the most accurate answers to problems and set up groups that were homogenous and racially diverse. The result? When participants were in diverse company, their answers were 58% more accurate because diversity brought cognitive friction that enhanced the decision making process. The full article can be found here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/opinion/diversity-makes-you-brighter.html
And lastly, it seems as though we may be approaching détente in the mommy wars. New research shows that as many as 92% of Americans favoring mothers working, and as importantly, 77% also support fathers not working when they are the ideal spouse to stay home. Finally! The full article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/upshot/signs-of-a-truce-in-the-mommy-wars.html
If the thought of the holidays is leaving you feeling stressed, take time to join us for one of our Holiday Luncheons this December!  Register early to avoid disappointment!
 
Kind regards
 
Christine