Happy Monday!
Kudos to TXWSW member Pam Friedman on the release of her new book “I Now Pronounce You Financially Fit.” The book details how to protect your money in marriage and divorce. This advice has historically be available to wealthy clients, and Pam has created a good ‘how to’ manual making the information more accessible. You can find details here: http://inowpronounceyoufinanciallyfit.com/
A recent study noted that black presence on boards is shrinking. Part of the issue comes down to bias – as more women are added to boards, they take up the ‘minority’ seat thereby shrinking available seats for other minorities. Another reason cited it that activist hedge funds put forward slates of mainly white men when they fight for board seats. According to an analysis of SEC filings, in 2013, activists nominated 50 directors for board seats of which 40 were white men, 6 were white women, and just one was African American. The full article can be found here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/black-presence-u-boards-shrinks-165237140.html
A story from Austin TX underscores the importance of women supporting each other and communicating the workplace. A 26 year old with a degree in journalism was offered a role at a prominent PR firm, and with the offer came ‘unwanted sexual advances including requests for inappropriate photographs.’ This woman decided to share her experience with several other staffers which triggered more than half a dozen reports of sexual harassment and at least two incidents of sexual assault being reported. Bottom line? If you see something, say something. Women are silent because they think it is ‘just them’ and it never is. Read on:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trevor-fitzgibbon_56743a0ce4b0b958f6566358
I wanted to share this powerful video with you all that was created by the Norwegian charity organization CARE. It is a message from a daughter to her father, and follows a woman’s life from birth to adulthood and illustrates the various forms of sexism a woman experiences and how sexism quickly morphs into violence against women. I urge you to share this with everyone you know and underscore that seemingly ‘innocent’ derogatory language we use against women is harming us all:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-chilling-message-about-sexism-from-daughters-to-their-dads_56704d2de4b0e292150f5923
And lastly, huge congratulations to our Fort Worth committee for hosting a successful fundraiser for their local YWPN school last week. With over 100 in attendance and Tonya Veasey, CEO at Open Channels Group as their keynote, a good time was had by all. I want to thank all of the sponsors and attendees for their support of our students.
To end, I wanted to share with you all a very powerful comic strip that, I hope, will change the way you look at privilege. It places to individuals side by side showing how financial security or the lack thereof can lead to different outcomes even if a child has a loving family to support them: http://www.mbctimes.com/english/this-comic-will-forever-change-the-way-you-look-at-privilege
In a nutshell, this is why I am such a passionate advocate for girl’s education – if we can help the YWPN students come away with a solid college preparatory education and adequate scholarship money for college, then we are changing the outcomes, not only for these girls, but for the future families they will have. Your involvement in not only donating money, but in volunteering will give them access to information on career paths and contacts for internships that will place them firmly on the path to success with the multiplier effect that investing in girls brings.
Happy Holidays to you all – may your week be filled with love, peace and happiness and very best wishes for a happy healthy and successful 2016.
 
Very kind regards
 
Christine