Happy Monday!
To begin with, outside the world of finance, last week 2 women graduated from Army Ranger School. This is significant because all of the Army generals in history have had combat experience and these women have demonstrated that they were strong and tough enough to get through the army’s toughest combat training paving the way for promotions for themselves to the highest levels of service. Kudos to them:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/first-female-soldiers-to-graduate-from-armys-ranger-school-1439920871
There is also a call for a woman to lead the UN for the first time in its 70 year history. There are some that say that if the first woman who comes in does a less than stellar job it will reflect poorly on women and keep them from getting the post in the future. My response to that is that men have had 70 years – some with good records and some with less than good ones, so why don’t women have the same opportunity? The full article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/world/after-70-years-of-men-some-say-it-is-high-time-a-woman-led-the-un.html?_r=0
From the more good news front, although the rate of new business starts has slowed, the share of women-owned businesses has increased: http://www.wsj.com/articles/women-make-strides-in-business-ownership-1440028664
A great commentary from Fay Vincent who was former CEO of Columbia Pictures and commissioner of Major League Baseball on the importance of both having a being a mentor. The title says it all: ‘We All Need A Few Good Mentors’http://www.wsj.com/articles/we-all-need-a-few-good-mentors-1439764859
And lastly, while much of the news focuses on kinder more evolved policies like paid travel for nannies, competition for the top ranks at the top companies is nothing short of brutal: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/business/work-policies-may-be-kinder-but-brutal-competition-isnt.html?_r=0
Huge thanks to our committee members for arranging a terrific line up of events for the Fall including a coed cocktail party and brewery tour in Dallas, our second annual Charity Shopping Night in Houston, and a Holiday Luncheon in Austin.  Register early to avoid disappointment!
Kind regards
 
Christine