Happy Monday!
Christine LaGarde made headlines last week by laying out the value proposition that “gender equality is an economic principle, not just a concept of female empowerment.” This follows a report by the IMF on women in the workplace that “suggested that closing the gender equality gap and leveling the employment playing field would benefit not just women, but the global economy as a whole.” The full interview can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/christine-lagarde-women-in-workplace_n_6738090.html
And from the Washington Post – did you know that there are more men on corporate boards named John, Robert, William or James than there are women? Does anyone else find that disturbing? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/09/24/more-women-at-the-top-higher-returns/
Especially in light of the fact that study after study shows that adding women to both boards and management produces higher returns: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2014/09/24/more-women-at-the-top-higher-returns/
From the good news file, it seems that institutions are finally looking to allocate to women and minority managers. The problem they are running up against is capacity – there are very few women and minority firms out there with the asset size and infrastructure that can take large checks. The reason? Many women and minorities have not had the multi-million bonuses that their male counterparts have so it makes starting a firm more of an uphill battle. http://www.pionline.com/article/20150223/PRINT/302239992/investors-keen-to-find-talented-minority-and-women-hedge-fund-managers
As a follow up to the Patricia Arquette Oscars speech last week, a member shared an opinion piece that her daughter wrote, and I wanted to share it with all of you. It hints at the reason gender discrimination has proved intractable – women come in all shapes, sizes and colors which makes it easier for bias among women to rear its ugly head. As the article notes, it is not about a ‘white feminist movement,’ it is about equal rights for all women: http://www.wewomen.com/key-debates/patricia-arquette-oscars-speech-not-about-white-feminist-movement-wage-gap-s1259456.html
And lastly, we have our biggest event of the year coming up April 23rd in Dallas – you will not want to miss this as we have an all-star lineup of investors giving their global market outlook including Mary Erdoes of JP Morgan, Katie Stockton of BTIG, Elena Ranguelova of Investcorp and Lilian Zhou will be joining us from Shanghai. The event supports the Young Women’s College Preparatory network that supports 7 schools in Texas that provide a college preparatory education to underserved young girls across the state. And why is girls’ education so important? Studies show that if you change the outcome for a young girl, you change the outcome for future generations – an investment that pays dividends. And young girls trying to get an education are under siege: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/world/schoolgirls-are-facing-more-threats-united-nations-reports.html?_r=0
Men and women are welcome to attend the April 23rd event, so please help us get the word out – it is a great event with TWO cocktail hours, so plenty of great networking as well as great content!
We have lots in store for March. Come out and meet our new committee members and share your ideas for future events! Register early to avoid disappointment!
Kind regards
Christine