Happy Monday:
As I am sure you are all aware, the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos tomorrow. As part of its reporting, CNBC published a breakdown of the over 3,000 participants from 110 countries. Of the attendees, only 21% are female. Still. In response to last year’s criticism, they have created an all-female panel so they look inclusive. Cue the eye roll here. The theme for 2018 is to reaffirm international cooperation on shared interests which is critical in this current climate of political divisiveness. The full article can be foundhere.
A significant number of talks at the conference will focus on sexual harassment, gender discrimination and gender inequality – considering that 42% of US working women report having faced gender discrimination in the workplace, perhaps it would have been a good idea to include a few more women at the conference who could speak to the issue first hand and help craft a solution? A mentor once said that if you don’t have a seat at the table, you are part of what is being carved up; this seems like a perfect example of that. The full article can be found here.
The old saying about pictures being worth a thousand words is illustrated in this next article. We have all seen the statistics about the paltry number of women on corporate boards, but actually seeing what that looks like in photos was truly eye opening. If this makes you upset, don’t forget you can vote with your wallet and your shareholder proxy.The full article can be found here.
Bank of America made the news last week with the departure of Omeed Malik two weeks before bonuses were paid out. Rather than a #metoo moment, the Bank’s position is that Mr. Malik left to pursue other opportunities leaving the women he harassed understandably upset. The problem with the industry protecting mal actors is that this kind of behavior does not change without consequences. The full article can be found here.
If you look at sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, it is not about sex. A recent CNBC article notes that it is about power, intimidation and control. A big part of the reason it has gone on so long is that before the #metoo movement, women have been largely silent. The ones who dared to speak up were derided, ridiculed and worse. Women have suffered in silence, left careers and jobs we have loved because we felt we did not have a voice. This brings me to the next rather (ahem) unorthodox article. Kasia Urbaniak has worked as a professional dominatrix for the past 17 years. Her work was informed by studying BDSM, Taoist martial arts and hostage negotiations. She recently opened the Academy to teach women what she has learned about men and how to end the silence. To quote from her website: “When women are challenged, undermined, or harassed, our culturally conditioned default is to go silent. To shut down. This course retrains the conditioning that keeps women silent.That silence ends now.” The article and Ms. Urbaniak’s website can be found here and here. Happy studying!
Lastly, to help us celebrate our anniversary, I would ask each of you to consider corporate sponsorship of TXWSW. Benefits include attendance at our flagship events and recognition for your firm. To learn more, you may find our sponsor information here. Additionally, we would be happy to create a custom sponsorship for you. Please contact Bianca King at developmentdirector@txwsw.com.
We have some terrific events lined up for you in 2018 including our ten-year anniversary celebrations! We look forward to seeing you all at an event in 2018! To learn more about our 2018 events, please visit www.txwsw.com