PINK Magazine is hosting its fourth annual conference series for women in business.  Conferences will be held across the country with each featuring influential, female business leaders speaking over the course of a two-hour lunch.  Each session runs from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., and tickets cost $125.  You can follow the link to register for the PINK Conference Series.

Following is the schedule for the 2008 PINK Conference Series:

• September 24, 2008: InterContinental Chicago in Chicago Illinois
• October 1, 2008: Marriott Marquis, New York, New York
• October 3, 2008: Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas in Dallas, Texas
• October 10, 2008: Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
• October 14, 2008: Four Season in Boston, Massachusetts
• October 30, 2008: Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza in Los Angeles, California
• November 12, 2008: Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia

Following is the list of speakers scheduled for the 2008 PINK Conference Series:

• Carol B. Tome, chief financial officer and executive vice president of corporate sales, Home Depot Inc.
• Carol L. Bernick, chairman of the board, Alberto-Culver
• Lisa Ellis, executive vice president, Sony Music Label Group
• Donna Sturgess, vice president of innovation, GlaxoSmithKline
• Karin Gilford, vice president and general manager of Yahoo!
  Entertainment and Lifestyle
• Kelly Regal, executive vice president of human resources and corporate communications, Turner Broadcasting Inc.
• Joy Rothschild, senior vice president of associate services, Omni Hotels

Looks like a great line-up of speakers!  Have you attended one of the conferences in previous PINK Conference Series?  What did you think?

Have I mentioned I love The Glass Hammer blog? Having come from a corporate finance background, I love this blog that’s designed for women working in financial services, law and business.

Pamela Capalad published a great post at The Glass Hammer called the Top 10 Hispanic Women in Business. Pamela cites some fantastic statistics in her article, including:

• Since 1997, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses has grown 82% and more than one-third of those businesses are owned by Hispanic women.
• Between 1990 and 2000, the number of Hispanic women earning college degrees has increased by 150%, and the number of Hispanic women earning masters degrees has increased by 164%.

The Hispanic women listed in Pamela’s article come from a diverse group of companies and share inspirational career stories. It shows strides are being made in terms of diversifying company leadership, but there is still so much work to be done.

Check out Pamela’s list of the top 10 Hispanic women in business when you have a few minutes. It’s a great read!

Tags: Hispanic women, Hispanic businesswomen, Hispanic women in business, women in business, businesswomen, women on business, female executives, women executives, financial women

Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, is considered to be one of the most powerful women in business. She joined eBay in 1998 and now, 10 years later, she’s following her own advice and leaving the company she helped drive to online success. Meg Whitman, 51, has been quoted saying a CEO should never stay with the same company for more than 10 years, because by that time the company needs a fresh outlook. 47-year old John Donahoe, president of eBay’s auction business unit is expected to be first in line to takeover Whitman’s role. Continue reading »

The 35th Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award will be given out in April 2008. Nominations are being accepted through February 15, 2008. According to today’s press release from Veuve Clicquot, the award recognizes successful British businesswomen with judges focusing on the following qualities:

• Achievement
• Motivational ability
• Innovation
• Creativity
• Business acumen
• Entrepreneurship
• Dynamism
• Charisma
• A profound concern for the sustainable growth of her business and development of her team
• A focus on responsible and sustainable growth as it relates to the environment

Do you know a British woman in business who fits the bill? Why not nominate her on the Veuve Clicquot website?

Tags: Veuve Clicquot, businesswoman of the year award, women in business, women on business. female executives, female leaders, businesswomen

Global EXEC Women is an organization comprised of women in executive positions in the business and technology sectors and provides networking, learning and knowledge-sharing opportunties to its members. Recently, Global EXEC Women recognized seven female executives for their exceptional global leadership and innovation at the organization’s International Women of Influence Awards. Continue reading »

A study conducted by executive search firm Rosenzweig & Co. found that the number of women in top executives positions in Canada has fallen over the past year from 37 women in the highest-paying executive jobs in 2006 to just 31 in 2007. Furthermore, of the 535 highest paid and most senior positions at those companies, only 5.8% are held by women (down from 6.9% in the prior year). One more disheartening statistic shows that only 26% of those companies have at least one woman in an executive officer’s position (e.g., CEO, CMO, COO, CIO, CFO, etc.), which is down 4% from 30% in the prior year.

However, all hope is not lost for Canadian businesswomen. In April 2007, Catalyst surveyed all of the FP 500 companies in Canada, and at the time, 15.1% of upper management positions were held by women (up from 14.4% in 2005). That means some of those women could be on the right path to move into corporate executive positions in the future. What remains to be seen is whether or not they’ll get the chance.

What do you think about the lack of women in the highest-level executive positions in large Canadian companies?

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Tags: Catalyst Women, women in business, businesswomen, female executives, leadership, women on business

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) has named Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon (NYSE: AVP), as the eigth member of its board of directors.  Andrea Jung is the first woman and the first Asian to hold a seat on Apple’s board.  Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, stated that Jung will bring a “new dimension” to the company’s board.  It’s actually hard to believe that a progressive company like Apple has taken so long to add a woman to its board of directors. Continue reading »

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) has increased its board of directors from 10 members to 11 by appointing Deirdre Connelly to its board of directors.  Ms. Connelly is the president of Lilly USA, a division of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY).  Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren stated that Deirdre Connelly’s presence on the company’s board of directors will help develop strategies in the Hispanic market. Continue reading »

Norway implemented a quota system related to the ratio of males and females in Norwegian companies’ boardrooms, and those companies have until January 31, 2008 to comply by ensuring at least 40% of their board members are women.  If Norwegian companies don’t comply, they’ll face legal action. 

Quotas have long been the subject of debate related to equal opportunity employment, but are the really helpful?  Norway seems to think so, and now an Italian company, Luxottica (NYSE: LUX) best known for its Ray-Ban sunglasses brand, is jumping on the quota bandwagon by stating they will fill at least 30% of their top management positions with women within the next two years. Continue reading »

Yesterday, The Chicago Network released its 2007 Chicago Network Census report, Women Mean Business.  The Chicago Network is an organization of the Chicago area’s leading professional women, and their annual Chicago Network Census report tracks the representation of women in key leadership positions (e.g., board members, executive officers and top earners) based on prior year proxy filings of the 50 largest publicly traded companies by revenue in the Chicago area (called ‘the Chicago 50′).  Over the ten-year time period The Chicago Network has been conducting the census, women have made strides in business, but the results show that growth is coming in baby steps. Continue reading »