Feminist Forte

IBM Appoints First Woman as CEO

October 25, 2011
By Hello Ladies
Ginni Rometty

Ginni Rometty

IBM today named Virginia (Ginni) Rometty CEO and director effective January 1, 2012. She succeeds Samuel Palmisano, currently chairman, president and chief executive officer. He will remain as chairman of the board.

“Ginni Rometty has successfully led several of IBM’s most important businesses over the past decade—from the formation of IBM Global Business Services to the build-out of our Growth Markets Unit,” Palmisano said in a press release. “She has spurred us to keep pace with the needs and aspirations of our clients by deepening our expertise and industry knowledge. Ginni’s long-term strategic thinking and client focus are seen in our growth initiatives, from cloud computing and analytics to the commercialization of Watson. She brings to the role of CEO a unique combination of vision, client focus, unrelenting drive, and passion for IBMers and the company’s future. I know the board agrees with me that Ginni is the ideal CEO to lead IBM into its second century.”

When Rometty steps into the role, thirteen of the Fortune 500 companies will be led by women. Rometty is the first to lead IBM. In recent months Carol Bartz was unceremoniously removed as CEO of Yahoo and Meg Whitman was tapped to lead Hewlett Packard.

The Rometty news is exciting. It marks the first time two technology giants will be led by women, providing much needed role models to girls and women interested in science and tech career paths. Still, corporate America has a long way to go toward gender equity. The InterOrganization Network (ION), an alliance of fourteen women’s business organizations that conducts benchmarking studies of women directors and executive officers of public companies, reports women hold only 12-20 percent of board seats at Fortune 500 companies. And, of the public companies with women on the board, only between 0-29 percent have a boards comprised of 25 percent women and between 8-50 percent  have no women directors at all. Between 58-82 percent have no women among most highly compensated executives. We’re making progress, but there is still much to be done.

Luckily, we don’t have to helm an international conglomerate to make a difference. No matter where we are in our careers, we can:

-       Encourage a young girl to pursue her interests in math and science.

-       Mentor another woman and give her the support and resources she needs to achieve her goals.

-       Hone our negotiation skills and learn to advocate for our own careers.

-       Let businesses know we appreciate their commitment to diversity at the top.

-       Refuse to do business with those who make excuses for not promoting women and minorities.

Watch Rometty talk about risk-taking at the At the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit earlier this month.

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SkinnyScoop Tastemakers

October 21, 2011
By Hello Ladies

We are thrilled to be included in SkinnyScoop’s new Tastemakers program. SkinnyScoop is of our favorite sites because it taps into the collective wisdom of women who willingly share their knowledge, and ecommended products, go-to resources and tips on this “virtual cheat sheet for everything.” Tastemakers provide content in a range of categories including, Balance, Amuse, Covet, Nurture and Energize. We hope you’ll check it out. And while you’re at it, take a look at our list of ways to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Have You Thanked Your Body Today?

October 19, 2011
By Hello Ladies
Jennifer Hudson

Let's give thanks to the lungs and vocal cords that helped Jennifer Hudson belt out "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."

I promised myself by the time I turned 40 I would run the Falmouth Road Race. I had watched it as a spectator for years and knew one day I wanted to experience it as a participant. Four years after my deadline, I did it – I ran seven hilly miles on a humid August day. A friend told a mutual acquaintance what I had done and the acquaintance responded, “So then she must have lost some weight.” I had just run seven miles. I had honored a commitment to myself. I had a great time doing it. And she wanted to know about a number on a scale?

I started running to avoid taking a medication prescribed by my doctor. I thought my health was the motivation that helped me fit exercise into an already packed day, but when I crossed the finish line in Falmouth, I realized it was more than that.

Growing up I never played sports, much less exercised. I was the kid picked last for teams. My nickname in elementary school was Big Foot, a joke about my inability to get on base during Friday afternoon kickball games.  My lack of athletic prowess only bothered me during gym class, where I always felt inept. Mostly I didn’t care because I was good at many other things. “I’m just not athletic,” I told myself and others. But post race it occurred to me: I hadn’t just been running to avoid a pill. I had been running to remove a limitation. By completing that race, I had crossed off an item from the list of things I couldn’t do, and added an item to the list of things I could. All those miles, I had something to prove and I hadn’t even realized it. I had been running to shed a label, never to shed a pound.

But as I ran, my pounds were a focus – not for me, but for others. Naturally as I went from permanent inactivity to activity my body started to shift. At least two friends, noticing the change, offered unsolicited advice about my diet to help me with my weight loss. One, during lunch, told me what “my problem” was and how to fix it. A few other friends asked me if I had lost weight. “No. the scale hasn’t moved,” I’d say planning to follow up with, “But my clothes fit differently.” But before I could get that out, they would tell me, not to get discouraged. “It will happen eventually.”

I found the exchanges off-putting but understandable. After all, a recent study from Arizona State University found many women have a fat-stigma even when their family and closest friends don’t not judge them as fat. The author of the study said, “Fat is understood culturally to represent profound personal failing.” Another study revealed 45 percent of mothers would choose to weigh 15 pounds less rather than add 15 points to their child’s IQ. And according to the National Organization for Women (NOW) 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat and 80 percent of U.S. women are dissatisfied with their appearance. Is it any wonder my friends assumed I was trying to lose weight and wanted to help me?

The media bombards us with messages that how we look matters more than what we do or who we are. Recently, Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson was quoted in Self magazine as saying, “”I’m prouder of my weight loss than my Oscar!” That’s just sad. Anyone can sit around and not eat. Not anyone can play Effie White (or run seven miles!).

Advertising executives, marketing professionals, reality tv producers – thye are all paid to sell product and they do that by telling women we are not thin or pretty enough. Intellectually we know it’s not true but still it’s hard to focus on our accomplishments when it seems like the rest of the world is focused on our appearance. So what do we do?

We suggest focusing on what your body can do instead of how it looks because  when you stop and consider all your body does for you, your dress size loses its power. Today is Love Your Body Day, a day organized by NOW Foundation “to send a positive message to women and girls that beauty comes in all colors, shapes and sizes.” In honor of Love Your Body Day, why don’t you thank your body instead of criticizing it?

Today I am thanking my body for:

-          tolerating an uncomfortable corporate cube for hours every day because the work I do in that cube feeds my family

-          driving 200 miles yesterday without any aches or kinks so that I could help my elderly parents

-          banging out a 700 word blog post for Love My Body Day without any signs of carpal tunnel

-          accommodating my awesome 3 ½ inch heeled pumps

-          running 3 miles last night – putting that much more distance between me and Big Foot.

And if any well-meaning friends have anything to say about my body, a simple “Thank you,” will suffice.

Now, what can I  thank your body for today?

This post is part of the 2011 Love Your Body Day Blog Carnival. Click here to read more posts on the topic.

Don’t forget: “Miss Representation” airs Thursday, October 20 9 p.m. ET on OWN. This film looks at the messages the media perpetuates that women and girls’ value comes from beauty and sexuality and examines how those messages impact the way in which women are viewed in society, by themselves and others.

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October 16, 2011
By Hello Ladies

So far this month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, this country has witnessed one of the worst killing sprees – prompted by a domestic dispute – and a legislative maneuver that used domestic violence victims as pawns in a budget negotiation in Topeka, Kansas.

In Seal Beach, Scott Dekraai walked into a hair salon and shot and killed his ex-wife and eight other people. Many reports say he had been violent towards his ex-wife in the past and was in a custody battle over the couple’s son. The Seal Beach community was shocked by the murders and residents wondered how something like that could happen in their neighborhood. Their grief and shock is understandable. Many people aren’t aware that domestic violence happens in every community; it’s just that most of the time, it occurs behind closed doors. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, every year approximately 1,200 women are murdered by an intimate partner – defined as a current or former spouse or boyfriend. That represents more than three women murdered a day.

One in four women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. While these incidents don’t typically involve mass murders and rarely make headlines, it is not uncommon for domestic violence to spill over to the workplace. According to a 2005 survey by the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, 21 percent of full-time employed adults were victims of domestic violence and 64 percent said their work performance was significantly impacted.

Last July, Robert Reza stormed into Emcore Corp. in Alburqurque and shot two people dead and wounded four others, including his ex-girlfriend. Police said Reza and his ex were involved in “ongoing domestic and custody dispute.” One month earlier, a gunman in Florida shot and killed his wife and three other women at the restaurant where his wife worked.

The news is grim and so we must remember the aim of Domestic Violence Awareness Month – to recognize the achievements made in reducing domestic violence and to recommit to the work still to be done. When Topeka officials announced they would stop prosecuting misdemeanor domestic violence cases, it reaffirmed how much education is needed around this national epidemic. In an official proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, President Obama outlined some of the progress the United States is making:

-a coordinated strategy across Federal agencies to prevent and stop violence against women.

- the Affordable Care Act which ensures women receive preventive health services without additional cost, including domestic violence screening and counseling, and also prevents insurance companies from classifying domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.

- reauthorizing the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to help identify and treat child abuse or neglect.

In his proclamation the President asked Americans “to speak out against domestic violence and support local efforts to assist victims of these crimes in finding the help and healing they need.”

Hello Ladies is recommitting to raising awareness of domestic violence and funds for victims of abuse. We are currently raising money for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). The NCADV needs funding to:

- help victims of violence gain and freedom from abuse

- support parents fighting to protect their children from an abusive partner or ex-partner

- and develop public policy efforts related to domestic violence.

Please click here to donate and help us reach our fundraising goal of $200 this month.

Progress Meter

Mark your Calendar: Miss Representation Airs October 20

October 14, 2011
By Hello Ladies

Mark your calendars and don’t miss the new documentary Miss Representation which will air on October 20 at 9 p.m. ET, on Oprah’s OWN channel. This documentary has been garnering great reviews and generating necessary discussion. The film looks at the messages the mass media perpetuate that women and girls’ value comes from beauty and sexuality and examines how those messages impact the way in which women are viewed in society, by themselves and others. Consider this: sixty-five percent of women and girls have eating disorders.

Miss Representation goes beyond the groundbreaking work in the Killing Us Softly films and discusses how media affects women as leaders. Consider this: Women makeup only 17 percent of Congress despite representing 51 percent of the population. Eighty-four percent of guests on Sunday morning political tv talk shows and  85 percent of radio producers are men. Eighty percent of the op-ed pages are dominated by men. The number of women in senior management positions globally has gone from 24 percent in 2004 to 20 percent in 2009.

According to the makers of the film, American teenagers spend 31 hours per week watching TV, 17 hours listening to music, 3 hours watching movies, four hours reading magazines and ten hours online equaling almost 11 hours of media consumption a day. That’s why it matters when:

Watch the trailer for the film here and visit the Miss Representation website for more information and additional screening times.

Sluts-R-Us, Part II

October 10, 2011
By Hello Ladies
Kandy Korn Witch

Kandy Korn Witch

Girl's Devil Halloween Costume

For six year olds!

Devil Halloween costume

Girl's Halloween costume

I went shopping for girl’s Halloween costumes this weekend and I think the options may have improved slightly since last year. The first year my daughter did not wear a pumpkin or princess costume, I took her to buy a new costume and was dismayed at what the stores were selling. I wrote about the costumes in Sluts-R-Us:

“Our choices were: any of the Disney princesses, Hannah Montana, slutty princess, slutty witch, slutty pirate wench, or slutty vampy-looking-non-descript-slutty-girl…I left the Halloween store one part disgusted by the oversexed images of the little girls on the costume packaging and one part furious that girls are given such poor choices at such an early age.”

This year, there seemed to be some better choices – Toy Story’s Jesse, M&Ms, Crayola crayons, and full length witch costumes without fishnet stockings. Of course, the Kandy Korn Witch is still on the market, and the devil costumes were absolutely appalling, but there seemed to be fewer “wench” costumes with lace up bodices than in year’s past and more child-like options. Could it be the sexualized costumes didn’t sell and the  manufacturers are starting to adapt? We certainly hope so.

Why does it matter if the shelves are stocked with sexualized costumes for six and seven year olds? Watch this video. “Girls are not passive recipients of these cultural messages. Girls are active agents.”

 

Is it just me, or have you noticed an improvement too in kid’s Halloween costumes?

 

 

 

 

Three Women Share 2011 Nobel Peace Prize

October 7, 2011
By Hello Ladies
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Leymah Gbowee

Leymah Gbowee

Tawakkul Karman

Tawakkul Karman

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded to three women in recognition of “their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” The Nobel Committee divided the award equally between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Leymah Gbowee has mobilized women to bring an end to the war in Liberia, and ensure women’s involvement in elections. Tawakkul Karman is an activist for women’s rights and democracy in Yemen.

In a press release the committee noted, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.

“It is the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s hope that the prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realise the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent.”

For more on the women and the prize, visit NobelPrize.org.

Photo of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: A. Cruz/ABr. Creative Commons License Attr. 2.5 Brazil

Photo of Leymah Gbowee: Michael Angelo for Wonderland

Photo of Tawakkul Karman: Ahmed Jadallah/Scanpix

Mad Men, Vagina Power and Photoshop

October 4, 2011
By Hello Ladies

Business at SofitelFed up with throw-back, Mad Men era ads? We dislike the Sofitel’s web campaign pictured here. It reminds us of one company we worked for not too long ago where the men never prepared for or cleaned up after a meeting. We’re not sure how they thought the coffee, lunch and agenda appeared or disappeared every time we had a client visit. And we certainly don’t need ads like this to reinforce their bad behavior. This may be the reality of some business environments, but we’re working to change that.

Disgusted by too thin models retouched too appear even thinner? We’re trying to raise healthy girls and Photoshop diets aren’t helping. Enraged by some of the offensive billboards erected this year? Slack-jawed during the Super Bowl commercials? And just plain old baffled by Summer’s Eve’s “Hail to the V” campaign?

Check out  #NotCool from the National Organization for Women’s New York chapter. #NotCool is a Tumblr designed to “fight discriminatory, sexist, racist, misogynistic, overtly-sexualized and offensive images in the media by showing them for what they are: not cool.” #NotCool encourages people to share pictures of not cool ads  on the microblogging site and call them out for what they are – not cool. What ads will you nominate?

Read more on questionable advertising practices at:

- Dockers Asks Men to Wear the Pants

- Super Bowl Backlash

- Sexist Campaign Ad in North Carolina

- Perhaps the Most Offensive Political Ad Ever

And one more time (maybe this time you’ll figure out just what the ad team was thinking) here’s Hail to the V:

 

Video: Five Ways to Observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October 3, 2011
By Hello Ladies

Check out this video we found on YouTube, inspired by our post: Five Ways to Observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Updated: Don’t Miss Events for Women

October 3, 2011
By Hello Ladies

Woman climbing corporate ladderThere are a number of interesting events scheduled for the next few months. Check them out, and if you know of others, tell us about them in the comments section.

2020 Women on Boards New York Launch, October 4, New York

Women on Boards has set a goal to raise the percentage of women on corporate boards in the U.S. to 20 percent or greater by the year 2020, certainly a worthy cause. Register here.

Entrepreneur and Innovation Event, October 12, Beverly, Mass

With this event, Moms in Business Unite and Mass Innovation Nights aim to help women entrepreneurs tackle  personal branding, marketing, public relations, go-to-market strategies and fundraising.  Register here.

Career Booster: An Evening of Mini-Mentoring, October 13, New York

3 Plus International, which runs a network of independent mentors, sponsors and peers is hosting this event featuring Gloria Feldt and nine other “women worth knowing.” Register here.

The Insider’s Guide to Early Stage Fundraising, October 26, Cambridge Mass

An estimated 90 percent of all venture funding goes to men. We can’t shift the gender balance in a month, but we can do everything possible to educate ourselves on terms and provisions. Register here.

Women Business Leaders Conference, October 13, Waltham, Mass

The Center for Women and Enterprise is hosting a three-hour interactive workshop covering alliance building, negotiating and social media. Register here.

Massachusetts Conference for Women,  December 8, Boston

The seventh annual Massachusetts Conference for Women will be a day of networking and professional development covering topics such as career planning, finance, health and wellness, relationships and social media. Register here.

 

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