Fall 2009 Member e-Newsletter

Content

WBC News From the Board

2009 Diversity Roundtable

Motivational Topic: Fall Tips and Tricks

WBC September Event - "Annual Women's Bond Club President's Cocktail Party"

WBC 2010 Call for Award Nominations!

WBC News From the Board

By Jane Prokop

Meet the New Board!
The composition of our Board of Directors changes every two years. This fall, approximately half of the board members turned over. New to the board are: Mary Caracappa (Morgan Stanley), Andrea Ianniello (IBM), Siobhan Dunn (formerly DKB/Commerzbank), Karen Goldman (Barclays Capital , Mayra Sacco (Bank of New York Mellon), and Jeannette Martin (Deloitte).

The Women's Bond Club has so far weathered the turbulence in the industry. The majority of our Corporate Member Firms (CMFs) have renewed their memberships, and we continue to add new CMFs this year, such as NASDAQ. Because the Club devotes virtually all of its funds to charitable giving, we are able to continue our charitable giving commitments this year with little or no change.

The Women's Bond Club: Lead. Learn. Return.
Last spring the Club began a re-branding initiative, intended to create unified messaging and raise the Club's visibility in the financial community. We have a new logo and tagline, as well as a new mission statement:
The Women's Bond Club is more than a network; it is a vital community of experienced women across the financial services industry. We are united by a powerful mission: to advance women's leadership, grow our intellectual capital, and return worth to our companies, communities and upcoming generations.

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2009 Diversity Roundtable
Hosted by: The New York Stock Exchange - October 14, 2009

By Jane Prokop

On Wednesday, October 14, approximately 90 senior women and men from across the financial services industry met at the New York Stock Exchange for an afternoon of discussions on the topic of how to increase diversity in the industry.

The roundtable featured Catalyst President and CEO Ilene H. Lang as keynote speaker and moderator, as well as a distinguished panel consisting of Paula Dominick (Managing Director, Global Banking and Global Markets, Compliance & Operational Risk, Bank of America Merrill Lynch), Aynesh Johnson (Vice President, Global Head of Global Leadership & Diversity, Goldman Sachs & Co.), Anahaita Kotval (Managing Director & General Counsel, RBS Global Banking and Markets Americas), Larry Leibowitz (Group Executive Vice President, Head of US Markets & Global Technology, NYSE Euronext), and Kerrie Peraino (Chief Diversity Officer, American Express Company). Duncan Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Euronext, delivered humorous and incisive opening remarks.

Ilene Lang launched the discussion by presenting the results of recent research conducted by Catalyst. [For a summary of this research, click here] Then the panelists introduced themselves and each began by describing the accomplishments they were most proud of with respect to promoting diversity within their own organizations. It became clear that even if your company is unable to undertake large projects, there are many small operational changes that can make a big difference in the level of diversity at the firm over time. A few examples cited by the panelists were:

• Formalizing the recruiting process for all positions, to ensure that each search is opened up to a wide range of candidates rather than being dominated by the "hire people whom you know" approach that has been traditional within the financial services industry.
• Finding ways to provide more exposure for up-and-coming women to the company's top management, so that their skills and contribution to the firm are visible to decisionmakers who are planning for succession and major new initiatives.
• Instituting a formal, 360-degree feedback & evaluation system, which ensures that both men and women feel comfortable providing direct, critical feedback. Since men tend to be uncomfortable with critiquing female employees, the women often fail to get feedback that would help them move ahead within the firm.

After a general Q&A session, the participants broke out into group sessions led by the panelists. Each of the breakout sessions focused on a particular issue related to diversity.

• Aynesh Johnson's group looked at how to hold the Board and Executive Management Team accountable in advancing women to leadership roles
• Kerrie Peraino's session focused on what the relevant targets should be for women's participation in Board and C-suite roles
• Anahaita Kotval's session addressed how the competitive edge changes with women in executive management
• Larry Leibowitz's group looked at what critical role men play in gender initiatives
• Paula Dominick's session zeroed in on how gender diversity looks at the global level, and how it is measured. After the breakout sessions, the entire group reconvened to discuss specific action steps that were advocated in their sessions. For more in-depth coverage of the conclusions, please see our next newsletter!

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Motivational Topic: Fall Tips and Tricks

Reprinted from the Motivational Manager, 800-878-5331, www.managementresources.com

Project the right attitude to sustain your staff's morale
Keeping morale up during a recession calls for more than pep talks and doughnuts. You've got to go deeper to motivate and engage your employees. Focus on these areas:

• Contribution. Remind employees that their work helps people. Show how your products and services make a difference to customers, your community, and your industry. Post testimonials, or invite customers to visit and share their comments.
• Attention. Employees want to feel that you're paying attention to their ideas, and their needs. Find out what's bothering them and address it as honestly as you can. Ask for their help and suggestions for increasing revenue and cutting costs, and don't dismiss any ideas out of hand.
• Optimism. Without ignoring the challenges you face, point to the bright side. Show them the opportunities you're pursuing. Let them know everything you're doing to survive and grow. Don't sugarcoat the situation, but don't let people feel they're doomed no matter what they do.
• Decisiveness. Tough times call for hard choices. Don't waffle. If you need to implement a major cost-cutting move, like a layoff, do it all at once. Dragging it out will leave employees wondering about what's going to happen next.

-Adapted from the Financial Post Web site

Root out conflict before it arises Conflict in the workplace has many possible causes. You can prevent it from crushing productivity and collaboration by addressing these potential trouble spots:

• Conflicting perspectives. Diversity on a team is good, but it sometimes means people have viewpoints and priorities that clash. Don't ignore points of difference, but emphasize that you're all working toward the same goal and lead discussions with that objective in mind.
• Scarce resources. Without enough time, money, equipment, or other needed resources, arguments and controversy are certain to erupt. First, be sure you have everything your team needs to do its job. Explain any restrictions you have to deal with. Make sure everyone understands the need to share, cooperate, and seek innovative solutions to shortages that may crop up.
• Team behavior. Teams and departments have rules, even if they're unwritten and informal. Make sure everyone understands them: Brief new employees, for example, on how things are done, or ask a peer of the employee to do it.

-Adapted from the SearchWarp Web site

Keep your mind focused when anxiety strikes
Everyone's nervous these days. The economy, climate change, wars overseas-it's hard to stay focused with so much going on. Don't let your worries interfere with your work, though. If you, or someone on your team, can't concentrate because of anxiety, try this step-by-step solution:

• Identify the threat. Start by figuring out what drives you: security, control, money, etc. Then determine what's being threatened. Are you afraid of losing authority? Your job? Your corner office? Once you know what you're afraid of, you can start to take appropriate action-or you may realize that it's not so important.
• Listen to your thought patterns. What do you say to yourself as you go through your day? You may be unconsciously undercutting your efforts: "This will take forever . . . This is never going to work." Bring these fears to the forefront so you can deal with them objectively, and take away their power to paralyze you.
• Confront your fears. Once you've narrowed down the source of your anxiety, you can examine it logically. What are you really afraid of? How likely is it to happen? How important is it? What can you do to prevent it? Answering these questions will help you manage the stress proactively instead of letting it control you.

-Adapted from NineMSN Web site

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Annual Women's Bond Club President's Cocktail Party
Hosted by J.P. Morgan, Accenture and Thomson Reuters - September 29, 2009

By Daisy Vasquez

The President's Cocktail Reception for 2009 was held on September 29th, and was hosted by J.P. Morgan, Accenture and Thomson Reuters on behalf of the Women's Bond Club. If you attended this event you'd know immediately you have come to the right place! This engaging yet light-hearted event was a great way to jumpstart the fall season. We heard from and mingled with guest speakers and successful women in the finance industry in all capacities and roles.

Many of us feel apprehensive entering rooms where we don't know anyone. For exactly this reason, the cocktail party is designed to provide an environment where long-time members and new members alike are encouraged to meet new people.

At this event networking is the primary theme. Everyone was encouraged to participate in the organization's committees. The underlying buzz was to get involved in order to grow personally and professionally while helping others grow as well.

It was clear that the past and present WBC presidents, as well as long-term members, are committed to supporting other women in business. Almost all have worked in corporate cultures, sometimes as the only female professionals in their departments and often also juggling the demands of home and family.

Participants were divided into several groups, defined by function rather than by company. For example, risk management professionals congregated in one area to get to know each other for a few minutes and then had to move on to the next group. The message was that networking is not always about moving up the corporate ladder, but also about obtaining information and making contacts that could help you in your day-to-day life (whether professional or personal). Equally important is your ability to pass it on; helping others as they, too, strive to get ahead or accomplish a goal.

The evening was a delightful start to the new WBC year - it reminded us once again how warm and lasting are the bonds that we can form with each other by working together as part of the Women's Bond Club.

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WBC Call for 2010 Award Nominations!

Dear Members,

The Women's Bond Club is an influential community of women leaders and aspiring leaders dedicated to the personal and professional development of women in the financial markets. In support of this mission, we look forward to our annual Merit Award Dinner this coming Spring 2010, at which we will honor women leaders both within our industry and more broadly. As members of the WBCNY, your opinions and referrals have continuously shaped this organization and we are inviting you to submit nominees for the two awards that will be presented at the dinner.

All submissions are due by November 30, 2009. Nominees may be members or non-members of the WBCNY.

The two awards are:
The Merit Award, which is given to a woman in finance who is widely recognized for her contributions in the industry. We are looking for nominees who have not only been successful in their careers in the financial services industry but have also distinguished themselves by breaking through the glass ceiling and providing leadership within their organizations. Ideally nominees should have a significant voice and influence within their Firm's senior management structures. Previous award winners include Nicole Arnaboldi, Karen Peetz, Diane Schueneman, Erin Callan, and Sharon Rowlands.

The Isabel Benham Award is given to a woman who has dedicated herself to helping other women. Nominees for this award need not necessarily be employed in the financial services industry but should have made a unique and sustained contribution to the advancement of women. Previous award winners include Mary Ellen Iskenderian, Nell Merlino, Dr. Isobel Coleman, Rear Admiral Marsha J. Evans, and Nancy Lublin.

More information on past award winners and their backgrounds can be found on the WBC site at www.wbcny.org

It is time, once again, to show your support for the women in our industry and the WBCNY. Please submit a written recommendation in a word document or via e-mail, noting the award category, to the Nominations Committee (send to wbc_nomination@bankofamerica.com ).

There is a formal evaluation and selection process by the executive board. Nominations should include (at a minimum) below information:
Name
Title/Role
Professional Background
Any Other Relevant Activities
Reasons for Nomination


We look forward to honoring these accomplished women next year along with our Rising Stars. The nomination process for the Rising Stars will be sent to you separately in the coming months.

Thank you. Susan Green / WBC Nomination Committee Chair
Myra Woods & Heidi Solomon / WBC Merit Award Dinner Co-chairs

Please respond to wbc_nomination@bankofamerica.com

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