Snoozing for a cause

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Yesterday while visiting the Pearl in San Antonio, I stepped into a cute little boutique that carried items from around the world. Many of the items were from recycled materials, such as a birdhouse made from used Indian Sarees. I was in need of a new sleep mask and found a cute one with the face of a sloth on the front. Little did I realize until the next morning that the sleep mask was made by a company called Saidpure Enterprises located in Northern Bangladesh. Saidpure Enterprises has been empowering women through income opportunities for over 40 years. Be sure to check them out and their products. Saidpure Enterprises

Women in Western Paintings→

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I ran across a post on FaceBook about a woman who was fascinated by western art but realized that most if not all of the paintings are of white men. So she decided to do something different and began painting women in the various scenes associated with western art. I encourage you to take a look at some of the images that Felicia House has painted. 

http://felicehouse.com/gallery/re_western/

 

Support Women While Holiday Shopping

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Now that we've survived Thanksgiving,  many are in a mad dash to make purchases for friends and family for the up coming holidays. If you're like me and wince at the idea of dealing with overcrowded malls and contending with parking hassles, why not shop online? 

I was recently made aware of a website called Choose Women that aligns with some of the top brands that we as women support. Choose Women donates a percentage of their sales to one of numerous women's organizations such as providing micro finances to a woman owned business. Some of the brands that are participating include: Sephora, LL Bean, The Limited, Bobbie Brown, Jet, and many more.

So before you hit the Amazon's of the world, I encourage you to check out https://choosewomen.org/ and help a woman owned business this holiday season.

Happy Holidays from Tiffany and MaryAnne!

Women in the Board Room

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A number of years ago I worked for a very large International IT company called Infosys. It was an Indian owned organization with approximately 167K employees globally. Obviously a very large corporation. Since I was a US citizen working mostly in the US at the time, our firm joined an organization called Catalyst (http://www.catalyst.org/). Catalyst is a non-profit that is dedicated to getting more women in the Board Room and into positions of senior leadership within large corporations. Their research has shown that for companies with female board members they out perform companies with male-only boards by 35% year-on-year. Here's another great article from the New York Times about women serving on boards and the relationship with increased executive pay. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/business/where-more-women-are-on-boards-executive-pay-is-higher.html?ref=business.

Saudi Women To Vote→

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Just think it's December 12, 2015 and women in Saudi Arabia are finally allowed to legally vote. The Saudi government even lowered the voting age to 18. Let's hope the women of Saudi Arabia take to the polls and start making a difference in their country. Think of the impact they could have. In today's press and certainly in the various social media streams you read about the Saudi's their funding of terrorist groups, their influence in 911, and more. If more women serve in leadership roles across their country whether in local or federal levels, we might just have improved relations with that country. And more importantly, women in that country might actually have more rights as women! 

Getting Old Isn't What It Used To Be→

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It's Monday morning the week of Thanksgiving and the news headlines are dominated with ISIS, the Syrian refugee crisis, other conflicts from around the globe and what folks will be eating for Thanksgiving. Needless to say I was both surprised and completely intrigued to read in the Washington Post a story on two women who are still working at the age of 102. Yes, you read that correctly. Mabel Sawhill is a cater and what's even more impressive is that she started her business at age 70. Our other fascinating woman is Marilee Shapiro Asher, an artist. When asked what their secrets were for living such a long life, Marilee noted she was intentionally selfish despite being twice married and having two children. Mabel on the other hand decided to never marry. As our life expectancies continue to expand, and whether a woman decides to marry or not, the likelihood of outliving a spouse is pretty high. Women need think about what they will do in the years following retirement. Just think, you retire in your 60's and you still might live an additional 40 years. What would you like to do in your second chapter of life? 

The Woman in Charge of the Nuclear Weapons Center

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Being that it's Veteran's Day I thought it would be interesting to spotlight a senior female in the US Department of Defense. Low and behold I came upon Major General Sandra E. Finan. She's the Commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And guess what, she began her career as a music teacher. To read more about this incredible woman on this Veteran's Day listen to her tell her story in her own words.


Panama Canal Expansion And The Woman In Charge

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I've been fascinated by the Panama Canal since I read David McCullough's book "Path Between the Seas" about the building of the great canal connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, and eliminating the time and danger of circumnavigating the tip of South America. So it's no surprise that when I was watching a news program called Tech Know, I caught a story on the current efforts of expanding the Canal. I was surprised to learn that the person in charge of this herculean effort is a top engineer by the name of Llya Marotta. And I love the fact that this woman purposely wears a pink hardhat and matching safety vest out on the job site. She must be one sharp lady as Latin America can be a tough place for a female boss. To learn more about this fascinating woman, and the expansion of the Panama Canal, visit the following story:

 

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/techknow/articles/2015/9/23/engineering-panama-canal-expansion.html

And for those curious, you can also visit the official website of the Panama Canal Expansion: http://micanaldepanama.com/expansion/