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Linking BusinessWomen Worldwide GLOBEWOMEN ENEWS ISSUE NO. LVI, January 15, 2007
THIS ISSUE’S HIGHLIGHTS:
I. SUMMIT UPDATE: MEET PARTICIPATING LEADERS II. MICROSOFT SCHOLARSHIP III. U.N. STUDY FINDS ARAB COUNTRIES STILL NEED TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN IV. WAGE BIAS SUIT AT GOODYEAR TIRE V. DIVERSITY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS: NEW REPORT
I. SUMMIT UPDATE: MEET PARTICIPATING LEADERS The President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, leads a stellar group of women leaders from business and government who are planning to be part of the 2007 Global Summit of Women to be held in Berlin, Germany from June 14-16th. The first woman president of Latvia, Dr. Vike-Freiberga is credited with enabling her country’s inclusion in NATO and in the European Union. Nominated by three Baltic States for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations, President Vike-Freiberga was initially appointed by Kofi Annan to be part of the commission looking into implementing reforms within this international organization.
The Vice President of El Salvador, Ana Vilma de Escobar, will be attending her second Summit and will be presenting in the session on “Corporate Social Responsibility.” An economist by profession, Vice President de Escobar once headed up her country’s export commission before she became its first female vice president.
On the corporate side, the head of IBM France, Francoise Gri, will be part of the Summit’s CEO Forum. Named one of Fortune ‘Top 50 Powerful Women’, Ms. Gri is an IBM veteran. She will be joined at the Summit’s CEO Forum by the Chairwoman of Microsoft Russia and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), who has grown her company’s presence in the region; and by Cornelia Groehl from Germany, who serves as President-Europe of a Johnson & Johnson division. Several women executives are also slated to participate in the Summit program, some of whom are featured in the Summit’s website, www.globewomen.com.
Germany’s welcome to Summit delegates takes place at the German Historical Museum at a dinner sponsored by the Ministry of Family, Senior Citizens, Women And Youth, The Museum is known for its entrance designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, who also designed the Louvre’s entrance in Paris. Minister von der Leyen will be joined by her fellow ministers at the Welcoming Dinner to be held on Thursday evening, June 14th.
II. MICROSOFT SCHOLARSHIP Microsoft will sponsor one woman who has chosen technology as a career path to attend the 2007 Global Summit of Women in Berlin. Please note that the winner must reside in one of the following countries: Bulgaria, Poland, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Greece, Italy, Austria, and Spain. Microsoft’s sponsorship signifies its support for women in technology and its understanding of the need to help women get together to leverage each other’s strengths. This effort is one of many that the company undertakes to engage women in business and technology. More details on the process to enter will be provided in the next month’s Globewomen enewsletter and on the Summit’s website, www.globewomen.com,
III. U.N. STUDY FINDS ARAB COUNTRIES STILL NEED TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN A recent study conducted by the U.N. Development Program showed that while some advances have been made for women in Arab countries, they have not significantly improved conditions for them. Released in Yemen, the report urges Arab leaders to make genuine changes. “Women in the Arab world are moving closer to legal equality, but this is not enough,” states Amat al-Alim Alsoswa, director of UNDP’s Arab Bureau and Yemen’s first Minister for Human Rights in 2003.
Alsoswa notes that Morocco, Bahrain and Iraq have made progress in women’s participation in politics, but “it is still below what it is outside the Arab world.” She did note that in Morocco and Tunisia, Islamic law is being reinterpreted to enhance women’s rights related to inheritance, divorce, custody and other issues. In Jordan, progressive labor laws affecting women have been passed; however, the report also states that women remain subjugated and underemployed because of entrenched traditions. The report recommends the use of affirmative action or quotas, at least temporarily, to put women in decision-making positions. (Source: Washington Post, 12/8/06).
IV. WAGE BIAS SUIT AT GOODYEAR TIRE Almost 60 years old and near retirement from Goodyear Tire, Lilly Ledbetter discovered that her employer had for years been paying her substantially less than her male counterparts for the same work. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering her case and in so doing, came up with a key question: How long does an employee have to complain if she is getting paid less for the same work because of her gender? The Supreme Court’s decision, expected at the end of 2007, will apply to millions of American employees and employers in the public and private sectors, and could help to address the persistent wage gap. Currently, women in the U.S. earn 77 cents to every dollar that a man makes. (Source: Women’s eNews, 12/1/06).
V. DIVERSITY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS: NEW REPORT A study of major American corporations by Dr. Cedric Herring of the University of Illinois at Chicago found a linear relationship between diversity and business success. In other words, companies that have a diverse workforce have more customers, a larger share of their markets and greater profitability. Those that have a more homogeneous group of employees tended to have “the lowest profits and the lowest market share and the lowest number of customers,” according to Herring (Source: Washington Post, 1/15/07)
The 2007 Colloquium on Global Diversity organized by the Global Summit of Women is scheduled for March 8-9, 2007 in Washington, D.C. at the Hilton Embassy Row Hotel. Now in its 6th year, the Colloquium focuses on best corporate practices in Creating a Level Playing Field for Women. This forum provides a peer-to-peer forum among senior diversity and human resource executives for discussion and exchanges that is truly global in its context and concentrates specifically on winning gender equity strategies. For information on presenters, registration and hotel information, please log on to www.globewomen.com and click to “Global Diversity.”
JOIN THE PREMIER GATHERING OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND ENTERPRISES OF ALL SIZES AT THE 2007 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN, JUNE 14-16TH IN BERLIN, GERMANY. TO REGISTER, LOG ON TO WWW.GLOBEWOMEN.COM.
ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FOR FREE ON WWW.GLOBEWOMEN.COM, AND CLICK TO ‘WEXPO’ ONLINE. |
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