Empowering Women Network

March 4th - Corporate Leaders Reception

2010-02-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

Lifting Leaders in the 21st Century
2010 Corporate Event Series
Event Sponsor:

SMART, Business Advisory and Consulting, LLC

Featuring
Mary Rodino

Chief Marketing Officer

CIMCO Communications

Connect with other successful executive women. Enjoy a buffet of delicious and healthy faire. Enrich your mind from the insights and expertise of Mary Rodino.

Our mission is to create a forum where successful corporate women can forge new relationships, enhance their careers, and share professional knoweldge and practices to inspire wisdom and success.

Date: Thursday, March 4th

Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Place: East Bank Club, Chicago IL

Tickets: $68 EWN Member

$78 Non Member
$525 per table of 8

Mary Rodino brings a new insight to Leadership in the 21st Century. She believies in the importance of inspiring young leaders to succeed. She has an empowering message to share with all professional women!

Mary Rodino joined CIMCO Communications in June of 2007. As the Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Rodino is responsible for the development and execution of the company's overall marketing and sales strategies including: sales management and operations, marketing, advertising and brand management.

Prior to joining CIMCO, Ms. Rodino held the position of Chief Sales Officer with Cancer Treatment Centers of America. In this role, she helped establish the company's recruiting and sales strategies, developed and managed the sales team and successfully enabled the company to exceed profitability goals. Before this position, Ms. Rodino served as Senior Vice President of Sales at InterCall where she managed a team of 285 employees.

Ms. Rodino brings more than twenty-five years experience in the healthcare and technology industries and is a recipient of numerous corporate awards during her career. She also held several key positions in sales and operations at AT&T during her fifteen year tenure with the company.

Ms. Rodino is on the Board of Directors for the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and a member of the Advisory Board for the Entrepreneur Institute. She is also a member of the Executive Club of Chicago, the CMO Club and the Business Marketing Association (BMA). Ms. Rodino previously served on the Amica Mia Advisory Board, the Board of Governors for the Women?s Opportunity Fund, and also served on the Board for the LaSalle St. Seniors for over five years, with two years as Chairman.

Mary Rodino holds an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois-Medical Center

Breakfast & Learn Next Week

2010-02-09T06:04:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone:

Health and Wellness....a topic we love to hear about as women however tend to dismiss when life's day to day activities, challenges and deadlines keep us focused on something other than our own Health....well next week I hope you join us at an EWN Breakfast & Learn Event featuring Cathy Leman (Founder, Nutrifit, Inc.) for a lively discussion on the "Food and Mood Connection".

Register at www.empoweringwomen.net. See you there Thursday, February 18th 7:30-9:30am Mon Ami Gabi, Oak Brook, IL.

Georgia Dudley, Founder EWN, Inc.

See you on Thursday, February 4th at Petterino's Chicago!

2010-02-02T00:07:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

This week (Thursday, February 4th) EWN will be hosting an EWN Networking Luncheon Event sponsored by William Blair and Company, Chicago IL. We will be at Petterino's in Chicago and we are going to have fun, connect and build new relationships!

www.empoweringwomen.net

See you there!

Georgia Dudley, EWN Founder

Staying Connected - Making A Difference

2010-01-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

Thank you to all who attended EWN's Kickoff event last Thursday, January 21st at IBM Corporation in Oak Brook Terrace, IL. It was simply amazing!!! We had the pleasure of hearing Vickie Austin (Founder of CHOICES Worldwide, Inc.) talk on the topic of Effective Self Promotion in the 21st Century as we networked and met new contacts and enjoyed the company of those we've known awhile!

Vickie shared stories, tips and ideas and stressed the importance of staying connected/relevant and being relentless in our strategy for self promotion. One of the things she talked about was the importance of having your own "posse". Or what I would call your own "strategic advisory board". It seems women tend to work alone more often? Or feel they can get it done better, their way?

We may have many contacts but do we strategically think through how to take advantage of those all important relationships! Do we have a key group of individuals that we consider our posse? Those people we could call with a question, strategic idea or simply to talk?

As you prepare for 2010....I hope one of your goals is build your own strong advisory board!

All the best, See you next week at EWN's February 4th Luncheon Event! www.empoweringwomen.net for more info and to register, Georgia Dudley, EWN Founder!

EWN Kick's Off the New Year - January 21st

2010-01-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

A new year is upon us and there is so much activity here at EWN Central in Chicago, Illinois I can barely contain myself! This week our Level II Professional Development for Business Women starts up with a new 6 month program and next week we Kick Off the year with an all member event titled:

Effective Self Promotion in the 21st Century....our speaker for the evening is Vickie Austin, Founder CHOICES Worldwide, Inc. The sponsor is IBM Corporation and we expect a wonderful group of professional women in attendance.

If connecting is one of your goals for 2010 and I can't imagine why it wouldn't be we hope you take a moment to "check us out"....Women ROCK and the Women of Empowering Women Network are simply amazing!

Georgia Dudley, Founder Empowering Women Network!

Where are the Women?

2010-01-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

Recently in doing research on Women in Business in preparation for an Empowering Women Network (Professional Development Session), I was drawn again to www.catalyst.org.. Catalyst is a not for profit research organization on women in business, diversity and inclusion. Over the years I have "quoted" Catalyst and the statistics on women in the work place they have publshed. One of those statistics truly intrigues me: Simply stated, research shows that corporations who have women and diversity on their boards make more money! The article gives some of the reasons why:

Where are the Women: U.S. Boardrooms May be Missing the BoatIlene H. Lang
President and CEO, Catalyst

The results of the 2009 Catalyst Census of women in leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies are in - and they aren't pretty.
(In 2009, a year when America endured the worst recession in sixty years, women held just 15.2 percent of board seats. Again. The level has been essentially flat since 2003. The percentage of women in executive office positions also remained low this year, at 13.5 percent, and women held only 6.3 percent of top-earner positions. What's stunning is that almost 30 percent of companies had no women executive officers at all. This means the pool of women who would be considered obvious candidates for corporate board seats is small and not increasing.
Moreover, in our recent study of women and men MBA graduates during this recession, we found that women in senior leadership positions are losing their jobs at three times the rate of men, potentially perpetuating a gender gap in the future. Younger women coming enthusiastically into the workplace are likely to be less engaged when they see the number of women in top leadership decreasing.

One way to break this cycle and close the gender gap is to start at the top. In short, the glass ceiling can be broken from the top down by appointing more women to boards of directors.
Our research shows a predictive link between women board directors and corporate officers: companies with more women on their boards, on average, will have more women corporate officers five years later. The effect is even more pronounced when you look at women in line positions, rather than the staff roles women have traditionally held .
Other countries are already doing this. In Norway, it's legally mandated that women hold 40 percent of the seats on the boards of public companies. Spain has a similar quota that is being phased in over several years. Canada and Italy are considering similar legislation. And earlier this month, French lawmakers introduced a bill that would require that women hold 50 percent of board seats. Such a law, the majority party leader explained, would provide "a much-needed electro-shock" to male-dominated French businesses.
So what's holding us up? We're not Norway or France, of course, but corporate America could use a jolt too. "Give it time." has run its course. The theory that the percentage of women in leadership roles would eventually rise to reflect women's clout in the marketplace and large numbers in the work force hasn't panned out.
One bright spot in our analysis this year is that the number of companies with three or more women on their boards continued on a steady uptick. Since 2003, the number of companies with three or more women on their boards has risen 42.6%. Catalyst research shows that companies with more women in leadership, on average, outperform those with fewer women, and those with three or more women board directors do even better. It may be that when these companies add more women directors to their board, they also experience the fresh perspectives, creativity, and independent thought that diversity can bring to corporate governance.
With the growing consensus that companies need to increase the number of women on their boards and in top leadership, U.S. companies need to act now or risk losing ground to global competitors that are adding a critical mass of women to their boards right now. Recognition isn't enough.
Clearly, you can't be a global leader without women in your leadership. Companies based in the U.S. shouldn't need the jolt of legal mandates to move forward and add women to their top ranks).

I hope you have found the article as important and interesting as I do!

Georgia Dudley, Founder Empowering Women Network, Inc.

The rich world's quiet revolution: women are gradually taking over the workplace

2010-01-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone - Happy New Year!

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15174489

A special friend sent me this link yesterday to an amazing article about women in the workplace. A paragraph from the article:

"Women’s economic empowerment is arguably the biggest social change of our times. Just a generation ago, women were largely confined to repetitive, menial jobs. They were routinely subjected to casual sexism and were expected to abandon their careers when they married and had children. Today they are running some of the organisations that once treated them as second-class citizens. Millions of women have been given more control over their own lives. And millions of brains have been put to more productive use. Societies that try to resist this trend—most notably the Arab countries, but also Japan and some southern European countries—will pay a heavy price in the form of wasted talent and frustrated citizens."

All the best,

Georgia Dudley, Founder Empowering Women Network

Happy New Year ~ Let's Make it a Great One - Building Bridges

2009-12-30T05:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

Happy New Year from all of us a Empowering Women Network (EWN).

We are looking forward to another exciting year, one full of providing value to our members and all professional women throughout the Chicagoland area.

Here at EWN we believe in:

...building opportunities for women to excel! 2010 promises to be another amazing year of "building" new opportunities for professional women to excel in all areas of their lives.

Thank you to all our members and those who support our organization!

Georgia Dudley
Founder, Empowering Women Network, Inc.

Building Bridges - Connections Expand the Power of your Network!

2009-12-23T04:27:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

So how does someone begin expanding and developing that all important POWER NETWORK (PN)? Building bridges is an image we can see! So when we think about expanding, developing, etc. our PN, building bridges to new connections and opportunities is the answer.

To expand the POWER of your network which will then EMPOWER YOU you will have to have a plan. So what better time than Dec/January to develop a plan.

One of my top strategies for delveoping a PN (power network) is determining what you can do for someone else. During times when people are stressed with juggling work loads, less resources and still having to increase business; maybe just the right time to lend a hand and create a new bridge...it may seem a bit much considering your own schedule and deadlines, however, building bridges for others creates opportunity for you.

Networking is all about creating more long-term connections and powerful relationships taking a moment to help someone will help you!

Georgia Dudley, Founder Empowering Women Network

Social Media - How it all Relates to Networking

2009-12-22T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

Social Media by its nature is "social"? Hmmmm? Perhaps we should call it "the business of being social no matter the medium" which is AWESOME in my book - the fact is we are more connected than ever, we share more freely "two way" vs "one way", we have technology that connects us worldwide, and we have people who now prefer to connect using different mediums.

There is no more "one - YOU" and the "multiple you" can be shared like never before. Increasingly we have multiple titles, business ventures, hobbies, social causes, professional association affiliations.

The bottom line - it's actually good for business. Since the begining of time it's been said that "business" is about the relationship. With social media your clients and potential clients can learn more about YOU. If that freaks you out - sharing that is - be thoughtful in what you post on facebook, linked in, blogs etc.

But letting your "hair down" might be the ticket to a brand new profitable connection. So make a plan....hmmm that's it my next post!

Social Media plan for 2010!!!! See you soon. Georgia Dudley, Founder Empowering Women Network, Inc.

EWN Kick Off Event January 21, 2010

2009-12-22T04:47:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

Networking, Networking, Networking....if I hear that word again I'm going to.....

Well from now until the end of the year - let the word go and enjoy the Holiday Season with family and friends.

But when the New Year rings in and you start "rethinking" your networking strategy for 2010 I hope EWN's Kick Off Event is on your list of "places to go".

When: January 21, 2010
Where: IBM Corporation
Time: 5:30-7:30pm

Speaker: Vickie Austin, Founder CHOICES Worldwide (www.choicesworldwide)
Topic: "Marketing Your Self in the 21st Century"

Register: www.empoweringwomen.net

See you there.
All the best,

Georgia Dudley, Founder EWN Inc.