Executive Women's Networking Blog : Women Executive News & Information : Epstein Becker Green Law Firm : Business Development, Women Lawyers, Female Business Leaders

I found an excellent article in the Negotiation newsletter that I wanted to share with you on the topic of "women negotiators." (See my March 13, 2009 post for information concerning the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women's Initiative networking event on this topic.) The article, What happens when women don't ask, focuses on the pitfalls that women encounter when they try to negotiate -- or fail to negotiate -- to advance their interests. The article also provides advice on how women should ask for what they need without creating a backlash. You can access a copy of the article HERE.

Negotiation is a monthly newsletter published by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and for more information, please visit: www.pon.harvard.edu. The Program on Negotiation home page features more information about the Negotiation newsletter and offers a complimentary article to download. 

Are you encountering any obstacles or pressures that dissuade you from negotiating to advance your interests? 

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Please join me at this great upcoming event:

"Why Women Don't Ask"

An Evening Networking Event sponsored by the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women's Initiative.

Featuring Guest Speaker Victoria Medvec, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Center for Executive Women, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Many successful and accomplished women find it difficult to negotiate for themselves. In an interactive program, Professor Medvec will explore the reasons why women don't ask and the consequences of not negotiating. She will offer tips and strategies for getting ahead - and for getting what you want.

Date: Thursday, April 30, 2009

Time: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Location: Estrela Penthouse, Le Parker, Meridien, 119 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019

Registration Fee: $25.00

To register, click here.

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The current issue of Women Legal Magazine features a "masterclass" article that I wrote called "Showing the Way: A how-to guide to launching a successful women's initiative." Although tailored to law firms, the information provided in the article can apply to women's initiatives at other types of firms and companies.

I note in the article that, traditionally, women haven't been given the same opportunities as men to become leaders and business generators. However, a women's initiative focused on business development can level the playing field by providing women with the training and skills needed to bring in new clients or customers and enhance the firm's reputation and revenue.

What are the factors of a successful women's initiative? In a nutshell, I believe that the initiative must start with:

• Commitment (women perceiving a need for the initiative)
• Feedback (finding out your women's needs and tailoring the initiative to them)
• External focuses (creating activities that showcase women's talents outside the firm) and internal focuses (providing resources to enhance women's business development skills)
• A business plan that includes a mission statement, an organizational structure of the initiative, and benchmarks for success
• Financial and other support from the firm's leadership  

Once created, the women's initiative needs to establish the following programs to achieve its business development goals:

• Mentoring
• Networking
• Marketing/Self-Promotion  

It might surprise you that men and women may fear that an initiative will provide women with unfair, special treatment. However, such fears are unfounded because when a woman becomes a better business generator, everyone at her firm will benefit.

The initiative also must toot its own horn. The article mentions that marketing and public relations departments need to spread the word about the initiative's activities and accomplishments and keep women informed of upcoming events. Such publicity also helps bolster the firm's reputation as a good place for women to work.

Finally, my article recommends regularly monitoring the results of the imitative and making adjustments to reach stated goals.

I invite all of you to read "Showing the Way: A how-to guide to launching a successful women's initiative" to learn more about the points mentioned above, and then share your thoughts. Has a women's initiative helped you in your career?

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We recently read an article that disputed the value of programs or organizations devoted to the networking of women, which made our blood boil. The author of the article, “Death by Committee: Is a Women’s Initiative Meeting Worth Your Time?” American Lawyer Magazine (June 3, 2008), asked, are women's initiatives adding value to the women they serve? Are they useful to the organization? Do they espouse skill building and networking that are necessary for advancement? The author also proposed that women's initiatives "may do more harm than good."

As the founders of the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women’s Initiative, we couldn't disagree more with that proposition. After all, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact of our programs on EpsteinBeckerGreen’s women attorneys. We wrote a Letter to the Editor of American Lawyer Magazine in defense of women’s initiatives. We noted that the author of the June 3rd article assumed that the only worthy purpose of a women's initiative is to focus on work/family and related issues. However, that simply isn't the case. Women's initiatives that focus on increasing a women’s access to potential clients through internal and external networking and strengthening leadership skills through mentoring are also extremely valuable to women.

A copy of our complete Letter to the Editor is set forth here. We want to know what you think of women's initiatives. Have they helped you in your career?

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The "winds of change” are indeed blowing in our Nation and throughout the world economy, as we look forward to an election year and, hopefully, new and good things to come here in the U.S. At least one thing is certain: Women have been propelled to the forefront of the “change” dialogue. Whichever side of the political dialogue you are on—and even if you are not on any side—it is fair to say that, with the campaign of Hillary and the advent of Sarah, women are front-page news.

The purpose of this blog is to help business and professional women, like you, share information and ideas on many topics that matter, such as balancing work and family, the dos and don'ts of networking, overcoming gender gaps and sexism in the workplace, rainmaking and client development, and improving leadership qualities and skills. We also hope that, through your feedback, we will learn from each other’s experiences, make new contacts and develop rewarding professional relationships both online and off—that is, in real life. We couldn't think of a more exciting time to start our conversation with you all (more than 36 million women participate in the blogosphere each week! (Blogging’s Glass Ceiling, www.nytimes.com, July 27, 2008)).

Our mission to help women develop professionally isn't new. Six years ago, we established the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women's Initiative, which provides informal opportunities for the women at our Firm to network with other women executives, along with the chance to learn or improve a skill. Our Women's Initiative has held many successful networking programs, including golf clinics, cooking classes, media skills workshops, wine tastings and self defense classes around the country, and there are two new programs scheduled next month.

We hope that you enjoy our blog and feel inspired by it. We look forward to getting to know you as you learn more about us.

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