Tuesday's Treasure - Event Alert "How Women-Owned Small Businesses Will Save The Economy"

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Tuesday's Treasure post to let you know about a "treasure" of another kind and a very special event she will be speaking at for those of you in the NY Metro Area.

Her name is Kathy McShane and we featured her in a Wednesday's Women of Courage post last year. This Wednesday, March 10, at 9:30am at Waveny House in New Canaan, CT, the American Association of University Women will host Kathy where she will discuss women entrepreneurs and how their growing ranks will change our economy and help lead us out of the financial crisis that continues to put women, their children, and generations to come, at risk.

This blog has been a strong advocate for Women's Empowerment and Women Entrepreneurship. In a blog last year we highlighted the events surrounding the Women's Forum in Deauville, France which has become the "Davos for Women". We have featured pioneering women entrepreneurs such as Shauna Mei, founder of AHA!Life and women, like Kathy McShane, and VC Cindy Padnos of Illuminate Ventures that target women-led ventures, and help them realize their dreams.

Please continue to support the efforts of Women Entrepreneurs and seek them out when next you are looking for goods or services. Your local chapter of 85 broads or Ladies Who Launch are a good starting point.

Thursday's Truth - Networking Authentically

In yesterday's Wednesday's Women of Courage post, I highlighted the research that Cindy Padnos of Illuminate Ventures has made available as yet another data point proving that despite all the hype, women still face an uphill battle to reach parity with men in multiple venues.

In my opinion, the battle is not in the boardrooms or hallways of Corporate America. The truth is - this battle is in the minds of millions of brilliant women, conflicted through nature or nurture over their purpose in life.

Let's be honest, despite all the Political Correctness we display in public regarding equality and women's rights, there is still a large undercurrent of discrimination against women playing out every day in our homes, schools, and in the workplace.

While efforts like The Girl Effect bring tremendous inspiration to the effort, it is up to each individual, woman and man, to show courage and authenticity in every aspect of their lives, if we want to achieve our potential as individuals, families, and the world as a whole. But we must also reach out to one another for support and inspiration if we are to rid our minds of the falsehoods regarding gender equality that are holding us back.

One organization that is working hard to provide women with a place to network authentically is the 85 Broads organization. Recently, they discovered that their database of members included over 750 women with the title of CEO, Co-Founder, or President. This datapoint has led them to the following conclusion:

TREND: Female entrepreneurs are attracting capital through trusted, established networks like 85 Broads. In turn, they are hiring women to play key roles in their businesses, both as employees and as consultants. In essence, they are becoming “buying centers” of other women’s services and products globally.

85 BROADS IS RAPIDLY BECOMING A GLOBAL BUSINESS HUB: ForbesWoman, a terrific magazine and website for "career-minded women who mean business," has selected 85Broads.com as one of the Top 100 Best Sites for Women. Several fellow members of 85 Broads have sites that also made the list!

Take time today to join at least one network of women. Reach out, down, and up to another female colleague or friend and invest in their effort by applying your time, talent, or treasure.

And most of all, take time to defeat the enemy that lurks in your mind. Once you believe in yourself, there is nothing that holds you back from achieving your goals and dreams!

Wednesday's Women of Courage - Cindy Padnos, Illuminate Ventures

In a recent Thursday's Truth post, I focused on the lack of women leaders within the Financial Services industry. Specifically, the fact that there are very few female money managers, despite research that shows a very positive track record vis-a-vis their male counterparts.

Cindy Padnos, Founding Managing Director of Illuminate Ventures, had a sense that an imbalance was also occurring in the High Tech Industry. She researched this topic extensively and is largely responsible for writing a report titled "High Performance Entrepreneurs: Women in High Tech" that shows what many of us have long suspected - women entrepreneurs are poised to lead the next wave of growth in global technology ventures.

That being said, Cindy has set upon a courageous mission through Illuminate: to overcome the apparent lack of female investors willing to back this growth, and their historically risk-averse investment style.

In a recent article in Fast Company, Cindy commented on her drive to break barriers in the male-dominated area VC business: "In her slim spare time, Padnos also serves on the advisory board at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, where she received her MBA. When she joined the board, she was the only woman; there are now three. "I don't have to fight for a stall in the ladies' room yet, but I'm looking forward to that day," she says. "If we want to encourage more women to enter this industry, we have to have a critical mass."

Please take a moment to download her study at the Illuminate website. You may also find the Fast Company article featuring her here.