Thursday, June 30, 2005

Update: WPO Annual Conference in Chicago (April 27-29, 2006)

Please note the new date for our conference in Chicago:

• Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- April 27-29, 2006.

We were unable to reserve hotel space for the previous date, hope this new date works for you.

If you are interested in becoming a conference sponsor, please contact me, thank you!

Monday, June 20, 2005

News: pink

You read it here first: pink ... a new magazine for professional women! I bought a copy last week at Border's in Evanston, devoured every word and subscribed the same day. I am totally impressed by its clean design and edgy, informative and relevant content. Our WPO Director of Communications, Sherrie Gottlieb, attended the pink launch party June 14th and said it was fabulous. Pick up a copy. You'll be glad you did.

I like it so much, pink has become one of our proud National Partners!

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

News: WPO Founder Quoted in The Wall Street Journal (6/14/05)!

In The Wall Street Journal (6/14/05)

WPO founder Dr. Marsha Firestone is quoted (front page of the Marketplace section, Page B1) in Carol Hymowitz's column, "Women Often Discover Their Business Talent After Kids Are Raised."

If you are pressed for time, here's Marsha's quote: "A lot of these women have worked for big corporations, but at 40 or so when a lot are stuck in middle management they start thinking, "I can have more influence and a bigger piece of the pie doing it on my own," says Marsha Firestone, founder of the Women Presidents' Organization.

Congratulations to Marsha and her WPO team. I am so proud to be a part of this organization and so are the members!

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Article of Interest: Tech Spending Top Small Business Concern

In Inc.com

A new survey of the nation's small business owners says that today's entrepreneurs are actively planning to boost their tech spending to cut costs and grow their businesses -- no matter what kind of business they happen to be in.

Another key finding uncovered by the survey was that community involvement -- not profits -- was the chief reward for entrepreneurs running their own businesses, especially for women-owned businesses, the fastest-growing group of small business owners in the country.

"Women have growing power economic power and influence, so it is not a surprise that women-owned businesses are on the rise," said Karen Kerrigan, CEO of Women Entrepreneurs, Inc. "The results of this survey confirm what we are seeing among the growing ranks of women entrepreneurs that are looking to adopt technology to strengthen their business."

To read the complete article and to get the full survey results, visit Tech Spending Top Small Business Concern.

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Report: Women In The Economy Update June 2005

In National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)

The number of women entering the American workforce has risen in recent decades, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In 1970, about 43 percent of women aged 16 or older worked; the number rose steadily until stabilizing around 60 percent in 1999, where it has hovered since.

The number of self-employed women and women entrepreneurs is also on the rise.

• Between 1976-2004, the percentage of women who were self-employed increased 1.2 percentage points while the number of self-employed men fell.

• According to the Center for Women's Business Research, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned firms between 1997 and 2004 was nearly twice that of all firms (17 vs. 9 percent), employment expanded at twice the rate of all firms (24 vs. 12 percent), and estimated revenues kept pace with all firms (39 vs. 34 percent).

• In addition to joining the workforce, women have made significant inroads into higher paying careers, thus increasing the contribution of working wives to family income.

• Both husband and wife had earnings from work in 58 percent of married-couple families in 2003, compared with 44 percent in 1967.

• In 1973, wives' earnings accounted for 26 percent of their families' income; by 2003, that share had grown to 35 percent.

• The proportion of wives earning more than their husbands also grew; in 1987, 18 percent of working wives whose husbands also worked earned more than their spouses; in 2003, it had grown to 25 percent.

Source: "Women in the Labor Force: A Databook," Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, May 2005.

For text and more on women workers, visit here.