Last fall I had the pleasure of meeting Molly Melching at the Women Moving Millions Summit in New York City, and it did not take long before I fell head over heels in love with this amazing woman. Melinda Gates once famously declared in reference to her first meeting with Molly: “I have not thought the same way about the work I do at the Gates Foundation since that day”, and I feel the same way way. I was so blown away that I immediately emailed Molly to ask if I could come visit her in Senegal, Africa, and I was honoured when she agreed. My daughter Allie and I are leaving for Senegal tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited to see Molly’s work up close and personal.
Molly is the Founder and Executive Director of Tostan, an NGO operating out of Senegal, Africa that is named after the Wolof word for “breakthrough”. What is so incredible about Molly and her work is how clearly she can articulate her theory of change, and how it drives everything they do. The key concept behind this theory of change is the idea that the solutions for any given problem facing a community should come from within the community itself. Now this may sound really, really, obvious, but an alarming amount of charitable resources are not allocated this way. Well intended funders and program officers create what they think…
Today is the first day of March and also the first day of Women’s History Month. The entire month of March will be dedicated to not only celebrating the accomplishments of incredible women, but also bringing forth both the opportunities and the challenges we face in achieving even greater gender balance. In the United States, Women’s History Month has its roots in International Women’s Day (March 8th), but it wasn’t until Congress passed a resolution in 1987 designating March as Women’s History Month that the current initiative was begun. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment”, and I can’t think of a better theme for this particular Women’s History Month, because it is a special one indeed.
On March 25th, 2014, Gloria Steinem is turning 80 years old, and I for one can’t wait to celebrate this incredible milestone. Gloria is a true pioneer in the quest for gender equality, and she has remained an eloquently vocal advocate for the advancement of women and girls for decades. A journalist, activist, and proud feminist, Gloria’s contributions to the social, political, and economic status of women cannot be overstated, and as a prominent leader of the feminist rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, Gloria, along with her many other pioneering sisters, helped to pave the way for many of the rights and freedoms women often take for granted today. I am honoured and privileged to call Gloria a…
This post is part of a series in which LinkedIn Influencers share the best advice they’ve ever received. Read all the posts here. Originally posted on LinkedIn Influencers on February 24, 2014.
I spent 14 years as a professional at Goldman Sachs. I was hired as an analyst, then became a trader, then a desk manager, and in 1996 I became the youngest woman and first female trader to be made a partner of the firm. Over those years I had the good fortune of receiving some great career advice, but the most useful advice did not come from a person, but instead came from a process: Goldman’s partner selection process.
In 2000, I left my trading seat to take a position in the Executive Office where my job was to help manage the careers of the firm’s managing director population. I was very involved in many human capital management programs, including succession planning, lateral hiring, performance measurement, compensation, leadership development, diversity and partner selection. The selection process was very robust, and it involved names being put forward to be cross-reviewed. There was a team of senior executives who had the responsibility to discuss the candidate with a variety of people with whom that candidate worked, whether it be directly, indirectly, or sometimes distantly. These people included senior managers, peers within and outside of their direct work area and people who worked for that candidate. These conversations were…
