LinkedIn | Jacki Zehner

Celebrating 10 Years of Women Moving Millions

September 11, 2017 Jacki ZehnerLeave a comment

As published on LinkedIn Influencers on September 8th, 2017.

“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” H.Zinn

Today marks the start of the annual Women Moving Millions (WMM) Summit in New York City, and this year we are celebrating 10 years since the founding of WMM. 10 years since two sisters decided to spark a philanthropic movement dedicated to giving big and bold. 10 years during which unprecedented resources have been catalyzed for the advancement of women and girls. 10 years since an incredible community of donors came together to put the words women, giving, and millions together.

Women Moving Millions began in 2007 as a campaign to raise the bar on giving to women and girls. Founders and sisters Helen LaKelly Hunt and Ambassador Swanee Hunt sought to inspire donors to make financial commitments of $1 million or more to women’s funds around this country and the world. Phase I of the WMM campaign began in April 2007, and was launched in partnership with the Women’s Funding Network. During the initial campaign, over $182 million was pledged from 102 donors to 41 WFN funds, and a global movement of committed, purposeful women donors (and a few good men!) was born. I was honored to be one of the 102, and although I knew the initiative was a game-changer for women and philanthropy, I did not know how much of a game-changer it would be for THIS woman and HER philanthropy. That woman being me.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” H. Keller

Soon after the campaign ended I began to take on a more active role within WMM, together with so many other women who knew that this effort to encourage women to give big and bold to women and girls could not end. With every passing year I became more and more passionate about the cause, and in 2011 I was invited by Helen LaKelly Hunt to become the founding President and CEO (Chief Engagement Officer) of Women Moving Millions Inc. when WMM transitioned from a program and campaign within Helen’s private foundation into an independent 501C3. This transition was possible in large part because of a signficant seed grant from the JP Morgan Foundation, which came to us through the incredible support of Kim Davis, Laura Davis, Mary Erdoes, and Diane Whitty. Earlier this week I had an amazing call with Kim, who is no longer with the foundation, and we laughed about the sheer number of meetings we had over the years, and I have the evidence! I saved every single deck and every single note from every single meeting. Kim, along with those other amazing women, believed in us and our mission at WMM, and tonight I will be celebrating them at the Brooklyn Museum.

In the years since I became CEO, I have put my heart and soul into this organization, because I truly believe in the work we are doing to support our members’ individual, as well as our collective engagement and leadership, to bring about a more just and equitable world. Yesterday we welcomed 28 new members, bringing our total to 282. 282 individuals who have given or pledged at least $1 million or more to organizations of their choice that primarily serve women and girls. Documented total giving exceeds $600 million, but total giving from our community members stretches well over a billion. Money does not go to WMM or through us, but directly to the organizations of the member’s choosing. What an honor and privilege it is to see where the money goes, and the vast number of organizations and initiatives that our members support. Money matters, but so does passion and leveraging one’s personal platform in every way possible.

This was brought to life so powerfully last night when one of our newest members, Mariska Hargitay, spoke about her passion around the issue of untested rape kits and her soon to be released HBO film I Am Evidence. Mariska has portrayed Lieutenant Olivia Benson on NBC’s Law and Order: SVU since 1999, and in 2004, in response to the thousands of letters she has received over the years from rape and sexual assault survivors, she founded the Joyful Heart Foundation. The mission of this foundation is to help survivors of this abuse through the positive transformation of society’s response to sexual assault, but in particular, this foundation aims to end the national backlog of untested rape kits, which is the primary issue examined in the film. Thank you Pat Mitchell for doing such a beautiful job interviewing Mariska and others involved with the film including Kym Worthy, Wayne County Prosecutor and Maile Zambuto, CEO of the Joyful Heart Foundation. Missing was the amazing Regina Scully, Producer of the film and Founder of the Artemis Rising Foundation. Key messages from the film were captured by the incredibly talented visual artist @PeterDurand.

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African Proverb

Every year we pick a theme for the Women Moving Millions Summit, and it is no coincidence that the theme of this year’s Summit is The Power of Community, because the power of this community is truly remarkable, and we are just getting started. Yesterday, Gloria Steinem joined us, as she has many times before, and invited us, no commanded us, to do what other groups may not be able to do. To take big risks, to be bold, and to support and champion each other and the countless women who do not have the resources we do.

Tonight, I will be named a cofounder of Women Moving Millions Inc., alongside Helen LaKelly Hunt and Catalyst Ambassador Swanee Hunt, and this honour means the world to me. I will continue to be ALL IN to build a movement of people, men and women, who believe that gender equality is important, is just, is right, and is about time.

Please join the conversation online at @WomenMovMillions, #wmmsummit, and #powerofcommunity

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” M. Mead

Here’s to the next 10 years of community at Women Moving Millions.

Gloria Steinem – My Life On The Road

October 27, 2015 ionutLeave a comment

Published on LinkedIn on October 27, 2015

In 1999, I had the honor of receiving the Women Who Make a Difference Award from the National Council for Research on Women. I was being recognized for my work in promoting diversity at Goldman Sachs, and when I discovered that none other than Gloria Steinem would be speaking at the event as well, I was overjoyed. Gloria was someone I had long since admired and respected, and it was a privilege to finally meet her in person.

Our paths did not cross again until one special evening in 2001. At the time, I was unhappy in my role at Goldman, combined with being a mother of two young children, and in moments of pure whimsy, I fantasized about quitting to write a Wonder Woman screenplay (the whole story can be found here). One night, I called a dear friend to ask her if I could come over to talk things over before I did anything too stupid, and while she said yes, our talk would have to wait until after her small dinner party that she was hosting that night was over. When I asked who was coming to dinner, she named about six people who were all very impressive, but it was the last one who left me breathless: Gloria Steinem.

I showed up ridiculously excited and nervous. Our previous encounter had been brief, and since that event, I had read so much by and about her, I felt like I was meeting the President. The first person I encountered that evening was Gloria’s partner, David Bale, and I remember him asking me about myself. I shared that I was a partner at Goldman Sachs, but joked that I was going to quit my job to try and write a screenplay for a Wonder Woman movie. As I explained that I had an idea for a narrative that was inspired by my experiences at Goldman, a smile came over his face. He asked me if I knew that Gloria was one of the world’s experts on Wonder Woman, and I immediately broke out in goosebumps. Somehow, with everything I already knew about Gloria, this piece of information was unknown to me. I also didn’t know at the time that David’s son was Christian Bale, who would famously go on to play Batman just a couple of years later. There was a lot of superhero knowledge in this family!

When I finally got to talk to Gloria, she informed me that the premiere issue of Ms. Magazine featured an image of Wonder Woman on its cover, boldly proclaiming, “Wonder Woman for President”, and today, my copy of that issue is one of my most prized possessions in my collection of Wonder Woman memorabilia. That night the two of us talked about Wonder Woman and little else, and I handed in my resignation at Goldman the very next day. I took it as a sign.

Of course, I didn’t go on to write the Wonder Woman screenplay, but I did leave my position at Goldman, took a screenwriting course, and pursued the idea of a female superhero movie for quite some time before deciding that the timing was just not right. Yet. Meanwhile, I was getting to know real life female superheroes; women who were using the super powers they had, such as their time, treasure, and talent, to make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes fact is better then fiction.

Gloria and I have gone on to become friends, and I have come to rely on her wisdom and experience as I navigate my own journey of being a voice for gender equality, especially in my role at Women Moving Millions, where Gloria serves on our Advisory Board. Whenever I get stuck in my work, I often ask myself, What Would Gloria do?, a question that actually manifested as a trending hashtag (WWGD) at a Makers conference a few years back. (lets bring it back!) Gloria has been on this path for over 50 years, and during this time, she has been a tireless advocate for women and girls all over the world. Among her many achievements, she co-founded both Ms. Magazine and the Ms. Foundation for Women in 1972, and she has continued to inspire generations of future activists through her writing, speaking, and outreach. For further reading, here is a fabulous piece on Gloria written by Jane Kramer in The New Yorker, October 2015. Also this just in on NPR.

Throughout her career, Gloria has published several bestselling books, including Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Revolution From Within, Moving Beyond Words, and Doing Sixty and Seventy. Her latest book, My Life on the Road (#mylifeontheroad and @gloriasteinem), comes out today, and my order is already in. A memoir of her life, this book is a chronicle of a lifetime spent giving a voice to those who may not have otherwise been heard, and I encourage everyone to go out and pick up a copy. Gloria is a constant inspiration, not just to me personally, but to all of us on how to live a life of service to others, and I hope she continues to inspire us all for years to come. At 81, she is showing no signs of slowing down.

It’s no secret that I love good quotes, so to wrap up, I’ve listed below some of my favorite of Gloria’s. Enjoy, and happy reading!

A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.

The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.

Women are not going to be equal outside the home until men are equal in it.

The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving.

Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry.

Once we give up searching for approval we often find it easier to earn respect.

We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.

If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?

Hope is a very unruly emotion.

*The photo is from 2010 at my “leaving New York” party. Gloria gave me my very own set of golden cuffs.

Kleiner, Ellen Pao, and 5 Best Practices

March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 ionutLeave a comment

Published on LinkedIn Influencers on March 28, 2015

For weeks we have been reading about how women may, or may not, be treated in Silicon Valley. This issue was brought front and center as a result of the case brought by Ellen Pao against Kleiner Perkins. We now have a verdict: Kleiner was found not guilty. I trust that the jury weighed the evidence and came to the right decision. I do not know Ms. Pao, and I have only casually met a few of the partners at Kleiner, and therefore I have no ability to speak to the merits of the case. I do, however, have a lot of experience being a woman professional in the financial services sector. I have personally experienced sexual harassment and negative bias, but I also have experienced the opposite; being promoted at a very early age to become a partner at Goldman Sachs (the first female trader and youngest female to do so in 1996). I also have a lot of experience developing best practice policies in human capital management. I have read, with much concern, not only many of the articles written about this case, but many of the comments that follow any one article. Frankly, it’s very concerning on a number of fronts.

Clearly, any rational person can look at the facts around the representation of women in senior leadership roles in venture capital and say, “Houston, We Have A Problem”. I don’t need to rehash all of the facts and statistics that have been brought up to illustrate the fact that there has to be gender bias, with the big headline being that only 6% of partners at Venture Capital Funds are women. That is down from 10% in 1999. So why few women?

In 2010, I helped fund and produce a research report on this topic titled Women in Fund Management: A Road-Map to Critical Mass and Why it Matters with the goal of answering that very question. In it, we outlined why there are so few women making decisions around capital allocation, and more importantly, a list of solutions to address the imbalance. This report may now be 5 years old, but both the reasons, and the solutions, very much apply today. My hope in producing that report was for financial services firms to embrace the findings and do something. Sadly, little has been done. There has been so much talk, but frankly, so little action. It’s time. Please download the report for all the details.

So why is this latest firestorm concerning? The reasons are two-fold. The first is that Kleiner does seem to have a pretty good record, as far as VCs go, in supporting women. However, being the best in an industry that is known to be particularly non-inclusive should not be the benchmark. The benchmark should be to be inclusive and merit based, period. What is scary is that the comment boards on so many of the articles about this case are filled with statements like, “See that is what you get when you hire women. Don’t bother. Those guys were trying, and they got slapped for it. That is what women do. Instead of just performing well and earning promotions, they sue to get what they want.” I could go on and on. That is simply not right and not fair. Are some women in some companies going to sue feeling they were discriminated against? Yes, and so are some men, but whomever does had better know the law, because at the end of the day, that is what matters. Let us not forget that the courts are filled with frivolous law suits of all kinds. This is what Americans do. Sue.

So can women play that so called ‘woman card’? I guess, but you better damn well have a case, or it will cost you a lot of money, time, and your reputation. In my experience, it is a card rarely played. As shown in this case, it is very hard to prove sexual discrimination if it is not truly there. It is especially hard to prove when it is a story of a series of micro-inequities, all of which add up to a career stalled out. Those stories are especially hard to make visible, but in my opinion, it is the main reason why we have so few women in senior leadership positions who truly want and deserve to be there. Yes, some women do sue, and if the law has been broken they should, but often they are cases that we never read about because they have been settled out of court. The reason they are most often settled out of court is because the firm is clearly in the wrong, and in exchange for money, there is a confidentiality agreement in place. It is unfortunate that these cases are not made public, because I truly believe the public would be shocked at the behavior that does occur, and if they knew, I would like to think that people would choose to take their business elsewhere. My guess is that Kleiner went to court because they felt strongly they would win, and they did. However, simply because they won this particular case does not mean that there is no sexual harassment and discrimination in Silicon Valley; it merely means the courts did not find it in the case of Pao versus Kleiner.

The other reason this case is of concern to me is because the jury found Ms. Pao’s case without merit, and therefore people will assume that Kleiner was taken through the ringer unjustly, it might make them, and other firms, less likely to hire women. Out of fear of it happening again, firms might think, “Why bother?” That certainly seems to be the theme on the message boards of late. My hope is that this case does not make Kleiner, and others in the industry, less likely to hire and promote women, but rather invite them to recommit to ensuring their companies have the best possible practices in human capital management. Every company would likely say that their goal is to hire, promote, and retain the best people possible, so all anyone is asking for, and what they should be asking of themselves, is to ensure that their policies follow this mission. If this is the outcome of the trial, what a win that would be!

When you think about it, shouldn’t VC firms be leaders in having diversity in leadership? If their goal is to identify the best investment opportunities on the planet and put their money and resources into them, shouldn’t having the best people doing that be critically important? If yes, it follows that in order to do that, you should have the best human capital management processes in place to attract and retain that talent. If 50% of the world and 60% of the current college graduates are women, to not have women in critical mass should be clear evidence that they do not have the best human capital management practices in place. There are lots of excuses, some say reasons, that women will not reach critical mass, but in 2015 these are really just excuses.

Below are FIVE best practices that seem to be related to the case, and feel free to add your suggestions in the comment section. (Again PLEASE download the report for a comprehensive list of challenges and solutions with respect to advancing women in fund management)

1) Men and women, do not sleep with people who report to you, or who you report to. Period. Especially if either party is married. Also, perhaps the person you are seeing now is not your boss, but might be one day. Be thoughtful and realize that if you do choose to date someone you work with, it may at some point create problems.

2) No matter what the size of your company, make sure you have yearly employee evaluations. Better yet, have a process for continuous job related performance feedback. Every employee deserves to know how they are doing and what they need to do to be promoted. If your firm does not do this, champion for it. One best practice we did at Goldman in the 90s was to have departmental committees that were responsible for reviewing all employees. What that did was take the potential for extreme manager bias out of the equation. In addition, high potential candidates were discussed and a career action plan was created. Oppositely, non-performing employees were discussed, and an action plan was created for them too. As an employee, you should never have to guess how you are doing. You should know. There were a few comments in the message boards saying, “Don’t bother hiring women because you can’t fire them.” Well, you actually can, and you especially can when you have transparent processes in place.

3) Know your corporate culture. If your goal is to be a meritocracy, be willing to question whether your company actually is one and don’t just assume it is. Consider doing an anonymous employee survey, or have an outside consultant do an evaluation. If it comes back you are doing great, awesome. If not, be truly willing to embrace the findings and do something about it. Also, be sure to conduct exit interviews when professionals leave. Though they may not want to tell you the real reasons why they are leaving out of fear of repercussions, at least you can try. It also may be that your culture is extreme, but if so, own it. Don’t pretend to be inclusive when really, you don’t give a rat’s ass. Warning. People, clients, may choose not to do business with you if they are not aligned with your values.

4) Do not give or share pornographic material to or with your co-workers. Also, be really thoughtful about sharing what YOU think is funny, or even worthy of conversation, in a work environment. This is not meant to take the fun out of the workplace, but rather to be respectful that others may have a personal history, or personal beliefs, that make certain types of humor deeply offensive or conversations uncomfortable. Sorry to be a buzz kill, but your place of work is not a college dorm room. Be a professional. If you are on the receiving end of inappropriate comments or behavior, call it out in the moment, respectfully. If it continues, take it up the formal channels to lodge a complaint. It nothing changes, go get a job somewhere else. Life is too short to work in an environment where you are not treated with respect or where valid concerns are not taken seriously. That said, from personal experience as a woman working in a male dominated environment, a trading floor, there is a lot to be said for being able to take a joke. And better yet, you have to be able to tell one. To be clear, taking a joke does not mean putting up with extremely offensive behavior, but you do, at times, have to let things slide. I have always tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I hope people do the same with me. There is a heck of a lot of common sense out there that should be put to work.

5) Ensure your company has an anti-discriminatory policy, and make sure you know it and abide by it. Don’t you want to be treated fairly and with respect? Don’t you think everyone deserves to be? This is about basic rights and responsibilities that should be in place in our places of work and in the world more generally. You should also be aware of the laws around sexual harassment, sex-based discrimination and other forms of discrimination.

In closing, UHG. Truly, I do not get why this is all so hard. This is about basic human rights and human responsibilities. When we go to work we all need to treat each other professionally and with respect. Not only are we accountable for our own behavior, but also for what we bear witness to. My hope is that this case sheds light on the fact that there is much work to be done to create truly inclusive and meritocratic workplaces. Let that be our goal.

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Articles and message boards to be read on this case include The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg here, here (Is it a loss of women in tech?), and here, I just found Bloomberg’s five lessons from the case which I am just reading now, and the New York Times here, and here.) This could go on forever.

Also of possible interest, additional articles by yours truly – Can Mothers be Traders, written after Paul Tudor Jones’ comments on the subject, a rant on the lack of women in finance in 2010, and What If I Never Left Goldman Sachs in 2014 on my dream financial services firm for women.

I am going to keep adding articles since there has been many written following the verdict.

This one from The Upshot on what Silicon Valley learned from the case.