The Firehood’s Post

We couldn't agree more with Anne Boden in her recent article for This Is Money, where she reflects on the challenges she faced in establishing Starling Bank. Her statement, “we don’t need to temper our personalities to suit the environment. The status quo needs to shift” really resonated with us. This is exactly why Laura Brunnen founded the March community. To shift the status quo and to provide a safe space where women in M&A can be themselves and support one another.

"So... did you win?" Last month, you might recall, I asked you to vote for Diversability®, who was a Top 10 finalist out of 4,500 small businesses to win $60,000. Then, I asked you to vote again. You told me you already voted 5 times. And I asked you to vote again. It worked. Today, during National Small Business Week, it was announced that we were the grand prize winner of the Barclays “Small Business Big Wins” promotion. I'm so grateful for everyone who took the time to vote, share it with their network, and learn more about our work during the voting process. Without all of you--our community--there would be no Diversability. You showed up, and we showed that we can win big together. We did it! It was also a win that 3 of the Top 10 finalists focused on disability inclusion, including Aille Design and Brewability, with Brewability winning the $20k prize. Love this post from Aille Design: https://lnkd.in/gHbQnqba #SmallBusiness #Disability #DisabilityInclusion Video description: a behind-the-scenes video of Tiffany, a Taiwanese American woman, tuning in to a call to find out the results of the Barclays Small Biz Big Wins promotion. Tiffany to camera: You might remember a couple of weeks ago, I was encouraging everyone to vote for us in this Barclays Small Biz Big Wins contest. And now, we are about to hop on to our call to find out how we did. I feel like I did the best I could. I felt like I was kind of annoying, but I knew also what was at stake. So let's tune in. Barclays rep: What you're doing and how you're positively impacting the disabled community with leadership and entrepreneurship I think is fabulous. Thank you for your story. It was amazing. It was touching. As you know, the competition was fierce this year. It was a tough time judging. And with that, I just want to say congratulations. You're our grand prize winner of $60,000. Tiffany on call: Yay! Wow, I feel like I'm going to cry. This is huge. I can't believe it. I don't even know what to say. I'm super excited for Diversability's growth. Stay tuned! Money is gonna get reinvested back in the disability community. We're hoping to create more jobs, create economic opportunity where there hasn't previously been a lot of it. It just feels really special to be seen. Thanks everyone. Bye. Tiffany to camera: We did it. Oh my gosh. 

We know who American Banker's Most Powerful Women in Banking are, but how did they get there? For the first time, Frank Gargano created an interactive network map of each list (Most Powerful Women in Banking, Most Powerful Women in Finance, Most Powerful Women to Watch) showing the institutions where each woman has worked in her career. Now it's possible to see which banks have launched the most honorees into top executive roles. #MPWIB

During Women’s History Month, it seems fitting to acknowledge the many impressive women in history who have worked tirelessly to advance women's financial independence. One that might not be so well known is Maggie Lena Walker. In 1903, Walker became both the first African American woman to charter a bank, and the first African American woman to serve as a bank president for the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank. The bank's leadership also included several female board members.  As a leader, Walker achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for women. How can you follow the great example of courage and ingenuity that Maggie left for us? How about creating your own personal bank? Did you know that was a thing? Many women are using this strategy to grow their money tax free and create an opportunity fund for themselves now, that will eventually become a retirement fund in the future. If you’d like to learn more about how you can create one too, feel free to reach out. #womensupportingwomen #womeninspiringwomen #womenandwealth #smartmoneystrategist

Exciting insights from this year's rankings of Most Powerful Women in Banking, Finance and to Watch. Among the honorees, 16 have shaped their careers at JPMorgan Chase, showcasing the institution's influence. Bank of America and Citigroup also made significant contributions, with eight honorees each. Check out which organizations have been pivotal in cultivating female leadership in finance. #bankingindustry https://bit.ly/48WPSjG

This week, BGF proudly committed £25 million to the Investing in Women Taskforce, part of a historic £250 million funding pool to back UK female founders. Our team celebrated this game-changing initiative at a launch event, hosted by the Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury at Mansion House in London. Alongside industry partners Barclays, M&G plc, British Business Bank, Morgan Stanley, Visa Foundation, and Aviva we’re working to make the UK the best place to be a female entrepreneur. 🎥 Hear more about the initiative in this video: 👉https://lnkd.in/eE7sfXkC #IWT #InvestingInWomenTaskforce #FemaleFounders #MansionHouse #BGFGoodGrowth

Who’s heading to NYC next month? 🗽 I’m excited to dive into the evolving landscape of women and wealth management 💼💪🏼 and share insights on how Advisors can better support their female clients. See you there! 👩💼✨ #womeninwealth #NYC

Our latest rankings of the Most Powerful Women in Banking, Finance, and to Watch reveal that 16 leaders have had experience at JPMorgan Chase. Other institutions with significant representation include Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. Explore the institutions shaping the careers of these influential women. #bankingindustry

Arun Kelshiker CFA, CAIA, CFA, Vice-Chair, DEI Committee, CFA UK argues that diversity improvement in financial services must come soon. Reboot, the Asset Owner Diversity Charter, CFA Institute and ShareAction's focus on driving greater disclosures empowers organisations to take concrete next steps geared to enhance individual and corporate outcomes over the long-run. To find out more on how financial services professionals are thinking about diversity, see the highlights from Reboot’s recent ethnic diversity research in our press release here: https://lnkd.in/e2hNKUyW #Diverstiy #Inclusion #Equity #Reboot #RebootTheNarrative

At NAB Private Wealth, we pride ourselves in creating opportunities for meaningful conversations that empower and inspire. And last month we did just that! In collaboration with Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF), we hosted a two-part event series, ‘Empowering High-Net-Worth Women’, across our Sydney and Melbourne offices. Bringing together a dynamic network of accomplished professionals, these events provided a platform to exchange insights on building financial confidence, fostering effective #leadership and addressing the unique challenges faced by women in the finance sector. Keynote speakers and panellists included Rebecca Engel, Miranda Ratajski, Maria Lykouras and Nicole Bodack, who each shared insights into wealth creation, #philanthropy and building legacies, sparking conversations that left attendees informed and inspired to take charge of their financial futures. Thank you to all the attendees, speakers, our partners at WiBF and everyone behind-the-scenes for making this event series a success. 🎥 View the highlights reel below to relive all the action! Ivano Simonutti, Donna Kosiek, Kara Rushworth, Kathryn Sivieng, Tamara Kolevski, Natalie Moutia, Jayde Ward #nabprivatewealth #womeninfinance #events