Catalyzing

Catalyzing is the Catalyst blog, bringing together and amplifying diverse voices that share Catalyst’s mission to expand opportunities for women and business. Catalyzing reflects the wide range of opinions, ideas, and experiences of Catalyst employees, incorporating perspectives from our offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond. It also features non-Catalyst industry leaders, experts, and academics committed to changing workplaces and lives. 

  • Catalyzing
    C This

    Where are the women of Wall Street? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 141,000 women—roughly 2.6% of female workers in finance—left the U.S. financial industry during the past decade. The drop suggests that women bore the brunt of the layoffs in the recent recession—a finding that...

    September 21, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Context is King

    Here we go again. Sometimes news—even good news—gets blown out of proportion. That’s what’s happening now with the gender wage gap.

    Recent headlines like “What gender pay gap? Young single women making MORE money than their male peers in America's cities,” and “Workplace Salaries: At...

    September 14, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    The Catalystos: Part II

    Last week, I wrote about Catalystos—guys who are not afraid to stand up against gender inequity. These men are active role models and partners in our challenge to stamp out sexist stereotypes, ingrained biases and the barriers holding women back from leadership.

    With a view to amplifying their...

    September 7, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    C This

    A little-noticed provision in new U.S. legislation requires all federal financial agencies and firms to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion to boost diversity. Banks and firms that fail to diversify their ranks do so at their own peril. According to the rule, failure to make “a...

    September 3, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    The Catalystos

    Are you a Catalysto?

    A Catalysto is a man who wholeheartedly supports the work of Catalyst. He is an advocate for women, a role model for other men, and a positive force for change.

    Catalystos are influential. In March, at the 2010 Catalyst Awards Conference, Frank J. McCloskey, Vice President of...

    August 30, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    An Inalienable Right

    On the night of July 20, 1848, the first convention to discuss the rights of women drew to a close at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. Lucretia Mott, an outspoken Quaker deeply influenced by the Iroquois, was first to sign the closing document. The Declaration of Sentiments listed...

    August 26, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    The Invisible Woman

    Look at the money in your wallet. Consider the name of the street you live on. Think about the great monuments in Washington, D.C., or your favorite Hollywood director.

    Chances are you’re thinking about men.

    Women make up 47% of the non-farm U.S. workforce and 50.7% of the U.S. population, but...

    August 23, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    C This

    American women got the vote 90 years ago this month. It wasn’t easy. After 70 years of hard state-by-state campaigning, suffrage came down to a final vote in the Tennessee Legislature. The deciding ballot was cast by Harry Burn, a 24-year old who switched to “yes” after receiving a last-minute...

    August 20, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    Be Somebody—Get Sponsored

    I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? --Emily Dickenson

    - - -

    How does a nobody become a somebody? By being sponsored.

    Sponsors are like mentors—except they advocate for advancement. The latest Catalyst research on the careers of more than 4,000 M.B.A. graduates shows that more women...

    August 17, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang

  • Catalyzing
    What’s Up in Australia

    Guest blog by Anne Summers, writer, journalist and author in Sydney

    —————————————————

    Australia’s reputation for being a “blokey,” male-dominated, female-unfriendly country is being mugged by the reality that women now occupy a significant number of the...

    August 13, 2010 by Ilene H. Lang