The city never sleeps...better slip you an Ambien

Is it really July 21? It's hard to believe I only have about 2.5 more weeks here. And there's so much to do, you don't want to miss anything (hence the lack of sleep...and a subsequent summer cold).

On the work front…

I got pulled into a client project earlier this month. It is a small one, with only about a month's turnaround time, that’s been really exciting to see develop. We had our initial feedback call with the client this morning and it went well…now on to diagnostic day! Happily, I’ve received some really nice feedback about my work on the team, which was lovely to hear.

On my project…

I’m (finally!) interviewing women from member companies around best practices for women’s networks in Latin America. It took a while to get off the ground, simply because this is a very new area. It’s been great in terms of getting to practice my Spanish and in really getting to do some original research. It's also personally rewarding to talk to women who are extremely passionate about diversity and inclusion practices. What’s not been so great is realizing how little there is out there—and how far these groups have to go.

Countdown to delivering my white paper and presentation…t minus 2.5 weeks. I really want to make this as impactful and comprehensive as possible…and I can definitely see this being an area of interest for a long time. How do you, exactly, ensure that cultural stereotypes and mores do not dictate the future of an entire gender? Things to ponder (perhaps in a PAE…)

On the good news front...

Did everyone see this? I certainly wish the president had been a little more forceful on this issue when he was signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act back in January 2009. And yet, I remain ever hopeful that this president really will deliver on his promises and on his values. Let's hope Republican senators and business leaders follow suit.

On the NY front…

I’ve been making time to do some of the things that one needs to do in a NY summer…long walks around the park, yoga, wine and cheese tasting, talking with people whose jobs I’d love to have, traveling a little bit (via bus, of course!). This past weekend, I was able to spend some time with three of my dearest friends, all of whom happen to be former Alliance coworkers, when we all traveled to Philadelphia.

Big lights will inspire you...

My work at Catalyst has kicked into higher gear now that I’ve been here for a few weeks and have started to get the hang of the office. The work is nothing like anything I’ve ever done—even though Catalyst is a nonprofit, and has a very mission-driven approach, Advisory Services, the department within which I’m housed has almost a private-sector feel. This surprised me, especially at first, since I’ve never worked in a consulting capacity before. Even though the work is mission-driven, and every client we take on is working towards diversity and inclusion approach, at the end of the day, each client has its specific goals, capacities, and deadlines. Very different from policy studies—but Kennedy emphasizes being tri-sector experienced, and I certainly feel like I’m gaining a lot through this kind of interaction.

The team has a big deadline/presentation coming up, so we’ve all been working hard to prepare. This is great for me—I get to see the end result and hear the feedback. At the same time, another project is starting as well, so I’ll get to see the beginning, too. In fact, I participated in a focus group the other day which yielded fascinating results with regards to how women employees saw their career prospects vs. men. The groups’ results will be the starting point for another engagement.

I’m also starting up my own project, which is exciting and the reason why I was so keen on joining Catalyst in the first place. As emerging markets become more and more important for Catalyst members, the Advisory Services team is taking a more global approach to its practices. I’m specifically tasked with researching, thinking about, interviewing and doing outreach on and about how women’s networks could work within a Latin American context. While the project is slow-going, it’s been very interesting as there is really very little out there on this topic. The project presents a real opportunity not only to serve Catalyst members but also explore a new topic area. I hope to be able to produce a white paper before I leave in August, as well as kick –start Catalyst relationships in the area by leveraging both the knowledge we build and my Spanish language skills.