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.

There's nothing you can't do...

There has been a slew of good news that has come out in support of, and as a result of, women’s increasing participation in the world economy. I’ll mention just a couple…(especially since fellow HKS-er Allison, over at Beck Abroad, has been sharing some great reading herself!).

1. Obviously, this can’t go unmentioned—the U.N. recently decided to create a new agency for the “empowerment of women,” which will combine four previously distinct parts of the U.N. system: the Division for the Advancement of Women, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, and of course UNIFEM (or the United Nations Development Fund for Women). Read the U.N.’s press release here. While obviously this is great news--and I'm excited to see actual resources being put forth on this issue, I think my friend Kevin might have put it best: "I hope it's not the old routine of sending bills to committee for 'further study.'"

2. Google has announced that it will add to its employees’ pay to cover for a tax on same-sex health benefits AND include domestic partners in its family leave policy—going beyond what's stipulated in the Family and Medical Leave Act. Read more on the story at the New York Times. Hopefully, someday this will not be news-worthy and same-sex unions will be recognized as equal under the law. But I guess one step at a time?

3. In an interview with global NGO Population Services International (PSI), conducted by our fellow HKS student Ashley Judd, Nicholas Kristoff says that the battle to bring attention to so-called “women’s issues” is “… definitely being won. There’s no question that “international women’s issues” are going from a fringe concern and a “soft” issue to a serious topic in the spotlight. Partly that’s because women’s rights are increasingly recognized not only as a justice issue but also as a way to fight poverty and reduce civil conflict.” And in other exciting news, Half the Sky is being translated into numerous languages, including Arabic. Read the full interview in PSI's Impact magazine(and then go out and buy Half the Sky, if you have not already!).

4. In a tip-of-the-hat to Catalyst’s mission, I’m happy to share the fact that 19 women were added to major U.S. companies this year. This story was broken by the blog newsonwomen.com. Companies included Yahoo!, theGap, Netflix and others. Whether this has been driven by the business case , to improve company culture or simply by a sense of fairness, I’m happy to see companies taking proactive steps to counter the fact that women hold a mere 15.2% of all Board seats at Fortune 500 companies. Sorry, but that’s simply absurd.

5. Catalyzing, the Catalyst blog written by Catalyst president and CEO Ilene Lang, was recently named by ForbesWoman as one of the best websites for women. To see/read more/get inspired, check out the full list.

Of course, it’s not all been good news. We don’t even have to look beyond U.S. borders to see this---the pay gap persists, 47 years post Equal Pay Act, reflecting our underrepresentatation in politics, women continue to be underrepresented on Sunday news shows and women MBAs continue to earn less and hold lower ranking jobs than their just-as-qualified male counterparts. So call your Senators and your Congressperson in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182 and H.R. 12, respectively) and do not be afraid to speak up if you feel you are witnessing workplace unfairness. That’s what Google employees did.

I'm up that Brooklyn...

As promised, a (BK) life in pictures...


Entrance to Prospect Park, celebrating Brooklyn all summer long.


Look familiar?


Finally reconnecting with my wonderful HKS peers...



Happy July 4th, everyone...(ok, I admit it: this picture was taken at MOMA, not in Brooklyn).

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.

These streets will make you feel brand new...

I'm constantly amazed at just how much life there is here. Even though I'm not doing any foreign travel this summer, as many of my fellow WAPPPers are, New York is new enough to me that I feel each day brings something of a surprise. Whether it's a new neighborhood, a restaurant, an art festival, there's always something going on...and I'm trying to take advantage of it (without going broke in the process...).

Yet even as I'm discovering new things, the days have settled into a comfortable routine. The pictures below give a little bit of a sense of what daily life is like, at least on the Manhattan side of the bridge.

My office building is right at the tip of Wall St., where it hits South St.



The Statue of Liberty is just a few blocks down...



Manhattan, seen from Governor's Island...



Stay tuned for pictures from BK.

Still Holding Up That Sky

This post has little to do with New York or my work with Catalyst, other than the fact that for the past week or so, during the commute between my lovely apartment in Park Slope and the hustle and bustle of Wall St., I’ve been immersed in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky. I finished this morning…and I’m at a loss at what to do next. So, I did what any at-a-loss American would do: I opened my wallet. You may have noticed the new “badge” at the bottom of this page. This morning I funded medical supplies to safely deliver pregnant women's children in the DRC through Global Giving. Even for someone on a tight student budget, it’s possible to make just a tiny dent in the world, to try to make it just a little bit better for someone else. I am so inspired (and honestly, put to shame) by the women leaders profiled in this book. I know that--as a person studying the nexus of gender and policy!--I can and want to do more—so if you have more ideas, please send them my way!

For now, fellow students, now that you get to actually choose your reading material (the best perk of not being in school, in my opinion), please, please, please, buy, borrow, beg, or take out a copy of Half the Sky from your local library. If it doesn’t absolutely convince you that the path to increased opportunity, living standards, and yes, economic prosperity (I am interning on Wall St.) lies in the hands of women—and push you to do something about it---I will buy your copy of the book from you. Or donate to Global Giving in your name. Your choice.

For more about the book, read the NYT Sunday Magazine article here.

If pictures are worth 1000 words to you, take a look at the photo gallery here.

To check out ways you can give back, help combat illiteracy, maternal mortality, sexual slavery and forced prostitution and promote women and girls’ education and empowerment in every sense of the word, check out any of the following websites: Global Giving, Apne Aap, Kiva, Care, 34 Million Friends, Global Fund for Women, Equality Now, Tostan, Vital Voices, Fistula Foundation, the Polaris Project, Girls Inc., and many, many more.

Now you're in New York...

Moved into my new apartment yesterday (thanks, JJ!). It’s in a great location, in the heart of Park Slope, Brooklyn. I wanted to be here mainly so I could be close to my sister, who’s a few short blocks away, and for the relatively easy commute (not to mention, more affordable rent!). I share the space with two other girls, both NYU Law students, who both seem very nice. One thing I was not prepared for: the size of the apartment. My room is lovely and thankfully, fits all of my belongings (read: clothes, books and shoes), but the living space/kitchen is quite small (and I love to cook). It will take some getting used to—I have definitely been spoiled by my wonderfully spacious Porter Square apartment.

My first day at Catalyst was today and I was pleasantly surprised to find some familiar names—mainly, professors, researchers and writers with whom I’ve become familiar over the past year. Catalyst runs a daily service called “Daily News,” which compiles all of the gender-relevant media of the day. It was great to see my former professor Barbara Kellerman’s piece on the list. What was not so pleasant was reading the comments afterwards. It is disheartening to read comments about how the real problem is women getting to too many management positions or how there’s really no problem at all, women and men are just different. Frustrating—and one of the things Catalyst is working to change.

For now, no big projects to report, as today was spent mostly in orientations and getting to meet people around the office. There’s a big project due this week that is allowing for a “all-hands-on-deck” that will afford some visibility into some of the larger project goals for the summer. I’m hoping to really dig into some substantive work this summer and to get a better understanding of how not only the private sector works, but how we can mainstream gender and gender-aware practices into organizational culture.