I believe all woman would be better off all over the world if they were taught Financial Literacy.  Us ladies in the industry understand the jargon and core concepts, but so many do not.  I am not talking about complex financial concepts here, I'm talking super basic.  Put a little aside for a rainy day.  Don't be bullied into making a financial decision you dont understand, someone huffing and puffing at you is TRYING to push into a decision that is to their advantage but not necessarily yours.  Let's pick up this banner and help our fellow man (woman) with easy financial tips and stoies that everyone can relate to!!

These days everyone is thinking about drawing on the power of the internet to promote themselves, their business, and their professional career as well as reach the younger generations. But most of us do not have endless amounts of cash to pay for the training, and also don't have schedules that allow for formal classes. And still many others don't live in an area where training is available.

I've been an ongoing student of all things "internet" for a while now and have compiled a great list of 6 sites that provide free training, templates, services, and ways to stay connected with the ever changing world that is digital marketing. If you're considering the world of digital marketing, I strongly advise you to take your time. Read about the different channels, start small, and allow yourself the time to learn while you grow. Just jumping in can result in much money spent, without much in the way of return. Free sites are plentiful, but unless you have the time to check them out, they may do more harm than good. For a start, I'd recommend sites like distilled, surveymonkey, hubspot and subscribing to bloggers like Avinash Kaushik and Occam's Razor for some honest and trustworthy support. To read more about these sites, you can check out my article, 6 Free Online Marketing Resources, recently published by Yahoo! I think that when we learn, we should share what we can, so hopefully this information will help you in your career.

What is your Credit Union doing to recognize International Women's Day?

The Network is happy to announce that we now have a group profile on LinkedIn. You can search for us under "Global Women's Leadership Network (World Council of Credit Unions)" or click here to see our page. Please join the group and feel free to start discussions on our wall. We also invite you to share the group with other women leaders in the credit union industry. Non-members are welcome!

In the article, Designing for Women: The Mobile Challenge (http://blog.usaid.gov/2012/09/building-a-better-user-experience-the-mobile-chapter/#.UGYAg65SAvg.email), Christopher Burns, economic growth and agricultural development advisor of USAID, said  “Mobile phones are a real game changer when it comes to tackling global challenges around the world but if the design does not change, hundreds of millions of women risk being left out in this next mobile revolution. That is a risk we cannot afford to take.”

Burns conducted research in Egypt, India, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, that shows on average resource-poor women are 22% less likely to want a mobile phone because they don’t know how to use it.

Do your credit union members know how to access their financial information through their mobile phones? How can we, as credit unions, make sure no one is left behind in the mobile revolution?

Maybe we can use this research and work with members and offer a basic tutorial on how to access their accounts and other key phone functions. Perhaps tellers could help members on a case-by-case basis or classes could be offered on occasion?

As financial cooperatives we have the ability to shine while helping our members understand new technologies. Has anyone done outreach on how to make members more comfortable with technology? We’d love to hear your ideas!

The term glass ceiling was coined in the 1980s to illustrate women’s struggle to be seen as equals in senior executive positions. While that metaphor holds true today, fissures are appearing where they hadn’t been before. I’m confident that will continue as women climb the corporate ladder and expand their numbers in the marketplace. A 2007 study in the Journal of Organizational Structure, Communications and Conflict found that it certainly exists. The survey was conducted in 2003 and found three women sitting in the corner offices at Fortune 100 companies. This was up proportionally from just two in the Fortune 500 in 1996. Women comprise more than half of the population yet we occupy a meager 3% of the top spots and the most successful companies. Similarly, non-CEO female executives at the Fortune 100 accounted for 5.8% of executives in 2003, up from 2.6% of female officers at the Fortune 500 companies in 1997.However, an area where women (and the men, generally, who hire them) have made remarkable strides is compensation. Several studies have found, particularly at the upper echelons of the pay scale, the differences are nonexistent when it comes to compensation packages. For 2001-2003, according to the Journal article, female non-CEO execs earned a bit more in the median than their male counterparts with the mean reversing slightly. With a sample size of only three female CEOs, a statistical conclusion could not be reached for that set.The study concluded that the glass ceiling is certainly not shattered but a dramatic shift will occur over the next several years as women earn college degrees at twice the rate of men, and because the economy is no longer manufacturing based, which favored men.The glass ceiling is certainly still there but the more of us who chisel away at it the more quickly it will shatter completely. Or should I use a more appropriately feminine term than shatter? No, we need to annihilate it. Obliterate it!To be fair, until recent history, women have made other choices in life that conflicted with or interrupted their careers, such as education level, stereotypical gender roles and family. Even as you look up the corporate ladder, you’ll see most women are in stereotypical female roles, such as HR or marketing. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with those jobs; they’re great! But they tend not to lead to CEO positions, and that’s fine too. Do what you love and you’ll get what you define as your top spot every time.

If a big office is what you crave, it’s nice to know that with confident negotiation your contributions could be valued every bit as much as a man’s.

 

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Credit Union Times

Prof Hans Rosling has a 4-minute video using 3-D graphics showing how health, the economy and poverty relate over time in different countries.  It has some lessons that may interest our network members as we all try to improve our communities through credit unions.  And I'd love to learn how to use those graphics in my presentations!  Check it out if you have a minute: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo