Women & Co.

Healthy, Budget-Friendly Menu Options for Kids

2012-05-15T14:00:00Z

Don't you hate paying for what amounts to overpriced fried food on the kids' menu? It's one of my pet peeves. A recent dinner at our favorite neighborhood restaurant had a new change that only a mom could get excited about -- a kids' menu without the standard unhealthy fare of chicken nuggets and French fries. Instead, my daughter ordered roasted chicken drumsticks, brown rice, and steamed broccoli with a side of... apple and banana slices! The menu noted that the restaurant was now offering healthy children's choices courtesy of the government guidelines at choosemyplate.gov. A healthy kids' menu is completely genius in my book so I was intrigued.

I looked up MyPlate to research the government guidelines. They apply to everyone, not just kids. Apparently there is no longer a food pyramid but MyPlate, which is not only about what you are eating but how much you are eating. The idea is that you want half of your meal to be comprised of fruit and vegetables, the other half grains and proteins, plus some dairy. This program is something that First Lady Michelle Obama supports as part of her Let's Move initiative -- the site even features some of her healthy White House recipes. In addition to recipes, I found a myriad of resources on the site. For example, did you know that 32 seedless grapes equals one cup which is half the daily recommendation of fruit? The site provides tips for healthy eating on a budget including a sample 7 day menu. There are also some great resources for teaching kids about eating healthy like coloring pages (just printed them out) and games.

As we head into spring and summer when we're trying to eat healthier, I was happy to find this great resource. What resources do you use to make healthy, budget-friendly choices?

Putting Moms First!

2012-05-10T14:00:00Z

In my family, perhaps like yours, my mom always put herself last. She never went for seconds until the rest of us were finished eating -- except when it came to dessert! And she still will hang on to a threadbare winter coat if it means being able to splurge on a wish-list item for her grandchildren. From what many of you shared, my mom isn't that different from others -- or maybe even you.

But on this Mother's Day, I want all moms to put themselves first -- and pledge to keep putting their needs first, especially when it comes to their finances, every single day of the year. No financial martyrs allowed. There's no better gift to yourself or anyone than the gift of financial independence. It's an ongoing topic of conversation with my mom. Here are the tips that I've shared with her and can help you put your best financial foot forward this year:

• Take stock of what you have in hand, both in savings and investments, and think about how you are putting your hard-earned cash to work.

• Find your "financial Iowa" and align your spending, saving and investments with those priorities. It will really help you keep financial distractions at bay and weigh trade-offs more carefully.

• Pay yourself first by contributing each month to your employer-sponsored retirement plan, a Traditional or Roth IRA, and a "rainy day" fund. And, if you've stepped out of the workplace, keep contributing to a spousal IRA.

• Live within your means -- and when you want to treat your children or grandchildren, spend on the right stuff. Hate the B-word (keep it clean: I mean "budget")? I promise you'll reclaim if after reading my article, 6 Steps to Rethinking Your Budget.

• Embrace the word "no" -- to yourself when it comes to an impulse purchase or when it comes to others. Don't let emotions -- love, lust or guilt -- drive your financial decision-making. If you're not sure how to talk to your partner, kids or even parents about money, Women & Co.'s Start Talking conversation starters can help.

• Don't shy away from planning for the "bad stuff" that can happen, from divorce to disability to natural disaster to auto accident. It's not fun to think about these things, but having contingencies and safety nets in place -- such as a will, power of attorney, health care proxy, life insurance, long-term care insurance, etc. -- can make all the difference in how you and your family fare in the short-term and in the long-term.

• Tap the wisdom and experience of a financial professional to help you craft your financial road map and keep you on course. Not sure how to go about finding one? I wrote an article that walks you through the process.

It's not easy to break old habits. As my mom always used to say when I struggled with my piano playing: "practice makes perfect." Over time, you'll enjoy and appreciate the feeling of financial empowerment. I know that I do.

April Flowers Bring May... Shopping?

2012-05-09T14:00:00Z

It's that time of year! The seasons are changing and it is spring cleaning time. But as you begin your normal spring cleaning chores, the season also brings changes in fashion trends and our personal shopping choices. Recently I had the opportunity to be a model for a day, well more like an hour on a morning news show, but I'll take it! The topic of the segment was custom clothes for every budget (Key word every budget!). I had the opportunity to wear a beautiful custom made silk dress and custom sky high heels. Needless to say I had a fabulous morning and wished I had been able to keep the outfit.

In my own life, I take the same approach to my wardrobe: you can have it all without spending a small fortune. If you plan ahead, you don't need to splurge every time you shop. I've learned to invest in a few core pieces that will last through several seasons, and then I supplement my wardrobe of basics with trendy pieces at more affordable prices.

Here are a few other tips that I will be following as I approach the spring wardrobe switch:

• Shop from what you have. I don't know about you, but I like to start every season by reviewing what I already have. Chances are you forgot about some of your favorite pieces from last season, or if you look in the back of your closet, you might find items that still have tags on them.

• Figure out if you have anything you can bring to a consignment shop. Free up valuable room in your closet and use the money you earn to go towards your new pieces.

• Think through the trends. Just because every magazine is featuring the newest skinny jean or patterned shirt, doesn't mean it will work for you! It's easy to get stuck in the trap of buying the trends but never wearing them. Spending hard-earned money on items you never wear equals wasted budget.

• Set your overall budget and then decide what's most important to you. For me, I would rather spend more on shoes for the season and use a bag I already have.

• Shop the sales! I get the biggest bang for my buck by waiting for the sales; especially at the change of the season "Friends and Family" sales are a great way to make good use of your dollar!

I would love to hear your wardrobe tips! How do you approach seasonal changes to updating your wardrobe, while managing your budget?

Do You Know a Real-Life Superwoman?

2012-05-08T14:00:00Z

When I was in college in the late 1970s, I was a bit surprised to see such an influx of "grown" women in my liberal arts classes, many of whom worked full-time and were raising children in addition to taking fairly heavy course loads. I often wondered what motivated them and how they managed to make it look so effortless.

I was sharing this story at our editorial meeting to discuss our Mother's Day coverage of real-life superwomen, when I had an "a-ha" moment: we had a real-life example of one such woman right down the hall from us. So, off I went to chat with Joan McKenzie, Executive Assistant on our Global Marketing team, full-time student, mom of four (ages 8 to 24), wife, sister, friend and all-around superwoman.

We started at the beginning: what motivated Joan to go back to school to complete a degree, with all that she has on her hands. "One reason was that I wanted to be a role model to my children. Secondly, I was a bit bored," Joan shared, "and when I joined the marketing team, I wanted to understand what was behind the ads. So, I asked people for suggestions on what to read. The more I read, the more interested I became and then it was clear to me that I wanted to get a degree in marketing. And so I asked family and friends for suggestions and did my homework. I talked to my husband and my manager. Eventually, I found an evening degree program, which I will complete this year."

I asked Joan what advice she has for someone contemplating going back to school or taking on any additional "hat," which we distilled to these five insights:

1. Be clear on what you want to achieve.

2. Have faith in yourself: you must believe you can do it. A spiritual person, Joan gets immense strength from prayer and her trust in God, which alleviates stress and pressure.

3. Know from the get-go that it is going to be tough and will take a lot of stamina - you've got to cut yourself some slack from time to time.

4. Be present in what you are doing. When you are at work, focus on work. When you are with your family, focus on them. When you are in class, then that needs to be front and center. Focus is so important to being effective and making the most of the time that you have.

5. Stay disciplined and organized: physically, emotionally and mentally, so that you can execute with the precision of a soldier.

Do you know a real-life superwoman? Which "heroes" will you be celebrating this Mother's Day?

Team USA Comes to Citi's womenandco.com

2012-05-07T14:00:00Z

Have you seen it? Yup, that's it...down there... keep going, scroll down the page a little lower. There! Now, at the bottom right-hand side of your computer screen at www.womenandco.com, you'll see the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic logos. We've placed these logos on our site in honor of Citi's official sponsorship of the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams.

And there couldn't be a more perfect time for this sponsorship, since 2012 marks Citi's 200th anniversary. For 200 years, Citi has helped people on their journey from ambition to achievement and has been an important part of the fabric of communities across America. So, to continue that tradition of support, Citi has launched a unique program called Every Step of the Way℠ supporting U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes of all ages in various communities across America.

As part of the program, Citi has donated $500,000--that's 50 million ThankYou® Points -- to the U.S. Olympic Committee. So, visit the Every Step of the Way℠ website to help allocate these points to help support the next generation of athletes.

Then, tell us! Who's your Team Citi athlete? Which sports will you be watching and whom will you be rooting for when the London 2012 Olympic Games come around this summer?

Rewire Not Retire

2012-05-03T14:00:00Z

When it comes to retirement, conversations frequently start with the bottom line: how much is enough -- $1 million? $5 million? You get the idea. And when I say "it depends on how you want to live and spend your time," well, the silence often says it all.

So imagine my delight when a group of Phabulous Philly women turned the retirement conversation upside down. Rather than starting with the bottom line, in true entrepreneurial form, they approached it from the top down: creating your mission statement for retirement and then building the capital you need to finance that vision.

The mission statements put forth were as varied as the women in the room, from writing and self-publishing a novel to starting a new business venture to playing golf five days a week to being a full-time investor in women-owned ventures to going back to school to study anthropology (that is mine by the way).

Most interesting to me was that every woman planned to keep "doing," although we all agreed that taking a year or so off for pure pleasure travel and "R&R" would be a great way to transition to our new lives. I really liked the way attorney and entrepreneur Lizanne Healey-Smith, President of First Heritage Title Agency, Inc., described her attitude towards retirement, "I don't think that you retire, you simply rewire."

Some visions, like going to school or playing golf, are relatively straightforward to budget for while others may take more financial finesse to forecast, which is where a financial professional can really add value. Once you understand how much your retirement rewiring will cost versus how much you have saved, then you can decide how to electrify your retirement savings and investments to fund your vision.

What's on your retirement to-do list? Have you reconciled your top-line vision with your bottom line? Wherever you are on the retirement continuum, Women & Co. has a range of retirement resources to help.

Easter Traditions in Paradise

2012-05-02T14:00:00Z

Over the Easter holiday, I took a trip back home to Barbados. Yes, I happily admit that although I immigrated to the U.S. eons ago, I still consider this small island paradise my home (I am clearly biased especially since the average temperature is a balmy 84 degrees).

Since I left paradise as a child, there are many Bajan traditions I am now learning or re-learning (and appreciating) as an adult. (One of my current obsessions is a locally grown fruit called breadfruit which I am obsessed with making in all of its many forms. But that is a topic worthy of its own blog post.)

During my visit, I stayed with my aunt, Marjorie, spent time with my cousin, Marion, and met many of the local residents. They taught me about everyday life in paradise, as well as Easter traditions and the required prep work that precedes the holiday. There was so much to be done that each day required its own plan. Windows needed to be washed, house exteriors needed to be power-washed, and updating floral arrangements was a top priority. We also purchased (or changed) linens throughout the home, coordinating curtains, rugs, hand towels and kitchen towels. Although this process is tradition for island households, to me as an observer, it was spring cleaning on overdrive.

After the spring cleaning/organization bug bit in Barbados, I was inspired to give my apartment a spring makeover without breaking my budget. I came home and immediately started to change over two areas in my micro-apartment: the bathroom and the kitchen. I arose on the Saturday before Easter at 6am (simply unheard of pre-vacation) and cleaned from ceiling to floor in my bathroom. I changed everything (including the antibacterial hand soap) to match one of the colors in my yellow, floral Easter shower curtain. The next area I tackled was the kitchen. I cleaned until the surfaces sparkled (that includes my one lonely countertop) and was inspired to reclaim my countertop! I replaced my clunky plastic dish drying rack with a space-efficient replacement called a dish mat. If you're on the market for a solution to help reclaim valuable counter space, check it out!

What are some traditions you and your family share at the holidays? Did you adopt them early on or did you wait until later in life to adopt those traditions?

Celebrating Small Business Month

2012-05-01T14:00:00Z

Each May, Citi joins with organizations large and small to celebrate National Small Business Month, and acknowledge all that small businesses do for our communities and our country. This year, though, we are taking our support to the next level by funding the Partnership for Small Business Development.

This innovative new collaboration is a "grow your business" training program for minority- and women-owned small business enterprises to promote job creation, retention and growth. It actually replicates nationally a successful local program developed and supported by the Citi Foundation and Citi Community Development in partnership with Foundation for Small Business Development and Safeguard Properties.

As you may know, women- and minority-owned small businesses are powerful drivers of job creation. To this point, according to the United States Small Business Administration, 65% of the new jobs created in America between 1993 and 2009 were in small businesses, with minority-owned businesses leading the way. The Partnership aims to combine business development training with better access to contracting opportunities to help these enterprises grow and expand and create more jobs in their communities.

Through the Partnership, Citi's partners at the Women's Business Enterprise National Council and local chapters of the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council will certify more than 400 of Safeguard's subcontractors across the country by the end of the year. In addition, these small business owners will attend a two-day, 16-hour training session that will be offered in each of six cities -- Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and New York City. Local members of the Small Business Development Center network, which is the largest network of its kind in the country, will conduct this training.

As passionate believers in small business, all of us at Women & Co. are excited about this collaboration and the opportunities it will afford to the business owners involved. For those of you who are business owners, what advice do you have for aspiring or novice entrepreneurs? How did you lead like a CEO? And, if you are looking for inspiration, read what seasoned entrepreneurs shared with me.

More Inspiring Insights from Phabulous Philly

2012-04-26T14:00:00Z

As I mentioned in my previous Phabulous Philly post, every so often my dear Citibank colleague, Vicki Zaslavsky, and I bring together enterprising women in our respective networks to talk shop, which often means anything and everything from finance and fashion to leadership and leverage to entrepreneurship and the economy.

Our most recent get-together was over lunch at the tastefully appointed Pyramid Club in Center City. I kicked off the conversation by sharing highlights from the recent Citibank Small Business Survey and what we've heard from women business owners about their motivations for pursuing the entrepreneurial path, which opened up a spirited conversation about our respective career journeys and experiences.

On the train ride home, I distilled my pages and pages of notes down to five key take-aways, which I shared on Twitter in an abbreviated form and echo in many respects to what I heard from another group of enterprising women:

1. Define success on your own terms, whether it is the proverbial "corner office" or running your own business from your kitchen -- but then you must own the choices you make. You can have it all -- family, career, professional recognition-- over the course of a lifetime, although layering various "pieces" in over time can really help with balancing and integrating all your competing priorities.

2. Don't assimilate, but differentiate. Forge a powerful professional brand and personality by building on what makes you unique, your strengths and accomplishments. Get comfortable in your own skin -- the more comfortable you are with yourself, the more confident you will feel and others will perceive you.

3. Work hard but also work smart. You've got to put in the hours and deliver, but you also need to keep your head up and look forward. This will enable you to stay in-the-know about how your specialty, company and industry are changing so that you can adapt your skills and strategy to stay relevant and capitalize on emerging market opportunities.

4. Seek out mentors and be a mentor. Find leaders in your organization or industry, male or female, who are successful. Observe, listen, ask for feedback and adapt. And then pay it forward by sharing your experience and insights with emerging talent in your organization -- and don't be shy about learning from them either.

5. Push through your fear and self-doubts. Don't let yourself or others box you in. Break out of your comfort zone and get comfortable being your own cheerleader.

We also touched on whether women in business today are inherently less willing to take risk, which spurred considerable discussion. I promise to distill those notes for you as well. For now, though, what do you think about the above? Good advice? Did we miss anything? Inspiring minds want to know so please share your experience and insights with me!

Teaching My Daughter the Value of Money

2012-04-24T14:00:00Z

Teaching my daughter the value of money is an item on my list of parenting worries that keeps me up at night. And today, on National Teach Children to Save Day (and the eve of her fifth birthday), the topic is certainly top of mind.

When she was younger, I just tried to reinforce the message that money doesn't grow on trees. But now as she gets older, money works its way into the conversation more often. She recently came home from school with the news that her friend lost a first tooth and questions about the tooth fairy and money, unsure how they are linked. There is allowance on the horizon, not to mention the impending inevitable requests for Ugg boots and Juicy sweatshirts.

I realized that my daughter was aware of money at a young age. There was playing pretend store which involved a toy cash register and fake credit cards to purchase household items like sponges and socks. And the road trip to visit friends when she chimed in that the large homes we passed were "expensive" (completely shocking since she was only three at the time!). But really, why shouldn't she be aware of money even if I wasn't making distinctions like rich or poor, expensive or inexpensive? From trips to the ATM, the zoo, the dry cleaner or the grocery store, children see money change hands countless times. Not to mention online shopping -- when she asks where I bought something, frequently my answer is "online" so she thinks goods and services magically appear from the laptop.

My strategy for teaching the value of money while my daughter is still relatively young is using everyday teachable moments. There are so many opportunities to teach children about money in our daily lives. Reading one of her favorite books has the character taking the money she has saved to buy a special bear. Or the annual penny harvest at school when they collect spare change to donate to charity, offering a chance to teach about philanthropy. Even seeing Mom and Dad head off to work in the morning leads to a discussion of working to make money so we can buy things we need like groceries, as well as save up for special things like vacations.

Luckily, Women & Co. has some great tools to help me get going -- tips for teaching kids good financial habits and teaching kids about saving money. I'm hoping that by doing my homework and being diligent about using everyday teachable moments, I can move teaching my daughter the value of money back down towards the bottom of my list of parenting worries!

How are you teaching your children the value of money?

"Thinking Green" in April

2012-04-19T14:00:00Z

As spring weather sweeps across the country each April, it unfolds a blanket of color woven from the blooms of tulips, pansies and daffodils. For me, though, when I think of April, all that comes to mind is the color green. Let me explain.

As someone whose first career was as an environmental consultant, it's probably no surprise that Earth Day, which is celebrated each year on April 22, holds special meaning for me. It's a time that I reflect on the environmental impact of how I'm living and set my eco-resolution for the year. This year, the Earth Day Network is hoping to reach a goal of one billion acts of green. I was inspired by the pledges made thus far, from switching to home-made eco-friendly cleaning solutions to purchasing more locally sourced and produced food. I added my pledge which is to use my refillable water bottle daily, rather than once in a while. Given that I buy a few liters every day, this will not only reduce my footprint but could even improve my waistline from the increased trips I'll be making from my desk to the water fountain for refills. A win-win all around!

Another reason that April signifies green is because it's when banks, including Citi, team with parents, educators and community leaders to help young people develop healthy savings habits -- something that is near and dear to my heart as a Women & Co. MoMM. This year's Teach Children to Save Day is set for April 24. Whether your children are 3 or 30, there's always something to teach -- and learn -- about the power in making savings a priority, spending on the right stuff, and using credit wisely. The Teach Children to Save website has lots of great tools for young savers and don't forget to check out our tips for getting the conversation going.

Are you now thinking, seeing and dreaming in green? What acts of green will you be making this month?

Help Me Plan My Honeymoon!

2012-04-17T14:00:00Z

My fiancé and I have never planned a wedding before. But, being the diligent accountant/attorney duo that we are, we've taken every possible opportunity to do our research and make smart choices each step of the way. So far, it's gone great. Ceremony? Our church is booked and we've begun the requisite pre-marital counseling. Reception? Venue booked, band booked, and we're (and by "we're," I mean "I'm") in the process of working with our florist to nail down the perfect ambiance for our special day. My dress? Done. Bridesmaids' dresses? Check. His tux and his groomsmen's? Well, that continues to be a work-in-process, but we'll get there!

There is, however, one area in which we aren't exactly proud of the progress we've made to date: honeymoon planning. We're beyond excited to take a big trip together; we love going to new places, exploring unfamiliar things, meeting new people, trying exotic foods, and we even enjoy the "getting there" part. We simply don't know where to go. Here's why:

1. We're having trouble predicting the weather.

Of the 9 gazillion travel websites, we haven't found a single one that clearly specifies the best places for sunny, beach-y weather in late September/early October. The one thing we have found is where not to go (just an FYI, it's hurricane season in the Caribbean and monsoon season in the Pacific). Call us paranoid, but we want to avoid bad weather completely, so we're putting serious work into finding our best bet (can you believe there's not a one-stop resource for this?).

2. We're overwhelmed by the volume of online travel resources.

For all of the other wedding planning we're doing, we've known exactly which resources to consult: We needed to plan our wedding so I signed up at The Knot. We needed a wedding website, so we went to Wedding Wire. I needed a dress, and, well, you know how that turned out. But finding the perfect vacation resource has been tricky. There are countless lists of "best resorts in Hawaii" or "most romantic beaches in Tahiti," but how do we know which to use?

3. We're using points.

To me, getting married is extremely personal. As a result, I rarely give wedding planning advice. But there is one tip that I will gladly share: get a rewards card. The day after we got engaged, I applied for a rewards card so that we could accrue points as we forked money over for wedding expenses. Using those points, as well as those I've accrued through work travel from my previous job (thanks Ernst & Young!), we're hoping we'll be able to cover most of our honeymoon costs. We have been pleasantly surprised by the numerous options (in terms of flights and accommodations) that are available to us, but we just don't know which to choose. We've tried turning to travel agents, but, not surprisingly, paying with points has proven to be a big turn-off to travel agents, who typically rely on some commission-based pay structure.

How do you make your travel decisions? What's your go-to resource? Do you use apps, read travel books, work with travel agents, or utilize travel websites? Have you been on a honeymoon or taken a big trip with your spouse or significant other? Where did you go and how did you decide to travel there?

Want to Simplify Your Financial Life? There's an App for That.

2012-04-12T14:00:00Z

A self-admitted math geek, I thoroughly enjoy putting pen to paper to solve even the most simplest of mathematical quandaries, such as how much tip to leave. Even when I switched to online banking, I kept a checkbook register, diligently tracking my balance purely for the fun of doing the math. With time at even more of a premium, I've turned in my loyal #2 pencil in favor of a stylus. Not surprising since I'm an employee of Citi, I use our mobile and iPad apps for virtually all of my daily financial needs, including up-to-the-minute balances.

Always on the lookout for apps to expand my virtual financial tool-box, I was delighted to come across some new ones for calculating tips and tracking expenses. I'm going to check them out and thought you might be interested too. In addition to these exciting new apps, I wanted to share with you even more exciting news: Citi recently launched the first banking app designed exclusively for the Kindle Fire. The Citi app provides a convenient way to manage your finances and access your favorite Women & Co. content on the go. You can download the new Citibank® app for free using the Amazon Appstore.

Which apps are you using to simplify your financial life?

Rounding Out My (Babysitter) Rolodex

2012-04-10T14:00:00Z

Writing a Women & Co. article on finding and budgeting for backup childcare was the perfect assignment for me. As I wrote about in a previous post, my family started off the New Year minus our full time nanny of the past four years. It feels like we're suddenly without a safety net! I took the assignment to heart since I have been scrambling to fill my virtual rolodex with babysitters that can pinch hit for us.

In the spirit of practicing what I preach, I put my article research to the test in my personal life. Here's what I found: my two favorite sources for babysitters were the website SitterCity and word-of-mouth referrals. A poll of my Facebook mom friends found that these are their top two methods for finding babysitters as well.

• SitterCity: I placed an ad on SitterCity (you have to pay a monthly fee, but I found an online coupon code for 30% off so it was well worth it for the one month it took to find a babysitter). I received 80 responses in a few short weeks for a part-time, afterschool babysitter! Granted they weren't all gems, but I had access to a large pool of qualified candidates. Most even had recent background checks plus some had parent reviews. We ultimately hired our afterschool babysitter from SitterCity.

• Word of Mouth: Then, I put the word out to my mom network that we're looking for backup, occasional sitters and they have been fantastic about sharing names. What doesn't work for one person's schedule may work for another's. An added bonus is the built-in reference.

As a mom who works in corporate America, I sometimes have to remind myself that the babysitting world is a bit more casual than the business world. For example, our daughter has finally warmed up to a new babysitter after two Saturday nights and we're excited to use her more often. This morning I asked if she is available for a date less than three weeks in advance and her text response was "It's a little too far away for me to commit right now."

Even if she can't commit, I'm committed to having a steady supply of back up babysitters at my fingertips! I'm still looking to round out my rolodex -- what are your suggestions for finding great backup babysitters?

Raise a Hand, Lend a Hand

2012-04-05T14:00:00Z

Over the past few weeks, I've made the rounds in New York, Philadelphia and Boston to talk with colleagues, clients and other smart women about International Women's Day and Women's History Month.

As diverse as the audiences, speakers and events were, the key message was the same, summarized so elegantly by the always inspiring Lisa Green Hall, CEO of Calvert Foundation, "It's time for women to become agents of their own economic power and opportunity, and stand up for themselves and for other women and girls in this country and across the world."

Betsy Myers, author of Take the Lead, encouraged women to raise their hand - to step out of their comfort zone and push through the fear and self-doubts that often turn opportunities into obstacles. "It's time to close the confidence gap, confront the balance question, and harness the emotional intelligence, holistic thinking and collaborative style women bring to the table which are essential to organizational effectiveness in today's economy," said Betsy.

Lisa spoke of the importance of putting the "power of our purse" to work in a way that creates a multiplier effect: buy from brands that empower women and girls, donate to charitable organizations that serve the needs of women and girls, and invest in projects that create needed economic opportunities and critical services for women. Calvert Foundation's new Women INvesting in Women INitiative (WIN-WIN) is an example of this new breed of "impact investing" vehicles.

At a New York board meeting of Step Up Women's Network (on which I serve), national CEO Jenni Luke, shared videos that brought home just how important it is that we put our time and talent to work as a mentor and share our experiences and insights with young girls who may be struggling to find their voice and place in society.

So, raise a hand and lend a hand. In previous posts, I've shared some of the ways I strive to be a mentor and multiplier. How have you pushed through your fear and created opportunity for yourself? And, what are some of the ways you are reaching out and lending a hand?