jody mahoney | finding the right capital for great causes

Goodbye, Little Warrior

Cady Jeanne Hine (July 8, 1987 - April 1, 2012)

All week I've searched for an answer. I know death has no answer. I know this. But that knowledge does not stop me from seeking explanation—an answer, some preposterous framework to allow me to accept the death of this beautiful young woman, beloved sister of Andrew, my son's best friend.

Little Warrior. Her truest name. A fighter, perhaps the greatest fight occurring between Cady and herself. Little Warrior. Is she still fighting in Heaven? Is she protecting those farthest from God's embrace, patrolling the train tracks even there? Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, I simply prayed to the Blessed Mother. Please Mary, I entreated, wrap Cady in Your sweetest love. Pull her into Your flowing robes, cover her face with kisses.

Mary hasn't answered me yet. Perhaps you only get one answer in your life, and I got mine. But the poet Lucille Clifton answered me, and I understand this answer, coming from the land of my own childhood—soft shores of the Chesapeake.
__________

blessing the boats
Lucille Clifton

(at St. Mary's)

may the tide
that is entering even now
the lip of our understanding
carry you out
beyond the face of fear
may you kiss
the wind then turn from it
certain that it will
love your back may you
open your eyes to water
water waving forever
and may you in your innocence
sail through this to that

From Quilting: Poems 1987-1990 by Lucille Clifton. Copyright 2001 by Lucille Clifton

A White House Briefing on Women, March 27, 2011—Women’s Issues are Everyone’s Issues

As part of Vision 2020 http://www.drexel.edu/vision2020/, a national initiative convening women leaders from across the U.S. with the purpose of advancing women's equality by the year 2020, I was invited to a White House Women’s Briefing. Jointly developed by the White House Office of Public Engagement, Council on Women and Girls and Vision 2020, the briefing spoke to core issues impacting women, and presented White House solutions. I was honored to be invited as a representative of the Anita Borg Institute.

Women and Girls in STEM was a prominent topic throughout the day, present in every briefing conversation. The Department of Education quoted NCWIT statistics on the decline of women and girls in STEM, while briefing speakers described current and emerging U.S. government STEM initiatives—Educate to Innovate, the Race to the Top Competition, the National Science Foundation’s Career-Life Balance Initiative, NIH’s re-entry program, the White House Women in STEM Speakers Bureau and a new Department of Energy Mentoring Program. I am most hopeful for the public-private partnerships emerging through the Jobs and Competitiveness Council, a Presidential Commission comprised of some of the top technology companies. 10,000 Engineers is a great example.

But what mobilized me throughout the briefing, however, were the underlying issues still facing many women in America—77% pay gap; 1 in 5 women victims of domestic violence; 1 in 4 women subject to violence in college before they graduate. I thought again about women in the same place, running really hard. The core underlying issues of pay and safety that impact the fundamental financial and physical security of women are tied to STEM. They are tied to the continuing leaky pipeline—why stay in an engineering job when you know your male colleagues are making more money? Why start your own women-led technology company when you know that less than 10% of venture backed startups go to women, despite proven statistics demonstrating a higher ROI from companies run by women.

The Obama Administration has some brilliant women advisors working on these issues. For all the Beltway Bashing that occurs, I was extraordinarily impressed by the Advisors that briefed us—Cecilia Muňoz, Russlynn Ali, Tina Tchen, Steven Robinson to name just a few. These are some exceptionally smart women and men. And the Vision 2020 delegates are tough. We like a good fight. We are willing to fight for our rights. But imagine the energy we could unleash and focus on issues facing the U.S—particularly STEM and job creation—if we weren’t still worried about being charged 150% more for our health care than a man. Imagine how we could mobilize if we didn’t have to worry about teaching ourselves to negotiate the remaining 23 cents for every dollar we should be earning.

Women in the Same Place, Running Really Hard…

I am celebrating International Women’s Day in New York.

On Tuesday, I participated in the Women’s Empowerment Principles Annual Meeting hosted by UN Global Compact and UN Women, and moderated by the Honorable Linda Tarr-Whelan, former Ambassador to the UN Commission on the Status of Women and a Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow. This morning, I attended the Women’s World Banking Breakfast (President and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian) featuring a remarkable panel moderated by Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of The Paley Center for Media. And there is my own work on behalf of technical women at the Anita Borg Institute. Believe me when I tell you I have spent all week in New York in the company of truly extraordinary women.

The subject of targets vs. quotas for women, especially women at the highest levels, has come up repeatedly this week. I had the great fortune to hear both sides of the debate speak passionately at the Women’s World Banking breakfast this morning. Melinda Wolfe, Head of Professional Development at Bloomberg L.P., does not believe in quotas. She believes targets are the answer, which is true of many women who don’t want to believe they were given a job because of a quota—they want to be selected based on skill and talent.

Wolfe framed the issue beautifully, responding to a question of why women are still only 3% of Fortune 500 companies and 15% of corporate board seats, after so many initiatives backed by credible research from the World Economic Forum, Deloitte, USAID, World Bank, IFC, Women’s World Banking just to name a few. In response, Wolfe said, “We are in the same place running really hard.” She went on to state, “Women are not seen as a sustainable force in our world. They are not seen as sustainable by corporations.” Wolfe observed that the term sustainability now connotes green, not women, as a sustainable force.

Pat Mitchell, CEO and President of Paley Center for Media, believes in quotas. Mitchell argues, and quite persuasively I might add, that targets do not work, stating EU women in leadership positions are declining, and the decline is prompting countries to institute quotas. Mitchell went on to say that by relying on targets, we will never reach the lever Wolfe said is required for change—critical mass at EVERY level. 30% or more women in all areas.

Gloria Steinem reiterated a similar belief in a speech I attended in January 2012 on behalf of MS. Magazine’s 40th Anniversary. Steinem stated, “There is nothing wrong with women. It is the system that is broken.” Seemed like every woman in the room either tweeted, blogged or Facebooked those words because I read them over and over. In other words, relying on targets in a system that does not work on behalf of women will not get us to 30%.

Targets vs. quotas generate a rich and lively debate at many levels, and I felt honored to be a part of it on International Women’s Day, especially given the passion and brilliance of Melinda Wolfe, Pat Mitchell and Gloria Steinem.

To be honest, the debate has changed my thinking. For the first time, I believe we should consider quotas. The targets simply aren’t moving us forward. We aren’t making headway. As someone wryly shared when describing a male board member’s approach to diversity, the board member answered, “Yeah, there is diversity on our board—men with hair, and men without.”

GIRLS, UNCLE JOHNNY, AND A BUCKET O' TOOLS

My real Uncle Johnny was killed at Pearl Harbor before I was born. But my brother-in-law, (if you live in Maryland, take your car to his shop--John Hook Automotive in Beltsville, MD) is widely known as Uncle Johnny. I've been calling him Uncle Johnny for years. I spent a weekend in September with Uncle Johnny, my nephew Rich and my niece Michelle helping my sister relocate to a new home after she lost hers in Hurricane Irene. Kind of a personal "H4H" weekend--we were there to work hard. Uncle Johnny came prepared--his own power washer, a generator, a bucket filled with incredible tools, tubes of caulk, sheets of green board drywall. Over the course of 48 hours, Uncle Johnny taught me to: rip out a bathroom wall and build a new wall using green board drywall; mud & tape that wall; frame out a window; powerwash a building using a mix of bleach and water; build a landing and a set of stairs. But even better, he taught me how to use all these great tools. Did you know there are different sizes of hammers? Drills are magic--they do everything. Mud and tape is pretty cool, and framing a window isn't so hard. That rubber mallet does a million things without scratching. And the most important of all--use the right size screwdriver. I mean, really. It makes a big difference. I am one of 5 daughters, so no one ever taught me about home improvement, AND I LOVE IT. I've now re-grouted my bathroom. Painted the exterior of my house in San Francisco, complete with scraping, sanding, patching, caulking, priming, and painting. Yep, that was me on the ladder. Got 2 bids, one for $3100 and one for $2500. I did it myself. I keep getting up in the morning and going outside to gaze at the back of my house. I did this, I repeat again and again. I assumed that Johnny's father, Buck, taught Johnny this knowledge. I was certain it was passed down by men from father to son, and girls just got the short end of the stick because our fathers didn't teach us. But that was npt the case with Uncle Johnny. He taught himself. He said a project would come along--he is part of a faith-based network that tackles building projects on behalf of vulnerable populations--and he taught himself. All his hand tools are jammed crazy together in a big paint bucket filled with just about every useful tool you could need or want. I thought about Clint Eastwood's film Gran Torino when he explains to a young Laotian immigrant that a man spends a lifetime acquiring his tools. Well, I'm a girl and behind the power curve. But I have my father's wooden measuring stick from the 1930s. I have an electric screwdriver. I have needle nose pliers, and regular ones, too. Now I have tools to apply grout. Lots of paint brushes and caulk. I need a caulking gun. I want new tools for Christmas. I want to renovate my downstairs bathroom, myself. Forget perfume and jewelry. I want my own bucket o' tools. Thanks, Uncle Johnny.

The Woman’s Fight

I am travelling through Morocco with the TechWomen delegation. I've visited small villages where women are the predominant earners, struggling to find distribution channels for their work. We teach them ecommerce, packaging, marketing, competition. Unable to ask their own product questions—the village men are the voices we most often hear—these women genuinely want to move their products into broader distribution. We describe Etsy, PayPal, eBay, leave materials, links and business cards. But I keep thinking, why can't they learn to develop iPhone or Droid apps? Teach them Google's app builder. The younger women are not afraid.

Contrast these rural women with Fatim Essahra El Mansouri, first ever woman mayor of Marrakech. Or Milouda Hazeb, Parliamentary Representative and President of Ennakhil District—only ten percent of Morocco Parliamentary Ministers are women, but Madam Hazeb wants thirty percent, and 50 percent of women in government. Madame la Mayor queried us extensively—what about affirmative action for women? What about the EU move toward board quotas?

The woman's fight is how these influential women describe the fight for equal rights in Morocco. They blame their English, but I don't think it's a language faux pas. Unlike our US and EU colloquial women's movement, the woman's fight defines the changing face of Moroccan patriarchal society, as led by women such as Madame la Mayor or Madame Hazeb. The expectation of these strong, determined women is that individual efforts must be powerful enough to pave the way for the thousands of women at home, in villages, towns and cities. And they hold themselves accountable, so it literally become's the woman's fight, one woman at a time.

Perhaps the groundbreaking work of Madame la Mayor and Madame Hazeb will one day impact the lives of artisans in the Association A-Foulki Pour Femme. These rural women craftswomen live in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains--charismatic, hardworking, and smart, but with such limited economic options other than the sale of handicrafts. They struggle to build businesses that will keep them impoverished. If they can make candles, couldn't they make Droid apps? Is that too far a stretch? Perhaps it is. Or perhaps we should take the Berber words a-foulki in the literal sense. Lifting these women out of poverty is good, and beautiful.

Intel Science Talent Search—Welcome to the Real Meaning of Elegant Science

Kim Warren-Martin, Women's Initiative Manager for Intel Global Diversity and Inclusion, generously extended an invitation to the Anita Borg Institute to attend the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search Gala held in Washington, DC on March 15, 2011. I was the lucky attendee on behalf of the Institute.

Forty finalists—high school seniors chosen from over 1,700 applicants—spent a week in Washington DC, including meeting with President Obama, culminating in a science fair/poster session displaying their work at the gala, and the ultimate discovery of who among them would be one of the top ten winners slated to receive awards ranging from $20,000 to $100,000.

I've thought about these finalists and their work for the past few weeks. I was stunned (yes, I know I never met a hyperbole I didn't like), but stunned is the only word I can use—by the extraordinary depth and intellectual pursuit of these high school seniors. I won the local science fair in elementary school with a research project on the pathology of plants, and while younger, I still remember the thrill of winning.

But these kids, because that is what they still are—kids—developed a new treatment strategy for liver cancer (Selena Shi-Yao Li, Mira Loma High School, CA); discovered a completely new species (Bonnie Rae Lei, Walnut High School, CA); studied the impact of exposure to particulate matter, demonstrating that agricultural workers in the Central Valley are indeed significantly impacted, especially during the winter months (Krystle M. Leung Naperville Central High School, IL); found a link between the food additive carrageenan and cancer (Prithwis Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Woodbury High School, MN); and invented a ternary Toffoli gate to improve the efficiency of quantum computing algorithms—essentially, faster and more efficient computers (Yushi Wang, Sunset High School Oregon).

My table mate was Matthew Miller, Western Alamance High School in NC who actually altered the aerodynamics of wind turbine blades, starting first in his family's garage, expanding to a university wind tunnel. Matthew won 3^rd place and $50,000 for his remarkable work. Our other table mates erupted in excitement when Matthew was named, including Betty Shanahan, CEO of the Society of Women Engineers, Thomas Servello, Director of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, and Pia Wilson-Body, Intel Senior Manager Global Diversity and Inclusion.

I was heartened by the scholarship, inquisitiveness and rigor of these students. 16 of the 40 were young women. Science and technology permeated their elegant, game changing solutions. I felt a sense of limitless possibility, a pride in what makes us who we are. Science on the cusp of discovery.

If my future is in the hands of these young people, I salute each one and gladly turn the reins over to them. Thank you, Intel.

translation http://www.designcontest.com/show/real-meaning-fi

Women’s Empowerment Principles, One Year Later

Equality Means Business

Do you know that women account for $20 trillion of global purchasing power—more than the entire GDP of China?  Or that women influence 80% of all purchasing decisions, worldwide? [1] Or more sobering to women in the US--American women are the majority of voters, 80 percent of consumers, majority of graduates of colleges, professional and graduate programs, and the driving force of entrepreneurship.  And yet the wage gap persists, only a handful of women are on corporate boards or in corner offices--no matter the field or profession, women business owners still face unnecessary obstacles, Congress is only 16 percent women, and quality affordable and accessible childcare--concerns that most affect mothers--are still only a dream for most.[2]

On March 9-10, 2011 I attended a joint meeting of the UN Global Compact and UN Women scheduled to coincide with International Women’s Day.  The purpose of the meeting--TAKING STOCK, SHARING LESSONS—was designed to present lessons from the field.

A speaker at the 2010 meeting and participant in 2011, I was struck by the difference between the inaugural 2010 meeting and the follow-up 2011 meeting.  This year, the room was full to bursting—every seat was taken, people were sitting on the sidelines, in the aisles, standing in the doorway.

In 2010, there were very few men in attendance.  In 2011, men were everywhere—men from Deloitte, IBM, Deans Beans, Calvert Asset Management, Banco do Brasil, Ceylon Asset Management Pvt. Ltd, Caixa Econômica Federal, and Sumitomo Chemical America to name a few.   The opening remarks were given by His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. 

And the women—what a remarkable group of smart women, starting with the extraordinary Hon. Linda Tarr-Whelan, Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow, leader, author and former Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women....a mother of 2/grandmother of 4.   Linda is definitely my new hero.  And the brilliant young Saadia Zahidi, who heads the WEF’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme.   Irene Natividad, Chair, Corporate Women Directors International, who argues passionately that we should implement quotas for women on boards similar to the EU initiative (40% board seats occupied by women) until there are enough women on boards that it just no longer matters.  Ellen McLatchey, Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Symantec Corporation—it seemed that most of the people in the room had a story to convey about Symantec’s support. Round it out with Cherie Blair (yes, formerly of Number 10 Downing Street) and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and Geena Davis, Founder of  the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media .  Geena Davis wryly observed that if we measure the number one job women occupy as portrayed by the media, particularly the film industry, that job would be princess.   

Board quotas or princesses…what’s your choice?

I want another set of choices and believed that if it were up to the women and men in the room, my choices would be outstanding.

How about these choices as profiled in the Deloitte Gender Dividend Report:

“The future belongs to those of us, female or male, who can adopt and embrace the feminine archetype.” John Hagel III, cofounder Deloitte Center for the Edge, Deloitte United States

Or this simple economic fact… in the US, nearly all net job creation since 1980 has come from small businesses operating for fewer than five years. Today, the number of women owned businesses in this category is growing at twice the rate of growth overall… and the job creation [we] need to fuel any kind of middle class is not going to come from corporations, it’s going to come from small business,” says Harvard business professor Nancy Koehn.

Or this… more educated women than men move from their country of origin in search of greater opportunities producing a female brain drain of global proportions. Countries and companies that lose educated women suffer a double loss—they lose a worker and a potential mentor

 

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[1] http://www.deloitte.com/genderdividend Deloitte Gender Dividend Report

[2] http://demos.org/issue.cfm?e=Womens_Leadership_Initiative Women’s Leadership Initiative

December in Bangalore: Sounds of the Season

I am in India for the second time in my life, five years after the first.  Things I most remember from my first trip—a mad fusion of sound and color and beauty and decay--are very much part of my second trip.   An almost unbearable level of external stimulus exists here that reminds me (in much larger scope) of New York City.  I always give myself twenty-four hours in Manhattan to get my game face on, and then I hit the streets.  India is the same for me, but on a massive scale. 

I was troubled about coming to India in December.  I love Christmas.  Not the commercial Christmas—I boycott Black Friday by spending the day donating to charities—but I love the array of sacred music everywhere—concerts all month long.  My favorite, the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, remains with me for the entire year.  I always think of the song In the Bleak Midwinter because the lights in the Cathedral are dimmed as the sacred music spills forth, often on the eve of the darkest, shortest day of the year.

But no solace here.  India is constant noise, regardless of the hour.  Street dogs barking, cars honking, trucks rumbling up the street, motorbikes everywhere, construction at all hours—a hurly burly (as in noisy confusion, tumult) that pounds through you.  But I am an urban creature—given the choice, I vacation in cities all over the world.  So I spent yesterday getting my Bengaluru game face ready, and planned to venture out.

Unfortunately I'm jet lagged and couldn’t sleep, so I got up at 5 AM to read.  All of a sudden I heard this odd sound.  I located it as external, and I opened the door of my balcony.  Lo and behold—it was the Muezzin from a nearby Islamic mosque, issuing the predawn first of five calls to prayer.  Hauntingly beautiful—I know it is a cliché, but it really was haunting—and I stood entranced, the Muezzin’s voice calling the faithful to praise Allah, the predawn prayer including, “it is better to pray than to sleep.”

Here I was, lamenting the absence of sacred music and when I least expected it, music arrived.  A Muezzin’s voice mixed with the still, dark, bleak midwinter December morning in India, and the sounds of the Adhan issued forth.  Come to prayer.  Come to prayer.

An iconic California day, drove up CA35, gorgeous Indian Summer weather, beautiful leaves, jazz on the iPod, and an early Thanksgiving meal with people I really like. One good day leads to a good week leads to a good month and all of a sudden it's a great life.

WHAT THE DYING TELL THE LIVING

Suddenly awake, you would banish

The pious priest from your beside

While exultant tears of your daughters

Score the background.

Your cool, thin-veined hands

Direct one daughter to sing.

And to the others, you’d say:

Cover all mirrors, I’ll not gaze back.

Wash your hands in a bucket of water—

I won’t cling to your fingers.

Leave through the same door you entered—

I’ll not follow.

                             In memory of my father, Richard Francis Mahoney