Women in Business

MI Forum with Karen Finerman of Metropolitan Capital Advisors. Interviewed by Jody Miller of Business Talent Group. As a woman running an investment bank she co-founded, Karen Finerman noticed numerous ways that she and her female colleagues sabotaged themselves professionally and personally. Why couldn't her friends bring the logic they applied at work to their personal decisions? Why were they uncomfortable with their desire for wealth and success? Why do 80 percent of women have a man in charge of their money? At this Milken Institute Forum, the successful hedge fund manager and CNBC investment commentator, who has also raised two sets of twins, will discuss "Finerman's Rules: Secrets I'd Only Tell My Daughters About Business and Life." The book is rich with not necessarily politically correct ideas for helping women overcome the barriers they face in reaching their goals. With the author's contrarian wit evident throughout, "Finerman's Rules" clues women in on how to get ahead, say no, unplug, raise kids well, deal with the inevitable double standards they face and take control of their financial independence.

Speakers: Molly Ashby, Founder and CEO, Solera Capital Geena Davis, Academy Award-Winning Actor; Founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Deborah DeHaas, Vice Chairman and Chief Inclusion Officer, Deloitte LLP Manju Ganeriwala, State Treasurer, Commonwealth of Virginia Ann McElaney-Johnson, President, Mount St. Mary's College Moderator: Willow Bay, Special Correspondent, Bloomberg Television; Senior Editor, Huffington Post. The U.S. Senate, famed as a men's club, now has more women members than ever before - but still only 20 percent. At one time, a female Fortune 500 CEO was unheard of. At 4 percent, their status has progressed to rare. Yet the majority of voters are female - 54 percent in 2012 - as are holders of college degrees, so can the maldistribution of political and economic power be justified any longer? Many argue that part of the problem lies in a media culture that ignores women or presents disparaging and unrealistic female images as it models the world for our children. This panel will consider the prospects for true equality as our young century unfolds. With women now on the front lines, what is the next glass ceiling to be shattered? Join a conversation with change agents about pushing limits and working toward gender parity.

Speakers: Richard Ditizio, Executive Director, Business and Program Development, Milken Institute Margery Kraus, Founder and CEO, APCO Worldwide Sallie Krawcheck, Former President, Global Wealth & Investment Management Division, Bank of America Lauren Leichtman, Founding Principal and CEO, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Moderator: Liz Claman, Anchor, Fox Business Network. Only 21 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women, despite decades of professed work around diversity and efforts to grow the ranks of senior women in corporate America. With women accounting for more than half of college graduates, companies expend great energy trying to bring top female candidates into their organizations but are failing at creating paths to the C-suite. Some 40 years after the Women's Movement, we seem mired in place. What isn't working? Is the issue particularly acute on Wall Street, with its old boys' network? How do we finally change the trajectory? Are there programs in finance that prepare the next generation of female leaders to assume greater responsibility? How can we entrench and replicate successful recruitment, retention and promotion programs, and how can we enlist men as agents of change? Join us for a solutions-based conversation.

Leila Janah was inspired by her immigrant parents to connect the poor to online job opportunities. Susana De Anda tapped into her family's farmworker background and today brings clean water to the San Joaquin Valley. They are two of 14 inspirational visionaries featured in the book "Hearts on Fire" by Jill Iscol. At this Milken Institute Forum, moderator Angella Nazarian - herself an author who has written about female pioneers - led a dynamic and thoughtful conversation with Iscol, De Anda and Janah about how these innovative women are turning idealism into action and changing the world in the process.

Women entrepreneurs are a growing force in the economy. Between 1997 and 2011, the number of women-owned businesses in the United States grew at twice the rate of men-owned firms. Nevertheless, one of the fundamental challenges facing any entrepreneur today is finding the capital to launch and grow a business. Do women entrepreneurs face unique challenges or issues in obtaining start-up financing and growth capital? Are there policy or market solutions that can help to facilitate the flow of capital or credit to start-up enterprises and small businesses, especially those owned by women? The Milken Institute and George Washington University will host the following distinguished panelists to explore these and related questions: Karen Mills, Administrator, United States Small Business Administration Peggy Wallace, Managing Director, Golden Seeds Melinda Wittstock, CEO and Founder, NewsiT Lisa Hall,President and CEO, Calvert Foundation Leadership Council, AEO One in Three Initiative Samantha Ettus(moderator), Best-selling Author and Contributor, Forbes; Founder, Working Moms Lifestyle