Hi all! Zuza Bohley from United Nations Assoc of Boulder County sent this to share with Business and Professional Woman of Colorado and beyong! THINK ABOUT IT FOLKS:

Women are often dis-proportionatetly affected by climate change – and are the keys to climate action.  We want to recognize and empower women as impactful change makers for the environment and health of our planet.

Women bear severe gender impacts of climate change but systematically lack equal representation in decision making. That is a problem.^[1]

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security ^[2] recently released a new study that examines climate change as a human rights imperative, global security threat and a pervasive strain on economic stability. The report highlights how women bear severe gendered impacts of climate change – including adverse health, economic, social and physical consequences – but systematically lack equal representation in decision-making.

Structural and cultural disparities make women disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Women are more likely than men to die during and in the aftermath of natural disasters and climate change-related events. For the women who survive, many often lack legal assets and rights to property, which leaves them few resources with which to rebuild their lives. As women travel greater distances to collect essential resources like water, firewood and food to support their families, they are often threatened and abused.

Climate change has also contributed to high levels of displacement and forced migration due to environmental degradation and natural disasters. While migration can be a lifesaving tool for adaptation to climate change, forced migration often perpetuates and worsens the inequalities that women face. When male family members migrate, female members are often left to perform traditional roles as caregivers, in addition to becoming the sole breadwinner. When women must migrate, their economic and physical security is compromised, often leaving them to become targets for human traffickers and smugglers.

Women are more likely to believe in the science of global warming and are more concerned with health and safety issues. They are also more likely to recycle and be more environmentally conscious.

In the industrial world, women are making everyday decisions for their household: what to buy and what to replace. Women have a central role in decision making when it comes to consumption and waste. They decide which brand of detergent, cereal what grocery store and which staples are consumed by their families. Beyond that they are the guardians of what get’s replaced or tossed out. Therefore, women are big stake holders in the opportunity to take impactful action on Climate Change.

Ecocycle in Boulder, Colorado says, "Zero Waste practice is one of the quickest and easiest ways to fight climate change and build healthy communities."

90% of all our trash is recyclable or compostable. Currently, Boulder only recycles and reuses 39% of its waste.

Rethinking consumption and waste, we can save up to 42% of all greenhouse gases (from landfills) focusing on One single action. Thus, we propose that all BoCoWoCo partners agree to become leaders by example: pledging to advance Zero Waste.

This can manifest in having Zero waste events and educating the greater public (as well as our constituencies) about how to become a more conscious consumer, choosing waste minimizing options (sharing resources with others, reusable dishes and silver wear, recycled products, buying in bulk, Meatless Mondays, etc).

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^[1] The Guardian, Dec. 1, 2015: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/01/women-victims-climate-change keys-climate-action

^[2] https://giwps.georgetown.edu/sites/giwps/files/Women%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf

Hello everyone!! Welcome to our blog. I found something very fun that a friend at the TimeBank Boulder gave me. Its on leadership and meetings. What helps us work together better? Take a gander at what it offers and let us know what you think. Let's have a conversation!

1. Make Others Feel Safe to Speak-Up

Many times leaders intimidate their colleagues with their title and power when they walk into a room. Successful leaders deflect attention away from themselves and encourage others to voice their opinions. They are experts at making others feel safe to speak-up and confidently share their perspectives and points of view. They use their executive presence to create an approachable environment.

2. Make Decisions

Successful leaders are expert decision makers. They either facilitate the dialogue to empower their colleagues to reach a strategic conclusion or they do it themselves. They focus on “making things happen” at all times – decision making activities that sustain progress. Successful leaders have mastered the art of politicking and thus don’t waste their time on issues that disrupt momentum. They know how to make 30 decisions in 30 minutes.

3. Communicate Expectations

Successful leaders are great communicators, and this is especially true when it comes to “performance expectations.” In doing so, they remind their colleagues of the organization’s core values and mission statement – ensuring that their vision is properly translated and actionable objectives are properly executed.

I had a boss that managed the team by reminding us of the expectations that she had of the group. She made it easy for the team to stay focused and on track. The protocol she implemented – by clearly communicating expectations – increased performance and helped to identify those on the team that could not keep up with the standards she expected from us.

4. Challenge People to Think

The most successful leaders understand their colleagues’ mindsets, capabilities and areas for improvement. They use this knowledge/insight to challenge their teams to think and stretch them to reach for more. These types of leaders excel in keeping their people on their toes, never allowing them to get comfortable and enabling them with the tools to grow.

If you are not thinking, you’re not learning new things. If you’re not learning, you’re not growing – and over time becoming irrelevant in your work.

5. Be Accountable to Others

Successful leaders allow their colleagues to manage them. This doesn’t mean they are allowing others to control them – but rather becoming accountable to assure they are being proactive to their colleagues needs.

Beyond just mentoring and sponsoring selected employees, being accountable to others is a sign that your leader is focused more on your success than just their own.

6. Lead by Example

Leading by example sounds easy, but few leaders are consistent with this one. Successful leaders practice what they preach and are mindful of their actions. They know everyone is watching them and therefore are incredibly intuitive about detecting those who are observing their every move, waiting to detect a performance shortfall.

7. Measure & Reward Performance

Great leaders always have a strong “pulse” on business performance and those people who are the performance champions. Not only do they review the numbers and measure performance ROI, they are active in acknowledging hard work and efforts (no matter the result). Successful leaders never take consistent performers for granted and are mindful of rewarding them.

8. Provide Continuous Feedback

Employees want their leaders to know that they are paying attention to them and they appreciate any insights along the way. Successful leaders always provide feedback and they welcome reciprocal feedback by creating trustworthyrelationships with their colleagues. They understand the power of perspective and have learned the importance of feedback early on in their career as it has served them to enable workplace advancement.

9. Properly Allocate and Deploy Talent

Successful leaders know their talent pool and how to use it. They are experts at activating the capabilities of their colleagues and knowing when to deploy their unique skill sets given the circumstances at hand.

10. Ask Questions, Seek Counsel

Successful leaders ask questions and seek counsel all the time. From the outside, they appear to know-it-all – yet on the inside, they have a deep thirst for knowledge and constantly are on the look-out to learn new things because of their commitment to making themselves better through the wisdom of others.

11. Problem Solve; Avoid Procrastination

Successful leaders tackle issues head-on and know how to discover the heart of the matter at hand. They don’t procrastinate and thus become incredibly proficient at problem solving; they learn from and don’t avoid uncomfortable circumstances (they welcome them).

Getting ahead in life is about doing the things that most people don’t like doing.

12. Positive Energy & Attitude

Successful leaders create a positive and inspiring workplace culture. They know how to set the tone and bring an attitude that motivates their colleagues to take action. As such, they are likeable, respected and strong willed. They don’t allow failures to disrupt momentum.

13. Be a Great Teacher

Many employees in the workplace will tell you that their leaders have stopped being teachers. Successful leaders never stop teaching because they are so self-motivated to learn themselves. They use teaching to keep their colleagues well-informed and knowledgeable through statistics, trends, and other newsworthy items.

Successful leaders take the time to mentor their colleagues and make the investment to sponsor those who have proven they are able and eager to advance.

14. Invest in Relationships

Successful leaders don’t focus on protecting their domain – instead they expand it by investing in mutually beneficial relationships. Successful leaders associate themselves with “lifters and other leaders” – the types of people that can broaden their sphere of influence. Not only for their own advancement, but that of others.

Leaders share the harvest of their success to help build momentum for those around them.

15. Genuinely Enjoy Responsibilities

Successful leaders love being leaders – not for the sake of power but for the meaningful and purposeful impact they can create. When you have reached a senior level of leadership – it’s about your ability to serve others and this can’t be accomplished unless you genuinely enjoy what you do.

In the end, successful leaders are able to sustain their success because these 15 things ultimately allow them to increase the value of their organization’s brand – while at the same time minimize the operating risk profile. They serve as the enablers of talent, culture and results.

Posted by Sharon Simmons, President of Business and Professional Women of Boulder County and Legislative Chair BPW Colorado   ssimmons@bpwcolorado.org

Gender Equality Study in the US...Colorado's #19!!!

For many advocates, representation in the nation’s highest office could lead to meaningful progress for women’s rights, potentially addressing some of the severe inequalities the nation has yet to overcome.

These issues include a gender pay gap, a lack of flexibility in the workplace during pregnancy and early motherhood, and, indeed, a lack of women holding positions of political influence. While no state has achieved gender pay equality, a number have made substantial progress in closing the earnings gap and in other areas, like electing women to office, funding pre-K programs, and passing laws that allow women to stay in the workforce when they have children, should they so choose.

On the other hand, a number of states remain extremely unfavorable to women in every major category. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed and ranked the 50 states based on their favorability to women. 

Ranking Gender Equality in all 50 States,  these are the top 5:

1. Rhode Island 
> Female earnings as pct. of male: 85.8% (5th highest)
> Pct. mgmt. jobs held by women: 43.6% (5th highest)
> Pct. 3-4 yr. olds enrolled in state pre-K: 1.4% (11th lowest)
> Pct. legislative seats held by women: 27.4% (18th highest)

Across a range of measures related to health, leadership, and financial security, Rhode Island is the best state in the country for women. With mandated special accommodations for pregnant workers and expansions to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 for both private and public sector jobs, Rhode Island has taken considerable steps to address gender inequality.

2. New York 
> Female earnings as pct. of male: 88.7% (the highest)
> Pct. mgmt. jobs held by women: 41.6% (12th highest)
> Pct. 3-4 yr. olds enrolled in state pre-K: 23.9% (11th highest)
> Pct. legislative seats held by women: 24.4% (24th lowest)

Nationwide, women earn only 80% of what their male counterparts earn. While the pay gap exists in every state, it is smallest in New York, where women earn 88.7% of the median male salary.

3. California 
> Female earnings as pct. of male: 85.7% (6th highest)
> Pct. mgmt. jobs held by women: 40.7% (19th highest)
> Pct. 3-4 yr. olds enrolled in state pre-K: 12.9% (23rd highest)
> Pct. legislative seats held by women: 25.8% (20th highest)

Women hold a relatively high share of government leadership positions in California. Of all 55 of the state’s congressional representatives, 38.2% are female.

4. Oregon 
> Female earnings as pct. of male: 80.8% (20th highest)
> Pct. mgmt. jobs held by women: 40.8% (17th highest)
> Pct. 3-4 yr. olds enrolled in state pre-K: 8.2% (22nd lowest)
> Pct. legislative seats held by women: 31.1% (9th highest)

A strong pre-K program can be extremely beneficial for women who might otherwise have to take additional time off or pay out of pocket for childcare. And Oregon has one of the best-funded pre-K systems in the country, with $8,648 in state money apportioned per child.

5. Connecticut 
> Female earnings as pct. of male: 82.4% (14th highest)
> Pct. mgmt. jobs held by women: 40.4% (22nd highest)
> Pct. 3-4 yr. olds enrolled in state pre-K: 16.2% (18th highest)
> Pct. legislative seats held by women: 28.3% (15th highest)

By a number of measures related to health, financial security, and legislation, Connecticut is the fifth best state for women in the country and the second best in New England. The pay gap between men and women is slightly smaller than it is nationwide, and Connecticut voters have elected more women to fill state legislature and congressional delegate seats than is typical.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Julie Anderson, a research associate at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, explained why the wage gap exists. According to Anderson, “the largest contributor to the wage gap is occupational segregation.” Men are more likely to be hired in higher paying, managerial roles than women. Though the share ranges from state to state, nationwide, fewer than 40% of management positions are held by women.

According to Anderson, women are also far more likely than men to work in low wage, part-time jobs. Since the wage gap only measures the incomes of men and women working full time, the problem is even more pronounced than the data indicates. These were the top 5, but for the entire 50 state ranking click on this link: 

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/10/20/ranking-gender-inequality-in-all-50-states/?utm_source=247WallStDailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=OCT252016B&utm_campaign=DailyNewsletter

Green News from BPW Boulder, October

Ten Days of Action!!! 

Business and Professional Women (BPW), which was established in 1919, was one of the first organizations to support the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) written in 1923! The ERA still has15 states that have not ratified the amendment, so BPW continues to work tirelessly on women’s issues! BPW International has over 30,000 members in 109 countries! Currently Sharon Simmons, president of the Boulder chapter and our BPW Colorado Legislative Chair are making great strides on Cities on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Here is information on joining the task force. 

I thought I am hardly qualified to take all this on, I thought, “You have to start somewhere!” and I am learning so much and it is exciting! I have also mentioned that Eco-Cycle, the first curbside recycling in the USA, started right here in Boulder, Colorado. It just celebrated its 40-year anniversary. Organizations from around the planet rely on and learn from Eco-cycle's model.

According to Eco-Cycle,

42 percent of our greenhouse gases come from how products are made, transported, and gotten rid of 

...and that Zero Waste is the easiest and quickest way to fight climate change. 

Every time you buy something, every time you throw something away, think, "Where is this coming from and where is it going?" As soon as you practice this simple mindfulness exercise you will magically begin to reduce and reuse!

There are many organizations that are fighting the big fights—oil and gas, fracking, switching to sustainable energy—but hardly anyone is talking about the little things that can make a huge difference, like reducing and reusing, so I continue to focus on that. One of the first things we did on the BPW Environmental Committee was to create two documents; "What Is Zero Waste and Why Is It Important" and "How to Do a Zero Waste Event." Want to know more about these documents? Email Us!

In January 2016, our chapter was the first to commit to all future events it held being Zero Waste. We are hoping for all chapters in Colorado and the USA to follow suit.

In the past year, BPW Colorado has partnered with Women's Earth and Climate Action Network. They organized a campaign last October for organizations and people to take "a day of action" and asked for photos showing an action. They received photos from all around the world! (Our very own Donna Daniell holds up her sign from last year at the top of the post).

This event is a preface to the Conference of the Parties (COP21) which formed in 1992 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which took place in Paris in late November and early December last year and where a precedent setting 175 parties signed an agreement. The United States, China, and Brazil just ratified the agreement in September.

This article was submitted by Laurie Dameron. Visit her Facebook Page here.

Did you know....

Child care costs surpass price of college tuition

"Putting so much of the child care burden directly on parents means they often seek new work arrangements, sometimes even leaving the working world entirely. But even if people don’t leave work, businesses have a stake in employees’ ability to find reliable, adequate, and affordable child care because workers’ productivity can suffer when they struggle with child care."

Women Powering Change

In July, the annual Women Powering Change event of all women owned businesses and non profit agencies gather under one roof, right near the Bronco's stadium in Denver, CO.

We had women from all over Colorado for the 2016 event! It was exciting. 

They had dance classes on site, interviews with KGNU, healthy foods to snack on while we woman'd information tables and explored hundreds of other exhibitor tables. 

The funnest part is seeing all those women smiling and discussing their passions with all the other women. 

...all with no holes barred. We at Business and Professional Women of Boulder came away with so many connections and also more folks interested in CEDAW (the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women). 

We all look forward to next year as it is done every year in Denver. 

2016 Annual Conference for Business & Professional Women of Colorado

In June, Boulder's chapter of Business and Professional women hosted our state wide event. Included in the VIP guest list was National President Liz Behram. Not only is she President of the National Federation of Business & Professional Women's Clubs, she part of and has a primary initiative of bringing equality to women of all levels.

Six Colorado chapters were present and shared their initiatives and updates of how they are furthering Business and Professional Women's purpose in their local communities. Our chapter, right here in beautiful Boulder, CO is dedicated to strengthening women through mentoring locally and connecting globally and advocating women worldwide.

Part of the weekend included raising funds for the Colorado Women's Education Fund. Its purpose is to provide money to women who want to continue their education and are older than 25. This fund made it possible for 6 women to receive scholarships to attend the annual conference.

Our lineup of VIP guests also included the women that impact and empower others through their work:

• Becca O’Brien Kuusinen, Keynote: The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women’s Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth and $40 billion to Colorado
• Melissa Luna on “The Future of Talent Development Programs”
• Donna Roe Daniell “Women Empowering Women: How I Faced My Lifelong Fears by Climbing Mt. Killimanjaro with 5 African KISA Scholars

This two day event is open to everyone. Next year the conference is in Sterling, Colorado and we can't wait!

The Pendulum of Leadership Continues to Swing

Leadership shows up in many forms. Sometimes we recognize leadership more after the fact than in the moment. The readings we came together to discuss were from the time of the Civil War in the United States of America. You guessed it. Abraham Lincoln. And new to me, Sojourner Truth.

The words of Sojourner spoke of responsibility for us and our lives … on our life’s journey. 

At the same time, we are existing without impeding the journey of others. She speaks of equal capability - that regardless of race or sex we can do what another can do.

When things are not collaborative - the coming together to move ourselves and communities forward, there is a loss of dignity. Sojourner acknowledged how a person loses their dignity:

• Humiliation has happened.
• Individual strength comes from deep within their heart, regardless of what they are forced to do.
• What a person MUST do that is different than who they are.

Her voice, her experience, her view influenced Abraham Lincoln who also believed in his heart of hearts that all beings are equal and there is not a need to hold people down to get what we want. 

And, his leadership guided our country through a time where some felt they were losing their dignity and others were fighting to proudly own theirs.

The conversation turned to the relevance of her words (and his) today in our time…

Contribution is different than seeking power. We are told our value by the money we make for the job we do. We tell people and companies their value by the money we spend.

With equality being championed on many fronts - we’ve seen much change, legally, since 1960 including:

• Legalization of interracial marriage 
• Legalizing same-sex marriage
• One person, one vote
• Full access to all amenities
• Women’s access to contraceptives
• Women’s right to be Pro-Choice
• Illuminating men vs women stereotypes engrained in our culture

...The pendulum keeps swinging. 

When we can hold true our personal values (without imposing them on others) and be open to ideas that differs from our own, the grip of frustration and fear loses hold.

The women that participated in this conversation:

   Marcella Bentley-Salmon

   Sharon Simmons

   Karen McGee

   and me, Jessica Dewell

We want to hear your thoughts.
The excerpts from Sojourner Truth and Abraham Lincoln we discussed were from:

Title: Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence

Pages: 214-223

Our next book club meeting is November (you do not have to be a member to join us).
You can register here.

The confirmation email will detail the excerpt we will discuss, and it will be from the same book.