Catalyzing

Catalyzing is the Catalyst blog, bringing together and amplifying diverse voices that share Catalyst’s mission to expand opportunities for women and business. Catalyzing reflects the wide range of opinions, ideas, and experiences of Catalyst employees, incorporating perspectives from our offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond. It also features non-Catalyst industry leaders, experts, and academics committed to changing workplaces and lives. 

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    Catalyzing
    Women Can...Be on Canadian Boards

    Each country does it differently. Norway, Spain, and France have opted for quotas. The United Kingdom and the United States require disclosure. The Australian Stock Exchange has a “comply or explain” requirement.

    And now, Canada has an advisory committee, whose members possess the best brains...

    May 16, 2013 by Alex Johnston

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    Mothers and Daughters Can: Our Day and Our Time

    It’s 6:15 am. My alarm launches into music, signaling the start of a new day.  My 9-year-old daughter, Morgan, is also awake, prepping for a full day: 3rd grade math, science, and reading, followed by after-school volleyball, tutoring, and some downtime with her 3-year-old brother.

    It’s now 6...

    May 13, 2013 by Dnika J. Travis

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    Talent Is the New Buzzword in the Netherlands

    Change often creeps up on us, and a new phase in the Netherlands may just be starting—one in which we stop accepting traditional notions of what talent looks like, and instead embrace new attitudes towards talent that are not defined by gender.

    At a recent Catalyst Europe Roundtable here in...

    May 9, 2013 by Caroline Pickard

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    What If?

    Until relatively recently, medical research largely ignored women, assuming that what was true for men would apply to women, or that women’s bodies were simply variations on the standard human (read: male) body.

    Research suggests that the habit of treating male experience as the norm, with no...

    May 6, 2013 by David Lau

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    The Evolution of Women’s Empowerment at The Coca-Cola Company

    How can companies attract, engage and retain the very best talent? It’s all about empowering women, says Kathleen Ciaramello, Vice-President of East Zone at Coca-Cola Refreshments. The Coca-Cola Company’s initiative, Global Women’s Initiative: Women as the Real Drivers of the 21st Century,...

    May 2, 2013 by Guest Blogger

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    Take 5: Questioning Quotas

    To legislate, or not to legislate—that is the question.

    On April 18th, 2013, the German parliament became the most recent EU government to reject legally mandated quotas for women on corporate boards. This follows a pushback led last year by Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark against...

    May 1, 2013 by Allyson Zimmermann

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    Leaning In—And Pushing Back

    I graduated from college in 2004 and soon after landed an internship that I fantasized would launch my career. The internship was unpaid, but it came with a guarantee that I would gain valuable experience as a fact-checker for a respected national magazine. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to...

    April 24, 2013 by Raina Lipsitz

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    Stories From the Field: Global Challenges for Women

    Imagine living in a place where you are not identified by your own name alone, but in relation to a man: you are not simply you; you are known formally as the “wife of” or “daughter of” someone else.

    Imagine being a successful businesswoman but unable to speak of your success in public...

    April 18, 2013 by Alixandra Pollack, Anna Beninger

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    How Level Is That Playing Field?

    In light of yesterday’s events at the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, our hearts and thoughts at Catalyst go out to those spectators and runners impacted by this horrible tragedy. I have run this marathon three times, and I have been struggling to make sense of this event.

    I won a 24-hour...

    April 16, 2013 by Cheryl Yanek

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    Take 5 Holland: Is There a Part-Time Pathway to the Top?

    Today’s Take 5 tackles the strange dichotomy of the Netherlands—a country with generous leave arrangements, good flexible working opportunities, and adequate childcare provisions, yet a relatively low percentage of women in the workforce.

    Let’s be clear: I don’t see working full-time as the...

    April 11, 2013 by Caroline Pickard