by RTSWS | Apr 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
We’re excited to announce that we’ll be at CalPERS/CalSTRS Diversity Forum Event on May 10.
Registration is open for the 2017 Diversity Forum!
CalPERS and CalSTRS will host the 2017 Diversity Forum on May 10th in Sacramento.
Join leaders from the business, investment, academia, and non-profit sectors to discuss how to capitalize on the abilities of the diverse modern workforce.
John W. Thompson joined the Microsoft Board in February 2012, and became independent chairman of Microsoft Corporation on February 4, 2014. Thompson brings over 40 years of experience in the technology industry. Most recently, he was the CEO of Virtual Instruments. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Symantec for 10 years.
Other Featured Speakers include
- Christopher J. Ailman, Chief Investment Officer, California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
- Theodore Eliopoulos, Chief Investment Officer, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
- Stephen H. Can, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone
- Gabriela Franco Parcella, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mellon Capital
- Celia Huber, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
- Victor Hymes, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Legato Capital Management
- Ginger Lew, Managing Director, Cube Hydro Partners
by RTSWS | Mar 16, 2017 | Uncategorized
Talking with your daughter about money is essential to providing the best future possible for her. With alarming statistics such as 2 out 3 women state they know little to nothing about finance, the responsibility lies on all of us to help raise up a generation of financially conscious and independent daughters.
The money talk does not have to be stressful nor awkward and with a few simple tips below you will help set your daughter up for financial success.
First, know what you want to cover. It’s not a bad idea to make an outline of things you want to discuss with your daughter. Topics to consider:
- Budgeting
- Retirement planning
- Investing and saving
- The value your family places on money.
- Credit and credit cards
- Careers in finance
- How to ask for a raise or start her own company
- Giving back financially
- Marriage and money
Don’t dumb down your information. Helping your daughter understand money on her terms is important, but don’t dumb down the information. Use the help of existing information out there on YouTube or websites, such as DailyWorth, geared towards helping women become more financially literate.
Have her follow us on Instagram. With lots of tips, tricks, and encouragement, your daughter will find a community of like-minded, goal-driven, empowering women talking about all things finance. You can find us here.
Most importantly, give her real world practical application. What better way to teach your daughter about money than to give her a hands on, real world experience. Set aside a designated amount of money to help your daughter learn about savings and investments. Help guide her through the planning and discuss the outcomes of the experiment. Or you can consider advocating to your local school to bring the Rock The Street, Wall Street experience to their campus.
Another hands on experience can be done through the help of financial apps. Load a few up on her smart phone, such as Mint or Smarty Pig.
No matter how you approach the topic, it is important that you do so and in a way that makes sense to your daughter. Arming her with the tools to be financially independent will help her feel more confident in her future and empower her as she heads off on her own.
Join RTSWS as we work to end financial illiteracy and spark the interest of girls into careers in finance! Start the conversation now!
by RTSWS | Mar 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
#BeBoldForAChange on International Women’s Day!
What does being bold mean to you? For some, it is asking for a promotion, taking that much needed vacation, or simply asking someone out for coffee. It can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
But at Rock The Street, Wall Street we believe that being bold for a change is challenging what has been with the idea of what could be; the idea that women can lead and take control of their financial lives.
BUT…
- When 2 out 3 women state they know little to nothing about finance, this is a cause for concern.
- When 80% of teachers self-report that they do not feel qualified to teach financial literacy, this is a cause for concern.
- When the number of women leading the financial services sector and S&P 500 companies drops to 4.6% after a 40 year high of 5%, this is a cause for concern.
For International Women’s Day we are all being challenged to #BeBoldForChange and for us that is continuing to pledge to helping spark the interest of high school girls into careers in finance and teach financial literacy.
Here is where we stand:
We will be bold and forge women’s advancement.
Rock The Street, Wall Street encourages girls to explore a career in finance by acquainting them with leading women in the financial services industry. By reaching out to girls while in high school, we’ll commission them to take charge of their finances at an early age. We illuminate the relevance of finance in everyday life and encourage girls to study math and finance, and seek a profession in the financial industry, where women are vastly under-represented and comprise a small percentage of the industry leaders.
Our students are being educated beyond their core components of classroom curriculum. They are being engaged in higher thinking, the big picture, and the ability to envision their financial futures for themselves, their families and their communities.
We will be bold and champion women’s financial education.
To close the gender gap in wages, wealth accumulation and in financial professions, we have to inspire girls to pursue the M in STEM, finance, by exposing them to real life, positive role models. We engage financial professionals who come into the classrooms, to teach and motivate the next generation. Equipping girls with financial management tools at an early age will ensure the economic prosperity of women, families, and communities across the country. And while we’re teaching finance, we’re expanding perceptions about a career in finance.
STEM professions are tools to lift people out of poverty.
We will be bold and challenge bias and inequality.
Let’s face it. Financial naivete among women cuts across ALL socioeconomic classes. Two out of three women state they know little to nothing about finance. Given this fact, how we can expect women to optimize choices throughout their lives when they heavily rely on others to make these profound choices for them?
In high school and college finance and economics classrooms, girls are few in number. As a result, their opportunities in pay, promotion and life will remain unequal.
Equipping girls with financial skills is a VITAL part of ensuring equality.
And lastly, we will be bold and celebrate women’s achievements.
Last week we thanked and celebrated those who came before us, the Muriel Seiberts and Sallie Krawchecks of the industry, who have helped pave the way by forging their own paths and not listening to those who said they couldn’t do it.
We will continue to honor the achievements of all of the women who have helped make careers in fianance possible for future generations to come.
From our beginning in 2013, Rock The Street, Wall Street has served over 600 girls in 5 cities including Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Memphis, Nashville, and New York City. Girls who have participated in our workshops have had an 84.26% increase in their comprehension of financial concepts and 70% have stated that because of the Rock The Street, Wall Street program they are either very likely or extremely likely to explore a major in finance or economics in college.
Learn more about Rock The Street, Wall Street programming and start a conversation about how you can become involved and #BeBoldForChange.
by RTSWS | Mar 2, 2017 | Uncategorized
Happy National Women’s History Month!
It was Abigail Adams who once said that if we were meant “to have heroes, statesmen and philosophers, we should have learned women.” Abigail knew that by raising up educated women the world would be a much better place and her sentiments are echoed today in the work that Rock The Street, Wall Street is doing.
Despite her husband’s advice to invest in farm land, Abigail Adams, who became one of the earliest documented female investors, trusted her own instincts which brought a much higher return on their investments. She was also a champion for women’s education and frequently urged her husband to “remember the ladies.”
While we are making incredible advances in building up more women to enter the field, there is still so much work to be done, and as we enter into National Women’s History Month it is important to recognize those who paved the way early on in the fight.
Long before the Wolf of Wall Street, there was the Witch of Wall Street. Hetty Green was considered one of the first female Wall Street tycoons and quite possibly the richest woman in the world during the Gilded Age. At a young age, she was given the opportunity to learn about finances from her father. She was a shrewed business woman who developed her own investment strategy, turning her small fortune into a massive one. She favored real estate and railroads and always kept substantial cash reserves; her style was conservative, but effective.
Isabel Benham usually donned her signature pearls and was named as the first female partner of a Wall Street bond firm according to the Museum of American Finance in NYC. During her college years at Bryn Mawr, she was constantly told to pursue something other than finance and encouraged to go home and become a mother. The battle to find her place on Wall Street was an uphill one, but nethertheless she persisted. She was a fierce competitor and stood out amongst a sea of men.
The title of “First Woman of Finance” is handed to Muriel “Mickie” Seibert, who was the first woman to own a seat on the NYSE and was also the first woman to head up one of the NYSE’s member firms. From Bloomberg: “According to Siebert, her NYSE member badge was the most expensive piece of jewelry she ever bought (at $445,000), and it was also the hardest earned. She had been turned down by nine prospective sponsors before finding the two she needed to endorse her application.” Source: Bloomberg
Sallie Krawcheck has noted that she is “really putting her life towards helping women invest, and there’s a circular reference here because if women can invest and give themselves the opportunity to earn higher returns, they can start those businesses. They can go to work with a little more confidence to ask for that promotion, to ask for the new assignment, etc.” Founder of the Ellevate Network, Krawcheck got her start on Wall Street in 1987 and has since held many executive roles.
Her accolades include: being named Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women” in business between 2002 and 2009, recognized as one of Time magazine’s “Global Business Influential” in 2002, named by Fortune magazine in 2003 as the “Most Influential Person Under the Age of 40,” listed as No. 6 for the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” in 2006 by Forbes magazine, honored with CNBC’s “Business Leader of the Future Award” in 2007 and in 2009, U.S. Banker ranked her first on its list of “25 Women to Watch.” Source: Business Insider
While there is a lot more work to accomplish, a lot of work has been done to help pave the way for future generations of women to rise in the ranks. To all the women who have come before, we thank you for the dedication you have shown to our profession.
by RTSWS | Feb 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
When I say Rock The Street, Wall Street changed my life, I am not exaggerating.
Going into my senior year, I knew very little about finance, or the economics field in general. I hated math, and my course in macroeconomics was proving to be very confusing, so when my friend approached me, looking for someone to go through the Rock the Street, Wall Street program with her, I was hesitant at first.
I did not want to give up my time to learn about a career I had no intentions to go into, or to spend even more time on a subject I did not like. Luckily, she wore me down, and I am so glad I am a graduate of this program.
Now I am confident enough to make my own financial decisions, and to speak knowingly about the world of finance.
Abby (Left), with her classmates meeting the CEO of Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Barry Stowe.
I am looking to get a liberal arts degree, most likely in history, and before this program I just did not see how finance would ever be important in my life, but the women in RTSWS showed me that understanding finance and economics is so much more than trading the stock market. A solid understanding of finance means I know what I am getting into when I take out a loan with a fixed rate, or my stockbroker wants to “sell short.”
“If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction.” – Melinda Gates
I recommend this program to almost everyone I meet. It is so important for high school girls to know what it is to be financially independent and that they can succeed in a male dominated career. I have met so many inspiring women through RTSWS, and created a solid network of professional women that I can lean on as I begin my professional journey.
Abby with her classmates, (including the one who wore her down), giving their presentation on Krispy Kreme v Dunkin Donuts – Which stock should their client, Jane, invest in?
Abby with her RTSWS mentor, Bree Cordes from Jackson National Life Insurance Company
This is a testimonial written by RTSWS graduate, Abby Baker.
by RTSWS | Jan 25, 2017 | Uncategorized
We believe finance is at the heart of opportunity.
We are making a difference. The numbers prove this.
Girls who have participated in our workshops have had an 84 percent increase in their comprehension of financial concepts. They are changing their college searches and major/minor declarations to include finance, accounting and business where before they hadn’t even considered these fields.
We are the M in STEM.
Access to STEM education is access to power. STEM professions are tools to lift people out of poverty. We recently attended the White House Conference on Inclusive STEM Education, where this conference reinforced our belief that students look to DO what they SEE examples of and RTSWS offers them such examples. Our female financial professionals, who are our classroom instructors and work in careers in the M in STEM are “in the flesh” role models for our students. Our instructors can talk the talk and walk the walk in the field of finance, where women represent only 6% of the leaders.
With RTSWS programming, high school girls are being engaged in the bigger picture and the ability to envision their financial futures for themselves, their families and their communities. They explore careers in finance, where the jobs are growing each year. Volunteer female financiers who are our instructors, bring the RTSWS curriculum and their life experience right onto the high school campuses at times that are optimal for the students – usually before or after school hours. The students also have a Wall Street experience field trip to a local financial institution where they get to see and ask questions of the women bankers, accountants, wealth advisors, portfolio managers and comptrollers. In some schools, we offer, too, a formal mentor/protege program.
We alert the girls about how high the return on investment is on just an undergraduate degree in finance, economics and business as compared to other undergraduate majors. This is critical to those students who do not have the financial wherewithal to attend graduate school. We also have students in our classes who are not college bound.
Forty years after the adoption of Title IX, women continue to confront barriers to full equality at all levels. Most critically of which is in their financial lives. In high school AND college finance and economics classrooms, girls are few in number. As a result, their opportunities in pay and promotion and life are unequal. Equipping girls with financial skills is a VITAL part of both ensuring equality and lifting them out of poverty.
A record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. The share was just 11% in 1960. Many of these families are living at or below the poverty level and with financial education, like RTSWS, young women are becoming empowered to break the cycle that reinforces continuing poverty. RTSWS programs expose opportunities for gainful employment across the country and serves as a pipeline for career exploration into the financial services industry and financial departments of all major corporations.
Many of our students do not have positive role models at home on how to use money. Partnering with schools and youth-oriented civic organizations and “going to them” enables us to reach students on their campus at a critical age in their self-actualization and first time usage of money.
Rock The Street, Wall Street (RTSWS) programs inspire, educate, and equip girls with the skills to succeed financially throughout their lives while exploring a career in finance. RTSWS is a financial literacy program designed to spark the interest of high school girls into careers of finance.
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