Submit your story today!
Read MoreGrant your business access to insider,
proven knowledge to improve the quality of your procured
services and maximize business performance.
A Team Focused on Bring Diversity and Inclusion to Every Level
Learn MoreDiversity & Inclusion, Quality of Life, Know the Rules of the Game ®
Your Next EventNAWRB is listed as a women-owned business resource for the SBA.
Check It OutOver $36.5 billion a year is lost annually in the U.S.
Prevent Financial Abuse
Life often presents us
with unplanned disruptions.
A women’s depository for vendors & clients to grow their diverse spend & increase women’s employment at all levels within the housing ecosystem.
Women tend to project less confidence than their male peers. They are more likely to think about their businesses with modest expectations and to consider the obstacles, compared to men who often boast big goals and bravado.
Maybe it’s because women tend to be more risk-averse than men. Women are often more conditioned to stay in the background and not seek the spotlight for themselves, versus men who are more comfortable taking bigger risks.
You Can Improve Your Life and Business with Improv!
Improv. You have probably heard this term before, but do you really know what it means?
Let’s look at this definition:
Improvisation (Improv): creating something or performing something spontaneously or making something up as you go.
Actors use the tools and rules of Improv to help with auditions, to learn how to think fast, for comedic outcomes, to help with creativity, to work together, honor first thoughts, and to be truthful and in the moment.
Continue reading
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) released a statement by Administrator Linda McMahon about their new strategic joint initiative with United Technologies Corporation (UTC), a Connecticut-based company. UTC announced that it plans to hire 35,000 new employees, invest $15 billion in the United States over the next five years, and spend $75 billion for its U.S. suppliers, with $19 billion going to small businesses.
Chairman Jeb Hensarling of the House Financial Services Committee released an official statement confirming the dual appointment of Brian Montgomery as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Financial Services Committee announced today that the House of Representatives has passed the ‘Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act,” by a 258-159 vote. The new bill is presented as a “pro-growth financial regulatory reform package,” which features a significant number of rollbacks of Dodd-Frank Act regulations since the financial crisis almost a decade ago.
The ability to connect with your clients is a crucial element in doing business. In today’s technologically advanced world, one must understand the language, execute the idea, and navigate the terrain of the competition. To do this, you must create your coalition of women that support your vision. This can be done by developing a network of individuals that are inspired, ignited, and invigorated by what you do or represent. It is the concept that what you offer will jumpstart a movement.
The idea of being an entrepreneur is a responsibility within itself. If one is to influence and navigate through the world of business. To disrupt the system, you must understand how to formulate a strategy, as well as how to execute the plan. What defines a leader? And will others follow your lead? The following principles will guide you on that path.
With a busy schedule you’d need a guidebook to navigate, I never have enough time in the day to connect with everyone I want to. Oftentimes, by the time I remember that I wanted to call a colleague with a quick thought, it’s two in the morning and my puppies are crying for me to come to bed. Once in a while, though, I see something that is riveting.
I recently attended Art Basel 2017 and was deeply impacted by the connections I formed and the beautiful artwork abounding throughout Miami Beach. I had a cathartic experience when my eyes settled on the work of Italian artist El Gato Chimney. My excitement must have been obvious as I was captivated by the color and images in his work.
The painting I fixated on depicts a swan with a community of burning birdhouses on its back. Held down by ropes, and bleeding from its battle, the resolute swan won’t succumb to its restraints and fights to gain its flight and freedom. A different painting similarly portrays a bird with smoking birdhouses on its back, the difference being that this bird and its houses are already airborne.
In 2016, Marissa de Swart, a young woman from the Netherlands, traveled to the United States to study at Chapman University in sunny Orange, California. Chapman is a distinguished private, non-profit university, and one of only 75 colleges to offer a Peace Studies program. She took two courses in Peace Studies during her time studying abroad, as well as noteworthy courses in leadership and mediation.
Students enrolled in the Peace Studies program address the underlying causes of present international conflict and seek thorough nonviolent solutions. “Peace is not simply the absence of war and the end of conflict,” states the program’s brochure. “Lasting, sustainable peace involves the pursuit of human rights, sustainable development, and social justice.”
This sentiment hearkens to the evocative words Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in a cell at Birmingham City Jail in 1963: “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”
Women’s economic opportunity and growth is one human rights issue that requires attention in order to achieve gender equality, a necessary component of world peace. NAWRB is on the front lines of this issue—driving collaboration in the housing ecosystem for gender parity and women’s economic growth, and providing women with resources to secure their financial independence.
Wanting to get involved in the women’s movement, and apply the skills she learned in the classroom to the workforce, Marissa interned at NAWRB. She was pivotal in bridging our connections with the Netherland’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and she continued this intermediary role when she returned home. Shortly after her internship, she secured an opportunity to work at the Dutch Embassy in Washington, D.C., where she currently resides.
Over 800 attendees were part of the MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers (IMB) Conference in Amelia Island Florida this week. The conference set new records of attendance which validates the increasingly important role that independent mortgage bankers, who now represent more than 50 percent of all mortgage originations volume, play in the mortgage market. The conference breakout sessions focused on providing practical strategies and tips to mortgage bankers that can be applied to strengthen operations, raise awareness of industry/policy trends, and incorporate changes to improve bottom line numbers. The MBA and many of the industry leaders who were presenting emphasized a continued commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion. It makes good business sense to promote diversity and inclusion as it enhances decision making and helps mortgage bankers meet the needs of an increasingly diverse marketplace.
I was privileged to be invited as a speaker as part of the Business Operations and Compliance track for a session entitled “Three Great Ideas to Tighten Your Operational Efficiency.” The topic was near and dear to my heart since, through our risk management practice, we see some companies that demonstrate strong operational efficiency and demonstrate industry-leading practices that are worth sharing. I was thrilled to see many of my former colleagues from companies that I’ve worked for throughout my career in the audience. The panel discussion was moderated by David Lykken, President of Transformational Mortgage Solutions. Co-panelists were Frank Fiore, President of Matchbox, Inc and Brent Chandler, Founder & CEO of FormFree. The panelists led a lively discussion and provided strategies centered on three themes: Being Proactive, Workflow and Consistency. The discussion was particularly timely given the challenges many lenders face in this highly-regulated environment with multiple examinations, often concurrently, happening throughout the year. Regulatory and investor audits can often cause lenders to divert resources and incur additional compliance costs, which can be a challenge to ongoing attempts to maintain operational efficiency.
During 2017, there was a noticeable increase of women’s leadership conferences held across the country and the world. At these conferences, women participated in dialogues regarding business strategies and discussed mutual professional challenges. Thus, while 2017 was a year in which women made strides, what was the path leading up to this movement toward professional growth? Specifically, are women in the industries of real estate and technology ready for change?
History
Women first became involved in the real estate industry as brokers and agents in the late 1800s and became well accepted as real estate professionals due to, if nothing else, the sheer number of women involved in the industry. Today women hold the majority of residential real estate positions, but men still maintain most executive positions. In the commercial real estate market, men dominate the profession.
A 2016 Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that women working in the real estate industry earn only 64 percent of a man’s annual average salary. While women have advanced in the residential real estate industry, they can still make strides by bridging the pay gap, gaining equal leadership positions and increasing sales in commercial real estate.
Compare this to women in technology. In the past thirty years, relatively few women have developed careers in technology fields, let alone high tech fields. In fact, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology’s (NCWIT) 2016 Women in Tech Report, the peak of women’s involvement in technology occupations, such as computing industry careers, was in 1991 when women held 36 percent of computing jobs. Women’s involvement has never since reached this percentage, but as the world becomes increasingly reliant on technology, more women will likely enter the field.
Login
