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.
June is National Homeownership Month. This article is part of an ongoing series focusing on different aspects of women’s homeownership.
Single Women Outpace Men in Homeownership
In our 2018 Women in the Housing and Ecosystem Report, we found women have outpaced single men in homeownership consistently since 1986. This trend has most likely sustained because the reasons women seek homeownership are powerful, both from an economic and an emotional standpoint.
How to turn your passion into action from boosting your local engagement or running for office
“This woman’s place is in the House-the House of Representatives”-Bella Abzug
It’s no new news that although we comprise a little over half the human population, women are severely underrepresented in both politics and business. Although great strides have been made and new fissures and cracks appear every day in that storied glass ceiling, for the busy everyday woman, moving from awareness to engagement can seem daunting. Continue reading
June is National Homeownership Month. This article is part of an ongoing series focusing on aspects of women’s homeownership.
“Despite the stereotypes that insist women care more about marriage than men do, it may actually be the single life that women embrace more than men,” says Professor Bella DePaulo, social scientist, author, and expert on elective single life, going on to say that unmarried women may be likelier than men to create a lifestyle around singledom.
Continue reading
It started with a phone call from Capital One Financial Corporation on January 14th, 2016. “Ms. Patno, are you the sole owner of Desiree Patno Enterprises, Inc.?”
That simple call was how I found out that my husband’s accountant had been dispersing my unsigned business checks illegally, with some going into her personal accounts and several others paying her bills directly.
I was (and still am) angry that not only my trust was betrayed, but after years of hard work and developing a reputation as a successful businesswoman in the housing and real estate sector, I was, to put it quite simply, duped.
How could this happen to me? And if this could happen to me, in my mid-fifties, plugged into and engaged fully in my businesses, what happens to women older than me, with fewer resources at their fingertips and perhaps cognitive issues?
Today we are saddened to find out that the influential designer Kate Spade was found dead. For someone known for an elegance associated with brightness and a certain smart yet playful style- it’s painful to think of such a voice being extinguished.
Kansas City, Missouri native Spade, who recently legally changed her name to Kate Valentine was an answer to an unspoken sartorial prayer: smart, put-together clothing with a quirky flair. Distinguished while not shying away from femininity, Kate helped women in the 1990s and early 2000s realize that to be taken seriously in the workplace doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have massive shoulder pads, dress like a man, or wear uncomfortable heels.
It really started with a handbag. The quest for an attractive yet practical tote, often a woman’s rolling office, medicine cabinet, and make-up bag, was the driving force behind the start of her eponymous brand.
She grew Kate Spade into what we would call today a fully fledged lifestyle brand: including a home and jewellery line. In the process she became much more than a designer: she became a woman to admire for her unique blend of tastemaking and business acumen. Not unlike a Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch or Donna Karan.
As recently as 2015 she was named amongst Creative People in Business by Fast Company and inducted into the University of Missouri-Kansas City Hall of Entrepreneur Hall of Fame this past year.
She was someone to look up to and will be dearly missed. Our condolences go out to her family and everyone whose lives she touched.
Chairman and Founder, STEMconnector®/Million Women Mentors® (MWM)
Edie Fraser has spent her life in the service of equality with a passionate vision for a better tomorrow. Having led national poverty programs and worked to advance women’s gender equality for decades, she has a precise understanding of women’s progress. Discussing her life, Fraser alternates seamlessly between lessons learned in childhood and her biggest professional challenges, detailing her storied career and how the future is developing for women in America.
NAWRB: In your opinion, what is the most important success women have had in the last 50 years?
Edie Fraser: Successes have been achieved and we celebrate them, and yes, we want parity. Studies show that it could take as long as 117 years to reach parity in the private sector. Let’s advocate for parity within every government institution, business, profession, organization, and in higher education.
CEO of EXIT Realty Corp. International
Tami Bonnell is the embodiment of leading by example. Always recognizing the value in people and staying true to her word, she has crafted a 30-year career and made it her mission to help as many people succeed as possible. In this conversation with NAWRB, Bonnell relates corporate leadership lessons alongside parenting tips and provides a look at the life of one of the most important women in real estate.
NAWRB: Who has inspired you most throughout your life?
Tami Bonnell: The first person is my mother. She died very young, in her forties. I’m one of six kids and the number one thing that she said to all of us is, “Never say, ‘I wish I had.’” You get to a certain point in your life, and if you haven’t experienced things that you really wanted to that are on your bucket list, you may reach a point when you can’t. My dad always said, “Your standard is the lowest level you’re willing to accept.” I always thought that was such a smart line because if you didn’t give your best today, whatever you gave the worst of was your best. That’s the reflection of you. Anytime he said it I’d go in and inspire people.
Continue reading
Imagine the synergy of having a female President and five First Ladies across two continents come together with the mission to help women and girls. On the morning of September 21, 2017, New York City’s hustle and bustle perfectly matched the excitement at the 2017 International Conference on Gender and Sustainability (ICOGAS).On the margins of the 72nd U.N. General Assembly, and in this incredible setting, the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan witnessed the collaboration and camaraderie of leading global strategists, academics, CEOs and international leaders to generate actionable gender equality and women’s economic sustainability solutions.
Among leaders were Ameenah Gurib, President of Mauritius, and First Ladies Reema Carmona of Trinidad and Tobago, Sandra Granger of Guyana, Lorena Castillo de Varela of Panama, Roman Tesfaye of Ethiopia and Dominique Ouattara of the Ivory Coast. To have these leaders united at one event under a common goal ensured through power and dedication that the issues and questions raised during the conference did not fall on deaf ears.
Continue reading
Nothing says inspiring like 340 women in the real estate finance industry joining together at mPowering You! On October 21st in Denver, Colorado, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) presented mPowering You, an event that will go down in history for this powerful and great organization. “It has never happened at the MBA in our 104-year history,” stated Marcia Davies, COO of MBA. “It’s time to be empowered.”
The conversations and ideas generated within this space fostered networking and powerful narratives, and assisted in the creation of decisive branding and career advancements. Featuring sessions like Know and Grow Your Value and Gender and Generations: Driving New Forms of Leadership, the summit strengthened and showcased the value and power of women.
Attendees heard from successful women in the industry, including Mika Brzezinski, New York Times Best-Selling Author and Co-Host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and Ruth Sherman, Executive Speech Coach & Celebrity Media Trainer, who shared the importance of women knowing their value, mastering their message, owning each moment and unleashing their potential.
Continue reading
Thirty-two of the largest U.S. companies by revenue on the Fortune 500 list, including PepsiCo, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Oracle and General Dynamics, are run by women. Although this only accounts for a mere 6.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies, it is the highest proportion of female CEOs in the history of the Fortune 500.
It’s an exciting time to be a female entrepreneur with the abundance of opportunities available, including government contracts and diversity and inclusion programs. However, even with all the support, there are still obstacles facing women in the workplace; from lower pay than their male counterparts to sexual harassment and fewer promotion opportunities.
To get a better understanding of why women are still being held back in the business world, I looked at the most successful businesswomen I’ve known over the years. They have all had mentors, including myself. Over the past eight years, I have led mentoring meetings, training sessions and workshops giving me a clearer understanding of the specialized training and mentoring women need as they develop into successful entrepreneurs.
Change Your Mindset
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie, two-time Nobel Prize Winner in Physics
It starts with your mindset. You need more than just business essentials and marketing to be successful. You need to believe that you can succeed in conquering your fear and embracing your confidence. Interestingly, I find more women have a fear of success than a fear of failure. We reach a certain level, and then we suddenly seize up and get stuck.
When women are ready, willing and able to break through their own glass ceiling and ask for what they’re worth, we will see a huge surge, not only in our economy but also in our community. The key to this and any success is collaboration. Through collaboration, we will change the world for the better.
Continue reading
Login
