We started off the year with a fresh batch of mentors and mentees.  We had some excellent results.  New jobs have been landed.  Professional development in a present position and in a new business development are well on their way…

We’d like to welcome mentors, mentees and everyone interested in the mentoring process. Edith Punt will provide us with a mentoring model and invite mentors and mentees to discuss their mentoring progression and to provide insight to others considering becoming a mentor.  We will also start collecting mentor/mentee applications over the summer for our second round of matching to begin this fall.

This workshop will be facilitated by EuropeanPWN-Amsterdam member Edith Punt.

In 1985 Edith started her career as a human resources consultant in Bangkok, Thailand. Upon her return to the Netherlands (1995) she initially worked as a trainer/consultant with a focus on appraisal systems (Breda). Later she joined an international headhunter in Amsterdam. In January 1999 she started her own agency in Amsterdam. Her services focus on diversity and crosscultural management. She applies different systems to make individuals aware of their preferred styles of behaviour and patterns in decision making, against the backdrop of organizational goals and team dynamics. Since January 2003 she operates from Zwolle.

Participants are welcome to network from 19:00 to 20:00. The program begins at 20:00.

Registration and Guest Policy: Registration is required for members (no charge) and guests (guests are welcome at a cost of 25 Euro which includes snacks and drinks). Guests are allowed to attend two EuropeanPWN-Amsterdam functions per year. Please contact Caroline van Leuven, our VP Membership.

Please keep in mind participation in the mentoring program is for MEMBERS ONLY.

The smell of Spring is in the Air which sounds like a great excuse for a dinner and that is exactly what we are arranging for our May event.
On Wednesday May 19 we could like to invite you to the 2010 Spring Dinner which will be an evening of good food and great conversation.

In the recent survey you asked for more opportunities to get to know each other better. You asked, we listened and therefore, instead of having a guest speaker this month, Ariëlle Brouwer, www.brouwertheater.nl has kindly offered to be the facilitator for the evening together with Jacinta Noonan. They have a number of fun activities up their sleeves designed to get us up and moving about, meeting people in innovative and creative ways. The aim of the evening is to get to know each other at a deeper level and to engage in conversations that we are truly passionate about.

In the ambience of a beautiful restaurant, while enjoying a delicious meal accompanied by just the right wine, you will enjoy an enriching evening among friends; some you know and some who are just waiting to make your acquaintance.
Sign up now!

LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE for this event, to be allocated on first come, first serve basis. If you have registered and need to cancel, please advise us in a timely fashion so we are not left with empty seats. Please be advised that we cannot offer a refund if you need to cancel.

Date: Wednesday 19 May
Time: 19:00 Registration and Welcome Drink
Venue: Brasserie Harkema
Dress Code: Business Casual
The price of the dinner is 50 euros per person.

Ariëlle Brouwer is a pioneer, an initiator and a specialist in creativity. She originally comes from the world of theater and now brings her unique skills and talents into the field of training and coaching. Using special techniques from theatre, Ariëlle creates interesting workshops to enable people to explore openness, communication and authentic self-expression at a deeper level.
www.brouwertheater.nl and www.globalworkersexperience.com

Jacinta Noonan With a passion for helping people to achieve their true potential, Jacinta Noonan’s long and successful career as a coach and trainer is more a divine calling than a job choice.

She is the founder and Director of three companies. Each has a different focus and specialty, but her passion and devotion to transform people is at the heart of each one.

For Corporate Training and Coaching: Branch Out ; For Personal Coaching & Women in Transition: Soulworks – ; For Improved Body Image & Weight Loss: Big on the Inside

14 April 2010 – 18:00 – 6 pm.

Welcome MBA011

Anna together with the RSM and OneMBA programs will host the borrel beginning 18:00 in Rotterdam. All interested parties are welcome to join in us at Coopvaert.  The restaurant is located at Blaak 776 and can be easily reached by Tram 21, metro Beurs,  bus 32 & 48, Water taxi (Leuvehaven) and foot from central station if you’re feeling atheletic or missed your work out at lunch.

The federation board has met in Paris over the weekend and I’m sure everyone wants to hear about the opportunities and looking forward to staffing up the new initiatives.  We’ll be on hand to tell you more about it. Late arrivals always welcomed just jot me an email or an sms so I know to find you.

Cheers,

Anna

From Left to Right: Patty Kruiswijk, Manuela Roth (RSM ‘10), Dianne Bevelander, Camilla Bjorkqvist (RSM ‘10), Eleonore Breukel, Saskia Trurniet, and Ursula van Rozemeijer.

Women comprise about 30% of the students in the OneMBA and the percentage of women faculty is even less. While there are complex factors that might explain this, members of the 2010 and 2011 classes have decided to put women on the agenda.

The effort lead in large part by Camilla Björkqvist and Manuela Roth has focused on securing eminent business women to speak at OneMBA residencies. By connecting with women across the OneMBA community as well as the European Professional Women’s Network( EPWN), the kick-off on during the Spring 2009 RSM Residency featured Mirella Visser, Owner of the Center for Inclusive Leadership and the EuropeanPWN President. This conversation was continued when the class went to Istanbul and met with local women business leaders.

In September 2009 another panel took place with a group of Dutch women executives on the topics of “Women – the saviors of our economy?” With several courageous men participating in the audience, there was a lively and honest discussion.

At the EGADE Residency in November 2009, a Cemex executive, Irma Gomez shared her perspective on women, employment, and the economy in Mexico.

Events are in the works for Hong Kong and the the U.S. All alumni are invited to attend a session at the RSM Residency on April 8 2010 with Carien van der Laan, co-owner of Women Capital, and executive search firm specialized in women and placing them on top level positions. Van der Laan will address what to do with once you get an MBA and the value that women add in the executive ranks.

Some interesting statistics from the United States are worth sharing. According to the report The Economic Impact of Women-Owned Businesses in the United States by the American Center for Women’s Business Research and funded by the National Women’s Business Council and Wal-Mart, women-owned businesses contribute nearly $3 trillion to the U.S. economy and create or maintain 23 million jobs. If women-owned businesses were their own country, they would have the 5th largest GDP in the world, ahead of countries including France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Anecdotally, many women say that they start their own business because they want to balance work and family and that they cannot break into the traditional male-dominated positions—or do not want to.

Members of the 2011 class are taking leadership to continue the discussion of the women in the OneMBA. Anyone in the OneMBA community can join the events organized by Women@OneMBA, men included. If you would like to know more about this initiative, please contact Manuela Roth or Camilla Bjorkqvist in the OneMBA2010 class.

For more news about the one MBA programs and to see the full newsletter click through to the one MBA website.

More Female Partners at the top 10 lawfirms

Breaking news: finally there seems be an increase in the number of female partners at the large law firms in the Netherlands. The total number of female partners has increased at the top 10 law firms from 57 last years to 61 this year, whereas the total number of partners decreased in that top 10 from 450 to 430. These data are published in De Stand van de Advocatuur 2010. On 26 March the first copy of this document will be handed over to Saskia Stuiveling, president of the general Court of Auditors and member of the Council of recommendation of the Dutch order of lawyers.

There is also less good news for the champions of diversity: at the top 10 last year  a total of 865 female lawyers worked, this year that number has decreased to 808. Also the number of male lawyers decreased, from 1,211 to 1,168. In terms of percentage the proportion male and female lawyers now amounts to at the top 10 of offices 59.4% for 40.6%, in contrast to last year 58.9% and 41.1%.

This text has been translated from: http://www.advocatie.nl

Hi Folks,

I’m still on crutches (sporting injury) – so I need to schedule a venue close to the tram. This venue is highly recommended by one of our “regulars”

The Dylan Hotel
Keizersgracht 384 Amsterdam
www.dylanamsterdam.com
+31(0)20 530 2010

If the weather is as brilliant next Thursday as it is today – we will arrange to sit outside. If you don’t see me immediately do inquire with the bartender. We will make the group’s presence known.

Welcome to all guests and repeat attendees. We have a lot of catching up to do!

The Entrepreneur’s Corner is one of the new and exciting initiatives of the European Professional Women’s Network. Its objective is to ensure that the needs and interests of the entrepreneurs in the network are being met – which is certainly especially important given the current economic climate.

To support this initiative, EPWN invites you to a brainstorming session on 28th of April facilitated by Ursula Brinkmann. The session is intended to gather and collate all ideas, needs, interests, concerns that you as a self-employed EPWN member, as one of our entrepreneurs, have identified, and to communicate the outcome of the session to the EPWN board.

Ursula will guide you through the process of Silent Brainstorming, conducted in groups of about 7 participants. Whatever comes up during the brainstorming session we will then cluster together and prioritize in an engaging, commitment-building process. Ursula has used this approach several times in her own training interventions and just the method alone is worth trying out!

Ursula is co-founder and director of Intercultural Business Improvement Ltd, a consultancy and training firm specialized in intercultural management development.

Ursula has been delivering courses and presentations for a number of public and private organizations. One of her recent assignments consisted of workshops on Managing Dutch-German cultural differences for the integration teams involved in a major cross-border acquisition. In 2007/2008 she was responsible for an integration program for a European corporation; the program combined training, individual assessment, coaching as well as networking events for 180 managers.

Together with Oscar van Weerdenburg, Ursula developed the Intercultural Readiness Check (IRC), a questionnaire assessing four key intercultural competences. The IRC has been widely recognized in the academic and business communities, and its database by now is one of the largest sources of information on intercultural competences world-wide.

BLINQ
Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 5
1017 RP Amsterdam
Leidseplein
Tel: +31 (0)20 330 4000
http://www.blinq-amsterdam.nl/

Anita and I will meet in the bar around 19:00 and when sufficient folks arrive we will move upstairs to the restaurant. Just ring if you think you’ve missed us.

OBA (the Bieb)
Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam
Oosterdokskade 143
1011 DL Amsterdam

Happy New Year
This is your chance to come borrel with the Amsterdam board.
Ideas, brainstorm, feedback, questions are welcome.

We’ll all be on hand to talk with you about the organization, logistics, planning, future board positions, what’s happening with the federation, and how you can help to grow and to sustain the organization with your participation. “Club business” and updates.

We will meet in the New Library – next to Amsterdam Centraal Station
(same as last year). Join us on the top floor at the bar for tapas and beverages in the La Place Restaurant.

We have also reserved a meeting room – on the 6th floor.

We really enjoyed the productive discussions last year in this format.
Please join us again!

New Year, New Chances.

Proost!

Misunderstandings, irritations, feelings of exclusion and a sense of inferiority, are daily challenges for non-native English speakers trying to communicate in the language of global business. What exactly happens and how can global organizations help employees become more effective in this intercultural language and its various communication styles?

Vast amounts of skill, expertise and knowledge remains hidden in organizations because of language and cultural barriers. Native Spanish, German, Dutch, Turkish, Chinese or Bahasa Indonesia speakers all make a daily effort to understand, speak and write English. Native English speakers try to understand the many variants of non-native speakers.

Together we try to get used to each other’s accents and accept the language mistakes inevitably made. We try to figure out what a good translation would be for a particular expression and how the words are to be interpreted and valued in our own language. We get lost in translation.

On many occasions the native English speakers form the majority at international meetings. They patiently watch how non-native speakers demolish their native language and still praise them on their command of English. Are native English speakers aware of the difficulties non-native speakers face and how this affects their feelings and the dynamics of a discussion or debate?