NOVEMBER 17, 2008, 6:30PM – 8:30PM, NEW YORK CITY

Women Advancing Microfinance New York (WAM New York), the New York branch of an international organization of professional women who work to promote microfinance, will host a discussion panel on female leadership in microfinance on Monday, November 17.  The event will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Sullivan and Cromwell on 125 Broad Street in New York City. 

The discussion will focus on the extent to which women are being promoted to leadership positions within a burgeoning global microfinance sector that is beginning to professionalize its workers.  It will also raise the questions of how funders, investors and other stakeholders can sustain female hiring and by what metrics WAM and other groups can measure the effectiveness of gender-sensitive hiring practices.   Special attention will be paid to the lessons learned by three female speakers who work or have worked in finance and the steps that their organizations have taken to recognize women.  WAM hopes to produce a set of concrete criteria and recommendations on how to promote female leadership that will then be funneled to various microfinance firms around the globe through WAM’s international network of chapters and allies.  

The three panelists are Linda Descano, Rebecca Patterson and Emma Sabin.  As President and Chief Operating Officer of Citi, Linda Descano oversees Citi’s Women & Co. Program, a service that helps women attain educational and financial resources for navigating life transitions.  From 1999 to 2002, Ms. Descano also served as the Director and Portfolio Manager in Citi’s Private Portfolio Group, where she oversaw the firm’s socially responsible investment program.  Rebecca Patterson currently serves as the Managing Director and Global Head of Foreign Exchange and Commodities for JPMorgan, where she develops foreign exchange and commodity investment strategies for high net-worth individuals.   As the Senior Director of Advisory Services at Catalyst, Emma Sabin works with companies to create profitable diversity strategies with a focus on women. 

Due to building security restrictions, interested persons should RSVP their name, company name, email and phone number to wamnewyork@yahoo.com  by COB on November 14. 

There is no cost to WAM NY members, but all others must pay USD 10.

For more information, please visit WAM’s website.