2005: A Year in Review

Goodbye 2005 and hello 2006; and what a year 2005 was! Let's start the new year by reflecting on the past so that we can focus on the future.

In January of last year we officially joined EuropeanPWN. Membership enables all of us to extend our professional networks beyond Italian shores and presented opportunities to streamline some of our administration. In addition, by adding our voices to the chorus supporting the professional advancement of women, the essential messages that (unfortunately!) still need to be heard will reach an ever-widening audience.

In April, we unveiled PWA's new visual communications package including our enhanced website. Thanks to the professional services generously donated by PWA member Marina Wolny and Conte Oggioni Partners, our public image now reflects more accurately the professional, international organization that we are.

The current PWA board began its term in July 2005. During our first months in office, we have introduced new events and conferences, all designed to provide more opportunities to connect with the wider Milanese community. As Muriel Chen notes, "we cannot discover new oceans until we have the courage to lose sight of the shore".

Despite the new PWA calendar not officially starting until September, we did organise a final cocktail in July. This, and subsequent networking aperitivi, have been well-attended and their success has assured them a place in our calendar going forward.

Since September, we have extended speaker meetings by 30 minutes. This gives you more opportunities to interact with our presenters, which this fall featured successful entrepreneur Margaret Milan and prize-winning journalist Lucia Vastano. We moved the aperitivo from the hotel bar area to the restaurant to provide more space and a more substantial buffet to fortify you beforehand. And speaking of sustenance, we continued the popular speaker dinners with a presentation in October by laughter consultant Gianni Ferrario. These improvements have stemmed from the PWA member survey completed in July 2005 as well as the event evaluation feedback received throughout the year.

As part of our commitment to EuropeanPWN, we made some changes and these started in September. These have included:

• Changes to the membership year so that it runs from January to December
• Introduction of an online reservation and payment system to make joining PWA and participating in PWA events easier and more convenient
• A reduction in the annual fee, from €115 to €100!
• Changes to the board term to align it with the membership year. The new board, to be elected in spring 2006 will serve a term of September 2006 to December 2007.
• Extended the corporate membership program to welcome members from IBM Milan, Deloitte and Alcatel. The program allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to the careers of their women employees through PWA membership.

We were also pleased to introduce a number of new services and benefits during November and December. Our Professional Services Board was launched, allowing members to post descriptions of their services and website links on that section of our website. At the same time, we added the Professional Services table to our events where the activities of members can be promoted to both members and guests.

To stay in touch with members we have introduced an electronic newsletter, also available in pdf format, that gives you easier access to additional information links. A regular column in the newsletter - PWA "Success Stories" - has been introduced; if you have a success to share, please let us know. In addition, not only have we finalized our new professional colour brochure, reflecting the new image introduced in the spring, we have also introduced a new "Frequently Asked Questions" section on the website.

At this year's holiday party at Osteria del Binari held in December, we are proud to have raised over €600 for a very worthy charity. The funds will be donated to Fondazione Risorsa Donna (<www.fondazionerisorsadonna.it>), an organization that seeks to develop and support a culture of entrepreneurship for women through micro-credit financing programs.

So with all that has happened in 2005, what's in store for 2006?

Our first special event is a conference organized via a joint collaboration between the Gruppo Donne Manager of Manageritalia Milano and PWA, to be held Thursday, January 26. Entitled "Work Smarter, Not Harder", its aim is to set the stage for change in Italy by sensitizing managers to the importance of a healthy work/life balance. Entrance is free for PWA members and includes a buffet lunch - more details are available on our website. Through this and similar events we are actively increasing the awareness and influence of PWA Milan within the local business community.

Our regularly scheduled events include a speaker dinner on January 18, where author, trainer and personal-finance consultant Robert Gignac will help us learn how to take hold of our finances and fill the future with riches. Reserve your seat now, as space is limited! The following Wednesday, January 25, will feature our monthly networking cocktail at Cantine Montegrappa. At our speaker meeting on February 8, we will hear Margaret Heffernan, CEO and international best-selling author of The Naked Truth: A Modern Woman's Manifesto about Working and What Really Matters, on "Power and Ambition". Check the calendar for updates and further information.

PWA is growing and evolving to accommodate our members' ever-changing needs based on the feedback we receive from you. Please send your suggestions on how we can bring PWA even further into the forefront as the premiere network for professional women in Milan.

Welcome to 2006 and we wish you a very happy and successful year ahead.

PWA Board of Directors

Holiday Cheer and Celebration

The final event of the year was a grand success and we are also proud to announce that PWA exceeded its target of raising €500 for the Fondazione Risorsa Donna.

The evening started with an aperitivo and, as the prosecco flowed, so too did conversations and holiday greetings. It didn't take long for the Osteria to know that PWA was in the house and at one point it appeared that other diners also wanted to join our party! As our guests arrived, each was asked to play Secret Santa and put their gift at a place setting. Everyone would be taking home a little something, and judging by the tokens we saw unwrapped, the members are a generous lot.

Taking their places at tables scattered with glittering stars and golden leaves, guests savoured the delicious dinner provided. Antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci all went down well, while interspersed among the courses was the main entertainment of the evening - the fundraiser.

During the aperitivo, we had been cajoling, persuading and coercing guests into contributing and that they did. We had set a target of €500 for our fundraising objective and we beat it, well and truly. As a result of our guests' generosity, we will be giving Fondazione Risorsa Donna (<www.fondazionerisorsadonna.it>) €620: big thanks go out to everyone that participated by donating cash or gifts.

The foundation will be using this money to support their mission: to remove the social and economic obstacles that limit women's participation in society and the economy. They do this by helping develop and support a culture of entrepreneurship for women through micro-credit financing programs.

The evening's success would not have been possible without the very generous support of many companies. Please see below our roll call of fame.

Finally, at the end of the evening, Kimberly Covington's beautiful voice was joined by those of PWA members and the Osteria staff as we sang Christmas carols and bid our guests goodbye. We then sat back and looked around the empty restaurant and agreed that the last event of 2005 was a success. Thank you to everyone involved who made it such an enjoyable evening.

Rita Fintoni and Rebecca Loades
Networking Directors

The PWA Holiday Party Roll Call of Fame

Our very great thanks are extended to the following companies for their generous donations towards our fund-raising effort:

• AMC (<www.it.amc.info>) - porcelain tea set
• Apliaz Group, Residence La Splaza (<www.mci-spa.it>) - week accommodation at Montecampione ski resort
• Campari (<www.campari.it>) - Glenfiddich Special Reserve single malt whiskey and Château Lamargue, Grand Reserve
• Creature (<www.guest-square.com>) - designer fashion handbag
• Donna International - voucher for haircut, style and color
• Erica Lucchi, artist (<www.nevertheless.it>) - still-life oil painting
• Franzi 1864 (<www.franzi1864.it>) - luxury leather handbag
• International Accounting Solutions (<www.accounting-solutions.it>) - Veuve Clicquot champagne gift sets
• Kashmir Indian Take Away - voucher for Indian food
• Kimberly Covington, international singer (<www.kimberlycovington.com>) - Kimberly in concert, Live dall'Auditorio di Milano compact discs
• La Flute (<www.laflute.it>) - bottle of Jean Charles Milan Brut Cuvée de Réserve
• MTV Italia (<www.mtv.it>) - 2 tickets to Supersonic concert featuring James Blunt
• People Restaurant (<www.peoplerestaurant.com>) - gourmet dinners for 2
• Ryder & Associates (<www.ryderassociates.com>) - executive coaching sessions
• Salone Franco Diligenti - custom package of beauty treatments for face, body and nails
• SunRe8 (<www.sunre8.com>) - weekend stay at Milan bed and breakfast
• Tiffany & Co (<www.tiffany.com>) - sterling silver necklace
• Villa Magnolia (<www.bbvillamagnolia.it>) - weekend stay at Milan bed and breakfast

Speaker Event

Speaker Dinner - All professional women welcome whether members or guests

What holds us back from achieving our financial goals and taking control of our personal finances? The answers are not always what you think. Often, our biggest obstacle is not knowing where to start. Robert Gignac's presentation focuses on four key areas:

1. What does "rich" mean? (It isn't all about money, is it?)
2. What is a "richly imagined future"? (The picture of life we carry around inside us.)
3. What will you disrupt? (Please don't tell me I need to make changes!)
4. How do you sort through all of the choices? (Oh great, more decisions to make...)

Robert is the owner of Swiss-based Taynac & Associates (<www.taynac.com>), an organization that focuses on personal and financial development. An insightful speaker at events across North America and Europe, Robert also writes about personal and financial development issues and is a regular contributor to both Enterprise Magazine and Career Bound Magazine. He has been featured extensively in print and on the radio.

Robert is the author of the bestseller Rich Is a State of Mind, a novel that examines personal finance through the eyes of a Canadian family. As a student of the financial planning process for more than 15 years, he strives to encourage people to take control of their personal finances in order to have a "richly imagined future".

Cocktails 7-8 p.m. / Presentation 8-8.45 p.m. / Dinner 8.45-10 p.m.
StarHotel Rosa, via Pattari 5 (MM Duomo)
€25 for members, €40 for guests

Reservations and prepayment are required. Space is limited to 65 participants. Members, please reserve and prepay online by credit card via the calendar section of the EuropeanPWN website <www.europeanpwn.net>. Alternatively, members as well as guests may prepay by bank transfer, or in person in cash or by cheque at any of the events preceding the Speaker Dinner.

To request a vegetarian meal, to reserve and/or arrange payment, or for more information in general, please contact: speakers@pwa-milan.org.

Deadline for reservations: Monday, 16 January 2006, 12:00 noon.

Networking Event

Special Event - Conference

PWA members are invited to attend a conference organized via a joint collaboration between the Gruppo Donne Manager of Manageritalia Milano and PWA. Entitled "Work Smarter, Not Harder" or "Equilibrio tra lavoro e vita privata: testimonianze, prospettive, proposte", its aim is to set the stage for change in Italy by sensitizing managers - both male and female - to the importance of attaining a healthy balance between the time dedicated to work and to one's private life.

The theme of the conference will be presented by Cristina Bombelli, author, professor of Organization and Human Resources, and director of Laboratorio Armonia at SDA Bocconi. Fabio Perrone, management trainer and consultant, will be leading the roundtable discussion with the following participants:

• Gianni Camisa - General Manager, IBM Global Services Italy
• Francesca De Biase - Manager, Organizational Development Ikea,
• Libero Milone - CEO, Deloitte Italy
• Nicoletta Scannavini - Senior Marketing Manager, A.T. Kearney
• Simone Innocenti - Manager, Human Resources Cisco Italy

Change is indeed imperative: a study undertaken by the Università Bicocca of Milan at the request of Manageritalia has confirmed that "face-time" in the workplace - in particular, remaining in the office beyond "normal" work hours - is viewed positively by the top management of Italian companies. Consequently, women who tend to work intensely during the day and leave earlier than their male counterparts, typically motivated by family obligations, are penalized. This represents a further discriminating factor against women and their careers, one that impacts many of PWA's members directly.

This is a free event. Participation is limited to Manageritalia and all current PWA members. The discussion will be held in Italian and a buffet lunch will be served afterwards. Space is limited, so please reserve your place by January 24.

Please register your attendance now in the calendar section of EuropeanPWN <www.europeanpwn.net>.

For more information, please contact pwa@pwa-milan.org.

Speaker Meeting

Speaker Meeting - All professional women welcome whether members or guests

Is it true that women can't manage to break the 'glass ceiling' because they don't have enough ambition and do not feel attracted to power? "Contrary to popular belief, women do seek power and we are ambitious," affirms Margaret Heffernan. "We just don't think about these terms the same way that men do."

Margaret will provide her personal insight and explain why she is firmly convinced that it's time for women to take themselves seriously. Her presentation will focus on the following areas:

• Why does power matter to women - and what gets in our way?
• What is it that we are truly ambitious for - and how can we achieve our goals without sacrificing our sense of self?

She will talk about the common themes that emerge in women's careers, the obstacles most women are bound to face and the strategies for overcoming them.

Margaret was born in Texas, raised in Holland and educated at Cambridge University. She enjoyed a 15 year career in broadcasting, including a stint at BBC, and has run five companies in the UK and the US.

Margaret now writes about women and business in the US and UK. She is a regular columnist for Fast Company and Real Business magazines. Her first book The Naked Truth: A Modern Woman's Manifesto about Working and What Really Matters was published in October 2004 by Jossey-Bass, while How She Does It, about the rise of female business owners, is due to be published by Penguin in 2006. The Naked Truth will be available for sale at the meeting.

Cocktails 7-8 p.m. / Presentation 8-9.30 p.m.
StarHotel Rosa, via Pattari 5 (MM Duomo)
Free for members; €20 for guests, payable by cash or check at the event

Members: please register your attendance in the calendar section of EuropeanPWN <www.europeanpwn.net>

For guest reservations, and for more information in general, please contact speakers@pwa-milan.org

Special Announcement

Kristin Engvig appointed honorary member

We are proud to announce that Kristin Engvig has been appointed as an honorary member of PWA. An ardent supporter of women as leaders, she is the founder and director of Women's International Networking (WIN) , of which PWA is a partner network.

Kristin is a popular presenter on topics such as leadership, networking and entrepreneurship. In April 2005 she was a guest speaker at a PWA speaker dinner on "Maximizing the Value of Networking" - and drew a record-high crowd of nearly 90 attendees. She is past president (1994-1996) and long-term friend of PWA. We acknowledge and appreciate Kristin's contributions to our association and to the success of women in general.

PWA Board of Directors

"I'd like to thank PWA for this honorary membership. It is a great honor, one that is hugely important to me. I joined PWA in the early '90's and was a member until I left for Switzerland in 2002. PWA was like family to me, where I made great friendships and achieved invaluable professional growth.

Participating actively in the group led me to my current full-time profession - running WIN (the WIN conference <www.winconference.net>) - as well as to discovering my passion for art and acting. Serving on the board allowed me not only to build an invaluable network of friends and colleagues, but also to develop skills including effectively managing meetings, speaking in front of an audience, and collaborating in a multicultural setting. Belonging to the PWA community was crucial to my love of Milanese life: I am a lifelong ambassador and will continue to promote the association everywhere I go."

Kristin Engvig

Success Story

"Hello, my name is Roanna Weiss and I am a researcher of early medieval literature and art." Just a short time ago I would not have been able to describe myself as such, and PWA has played a large part in my ability to do so now.

I first heard about PWA from a book while I was in England completing my BA and MA. In October, 2004, ready for a break, I decided to come to Milan and to schedule my trip so that I could attend a meeting of this group of international English-speaking professional women. I went to a PWA event where I met women with active careers and experience, and - while I could not describe myself as other than a student - I was optimistic that with such a cohesive networking group to fall back on, I could become one of them if I was willing to put in the effort. The positive atmosphere of PWA made me believe that Milan was the place I wanted to launch my "life after university", as I privately referred to it. I returned the following April, without a job, but full of energy and a desire to join the academic field.

My first job was teaching English as a second language to businesspeople - I hated it! My thoughts turned desperately to how I could apply my research skills to the business world: I updated my CV, translated it into Italian and began sending it out. I took another chance on PWA and signed up for the "Successful Job Searching in Italy" seminar offered by PWA in conjunction with Ryder & Associates in June 2005.

I realized that I had one skill that was a very important one: listening. While the other workshop participants had backgrounds completely different from my own, I was nevertheless able to learn something from each of their examples. A key early segment of the workshop involved each attendee introducing herself and her skills and strengths, much like she would expect to in an interview situation. First the workshop leader and then the other enrolees critiqued her presentation and gave suggestions on how to strengthen its impact. I introduced myself as an English teacher, that seeming the only accurate one to give. But as I listened to the feedback I received and studied the transformation of the others, I came to the conclusion that the work I was doing at the moment was not who I was or where I wanted to be.

We were then asked to present ourselves a second time, making any changes or improvements we felt were appropriate. I am proud of my revised introduction, which is in fact the accurate one: I am a researcher of early medieval literature and art.

The seminar made me rethink what I was doing compared with what I wanted to be doing. I decided to quit my despised job, and enrolled in a language school to increase my fluency in Italian. I have continued my research on the themes of exile, pilgrimage and time in the period 500-1100 AD to keep my skills current, and am currently working on one of the most forgotten homilies of Anglo-Saxon England. I have also put more time and energy into PWA this year, volunteering to assist at events which had the unexpected benefit of increasing my circle of contacts, as I speak to more members and guests about their interests and accomplishments.

I feel very fortunate to have found PWA: my way of thinking has changed in many areas, my confidence has increased, and I have learned to rely more on my independent nature. Now I realize that the image you put forward should be the one you want to be, not the one you feel you are currently trapped in. I've found that pushing yourself into interaction with those that you admire is the best way to gain the contacts and discover the information that you wouldn't know where to begin to look for otherwise. And perhaps most importantly, I'm involved in a group where I feel supported and where I can continue to develop both personally and professionally.

Roanna L. Weiss
PWA Member

How to Join

Individual membership
To join, simply fill in completely and submit the online application form at www.pwa-milan.org. Probably the best way to find out if PWA Milan is for you is to experience the association by coming to one of our events as a guest. Meet members, ask questions, speak to the members of the board and see whether joining would be beneficial for you.

Membership fees
January 2006-December 2006    €100

Corporate membership
Companies may join PWA Milan, enabling designated women employees to benefit from all that PWA has to offer. For further information, please refer to the website www.pwa-milan.org or email pwa@pwa-milan.org.