by Solange Lopes | Jan 27, 2014 | Career
Ralph Lauren Chevron Printed Boat Neck Top – $69.50 – nordstrom.com
We’re back from the week-end, and for those who are not in full work mode yet (including us), I’m having a beginning-of-the-week crush on this Ralph Lauren Chevron print boat neck top. I always loved boat neck tops for the flattering silhouette they cut on every body type. Plus they are easy to wear, fun, and can dressed up or down depending on the occasion. This top can be worn alone with dress pants or a nice skirt, and potentially accessorized with a black skinny belt; or under a casual suit for a semi-formal day at the office.
Love the color and the print, which are both unexpected and refreshing. It’s $69.50 at Nordstrom, and may just take you from your 9-to-5 to the week-end in a pinch…
Seen a great, work-appropriate fashion piece you’d like to share? Please post a comment or email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 27, 2014 | Career |
madamenoire.com
So yesterday I was watching the Grammy’s, along with the millions of people who tuned in to watch all these cool artists strut down the red carpet in all their cool swagger. As I was reveling in all the great fashion and awesome talent, it also occurred to me that while the success of entertainment professionals, especially in the Black and minority community, is much celebrated, we cannot quite say the same thing about corporate professional success. Yes, while Beyonce is heralded as the Queen Bey (did you see that steamy performance with hubby Jay Z…but I digress), how much do we really hear about the likes of Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, or Goldman Sachs security division’s COO Lisa Opoku, or Sam’s Club President Rosalind Brewer? Yes we may know media mogul Oprah, but which other Black or minority female success figure in the corporate world do we really hear or know about…Not many, and that my be just why corporate success is not as cool as entertainment success, and maybe why our girls and boys would rather star in a reality show than go to college…Just sayin’…
Yes, being a corporate sister or brother would not exactly be associated with terms lie swag or cool in the urban lexicon. Despite the success of network shows like “Scandal” or “Being Mary Jane”, being a corporate sister is still perceived as “acting white”. Wearing a suit to work or dressing in a conservative manner is still perceived as being more “white” than “black”, or like any other minority for that matter. Yes it is a matter of perception, but like everywhere, perception matters!
Ultimately, it is up to us to change these perceptions. The more minorities enter the corporate world, the more accustomed to this image we will all be (without having to resort to elusive TV shows or glamorous, rose-colored glasses). And the more accustomed we get to a certain type of image, the cooler it gets! Just look at the emergence of the nerd culture, and how Black women are starting to identify with it and give ourselves a voice in this realm (thank you Black Girl Nerds)! So it may also be high time to give ourselves a voice in the corporate realm, a cool, influential voice that will not only make us heard, but make us more of a visible presence in the corporate sphere:
- Get Your Education On! Education is cool, it will take you places, and is the one thing no one can ever take away from you. Whether you aspire to making it in the entrepreneurial realm or dream about being an entertainer, education is key both to reaching your goals and have a solid backup plan!
- You’re a hard-working professional: look and act the part! The value of hard work can never be emphasized too much. As cool as all these entertainers may be, they also work hard. In flashier fields such as sports or entertainment, as in the corporate world, hard work does pay off! And even if unfair stereotypes and perceptions still stand in the way, effective results cannot be denied to anyone!
- Be the change you want to see! We often complain about the lack of opportunities for Black and minority professionals in the corporate world. Yet, we often also fall short of offering solutions and bringing consensus to the table. Yes it is hard, and very discouraging at times! However, as Gandhi said it so well, we have to be the change we want to see! My version of Ghandi’s famous saying: If you don’t like the situation you’re in, change it! How? Offer solutions, speak up, show up, persevere, knock on the door…and someone will eventually open up and listen…
Do you think professional/career success is cool?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 26, 2014 | Career |
News – greenwhichroundup.blogspot.com
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Hope everyone had a great week! For us on the Northeast side of the blogosphere, it was cold, snowy and just brrrr….., which also gave us the time to do some reading. This is what we’ve been reading this week:
Happy Sunday! And happy reading…
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 25, 2014 | Career
Derry Tunic – $88 – Anthropologie
For our week-end fashion crush, I love love this Derry tunic from Anthropologie, which combine comfort with stunning details that turn this piece into a real stunner! Love love the vegan leather pockets and scoopneck! the combination of grey and brown is as stunning as it is unexpected. The pullover style is both comfortable yet dressy enough to pull it during the day with simple accessories, or in the evening with more sophisticated jewelry.
It’s $88 at Anthropologie, and goes from XS to XL.
Seen a great fashion piece you’d like to share? Please email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 25, 2014 | Career
Academic Earth – mimoskolu.cz
So it’s the new year, and many among us are considering new learning and continuing education opportunities! And as we’re dreaming about continuing, or even starting, our graduate or post-graduate education, we can’t help but longingly sigh at the thought of all these great people who went to prestigious Ivy league colleges, such as Harvard, MIT, Yale or Stanford… How great it must be to learn from the best institutions, to be able to say “I completed this course at Harvard, you know…”…and, yes…how expensive (unless you’re insanely smart, fortunate, at the right time at the right place and got yourself a free ride, it happens!). Otherwise, you may as well keep on sighing, right? Wrong…
I learnt about the Academic Earth a while back while listening to some podcast, and never thought much of it until I needed some serious managerial accounting refreshing course for an upcoming work project I had no idea how in the world I was going to pull off…And then I clicked on the Academic Earth link I had thankfully saved in my favorites, and…found a Financial and Managerial Accounting course from the Massachussets Institute of Technology! Yup, that one, MIT! As I kept clicking, I also uncovered a Leadership course from Harvard, an Economics course from Cornell University, an African-American history course from Yale, an Introduction to Computer Networks course from Stanford University, and these are just the tip of the iceberg…
Academic Earth was created back in 2009, by Richard Ludlow and co-founders Chris Bruner and Liam Pisan. With over 750 free online college courses from Ivy League and prestigious institutions of higher learning, it offers countless opportunities to learn, share, debate from the best of the best! I mean, these are top-rated courses from top-rated Ivy League institutions that you can take advantage of FOR FREE! While you may not get credit for these courses, you can get an even greater credit, which is that of learning from the best! I’ve taken a couple of courses from Academic Earth, and intend on continuing to do so, as I can proudly say that “I took this course from Harvard…for free!”…
There are unending sources of online learning these days, and as corporate sisters, professionals, and continuous learners, we should take advantage of these to further ourselves. Someone once said that “Education is the only thing that no one can take away from you”, and they could not be more on point…
Check out Academic Earth and let us know what you think!
Comments? Questions? Please post a comment or email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 25, 2014 | Career |
Broadli app – www.appszoom.com
So there you are, staring at your LinkedIn network, wondering how in the world you’re going to find that recruiter you spoke with a couple of months back and can’t remember the name of to save your life…Or yet again, you are wondering how all these people you have never even met made it to your network…Have you wondered if there were a more effective way to use your LinkedIn network and resources and find the right people to connect with when you need to? I know I have…
So I was happy to read about this new app called Broadli in this Fast Company’s article, which helps you do just that…Instead of rummaging through a disorganized network of acquaintances, friends, important professional connections and not so important connections, Broadli offers you a way to re-organize your professional network. With this app, you can now segregate your connections into the following four categories: Inspired, Dormant, Don’t Know, Want To Know! And that’s not just it…You can even identify your current need (also referred to as a “mission”) on your network and have this app help you tap into the people most likely to help you fulfill this need. This also means that as a user, you may also be able to connect with other users’ needs or “missions”, and assist them alike. Can you say wow!
Last but not least, what I found the most interesting about this app is that, not only was it created by two women originally from New Zealand, Claudia Batten and Alessandra Lariu; but it is also designed with a female, relationship-based, and hence more intuitive perspective. An app that is smart and has a feminine perspective, I love it! And rightfully so, networks are about relationships, and what’s more intuitive than basic, non-linear, human relationships, even and especially in the professional realm…
Women are making it happen everywhere, from career dress to app entrepreneurship, and I am so proud! Especially since these same two ladies who created Broadli also happen to be the proud co-founders of SheSays, a creative global and award-winning women’s network offering free mentorship and events for women in the creative and marketing businesses. Check out Broadli for yourself and let us know what you think!
Comments? Questions? Please post a comment or email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 24, 2014 | Career
Of Mercer Founders – www.forbes.con
For our Friday afternoon chat, meet this duo of Wharton grads who are turning their experience in business and love of fashion into an entrepreneurial adventure that hits close to home: dressing career women! When I first read about Dorie Golkin and Emelie Northway in Forbes Woman, I was like “yes, of course!”. Of course, career women need a fashion niche just and entirely for themselves, and of course, this is a great idea! Women of all backgrounds and origins have been filling the ranks of the corporate world in greater and greater numbers every year. Women who although they are still (and unfortunately) a minority in the corporate world, are also in much need of guidance, empowerment, and just… simple answers to questions such as “What am I going to wear today?” Or “Does this look professional enough?”.
And it’s exactly out of the need to answer these basic, yet surprisingly under-addressed needs, that Of Mercer was born.
The line is sold exclusively online, and mostly features contemporary classic designs. And if you were wondering where the name comes from, it’s inspired from the word “mercer”, which was used to define dealers of fine fabrics and textiles back in the 13th century.”…Interesting!
So for all those of you corporate sisters with a knack for entrepreneurship, or who already have a side hustle going, hope this inspires you…
Check out their website at http://www.ofmercer.com/!
The Corporate Sister.
