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Women find niche leading credit unions: Unique nature of those financial institutions may explain why females thrive there

July 11, 2005

Karla Salisbury started her career at a savings and loan that was later purchased by an out-of-state bank. After a few years, she foresaw that she might have to relocate to advance in the company, "and that was not part of my plan," Salisbury said. So she did some research to see where her best opportunities might be. One thing she investigated was how many women there were in upper management in banks vs. credit unions. She found the top...

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Educating entrepreneurs: Women's Business Center offers basics as well as individual counseling services

July 11, 2005

Joann Robinson was unhappy working in corporate America, so she started her own business, Balloons by Design, which delivers balloon bouquets and does on-site balloon decorations. The Indianapolis woman had been in business for about a year when she sought assistance in January from the new Central Indiana Women's Business Center. Since then, with CIWBC help, Robinson has gone from having about 15 customers to about 50. Robinson is one of many women who have benefited from the services offered...

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Dads let these moms soar: Some couples find it makes more sense for the father to be in the stay-at-home parent role

June 13, 2005

Sometimes they do it for economic reasons. Or perhaps they don't want their children to be raised by baby sitters. Whatever the case, some couples find it makes more sense for the dad to be a stay-at-home parent. And sometimes-as with the couples in this story-that decision has helped enable the moms' careers to soar. Debra Minott, director of the Indiana Personnel Department, was working for Eli Lilly and Co. in San Diego when she had her second child in...

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Organizers have turned pro: It's a hot field where most practitioners are women

May 9, 2005

You know who they are-the "neatniks" who always have everything so well organized. You can practically see a thought bubble hovering over them that says: "A place for everything and everything in its place." Now they've discovered they can capitalize on their natural tendencies by becoming professional organizers. It's a hot field that's growing as fast as the paper piles in you-know-who's office. Membership in the National Association of Professional Organizers has soared from 2,100 in February 2004 to 3,300...

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Are you tough enough?: Women learn how to be hardy so they can compete with the guys in any field of endeavor

April 11, 2005

Dr. Mary Reilly sometimes gets emotional on the job. But the emergency physician also knows how to turn it off. "In the middle of a 'code,' I can't be breaking down in tears," said Reilly, who works with Indianapolis-based St. Vincent Emergency Physicians Inc. "I put a wall up in some situations and try not to think about these people as people. That's the only way emotionally I can get through [it]." Reilly is among the many women who've learned...

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It isn't just $hopping: Retail buyers have to do a lot of analysis and numbers-crunching

March 14, 2005

"I can't think of one thing [I don't like about my job]," said Demmary, whose title is merchandise manager. "For my personality, it's a great fit. But some people may not like how detailed you have to be, and how much computer work there is. I've heard other salespeople say, 'How can you stare at that spreadsheet all day?' But if you don't like to work the numbers and be at the computer a lot, you wouldn't like it." Demmary's...

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Two women succeed with their own HVAC company: The male-dominated world of sheet metal contracting has not always been hospitable to female workers

March 14, 2005

Kim Mann was 19 when she started in the sheet metal trade, installing heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment for the now-defunct Apex Ventilating. She did a five-year apprenticeship and worked on some major projects such as First Indiana Plaza and Bank One Center. The president of Apex at the time, Phil Meyers, gave Mann the chance to be a forewoman. "He stuck me with some of the old, tough men, which taught me something," Mann said. "At that time,...

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Head of IT firm ensures company primed for growth: She started business to offer customized training but altered her strategy as circumstances changed Strategic decisions "She almost vibrates" Female support

February 14, 2005

Kathy Carrier's dad was angry when she left a lucrative job at a Fortune 500 company to start her own firm. But four years later, when she won an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, he told his daughter: "Clearly your vision for yourself was greater than the one I had for you." In less than seven years, Carrier, 46, has built her Fort Wayne-based information technology writing and training firm, Briljent LLC, into a business with annual...

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Seeking to sway politicians: Lobbyists savor the challenge of playing the game, which requires chess-like strategizing

January 10, 2005

When Maureen Ferguson was a lobbyist for the Indiana Petroleum Council, she went skiing for the first time, in Colorado. As her ski instructor was taking her up the mountain, he asked her what she did for a living. When she told him, he "went off" on how the oil industry was corrupt and running the government, and she recalled that she found herself fearing for her life. Now when someone asks Ferguson what she does, sometimes she tells them,...

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She makes live TV readable for the hearing impaired: Former court reporter transferred her skills to broadcast captioning, which she does from her home studio

January 10, 2005

If you've ever hit the mute button on your TV, you've probably seen the closed-captioning text at the bottom of the screen that's provided primarily for the hearing impaired. For live TV shows, someone's fingers have to fly on a stenotype machine to produce those captions. The National Court Reporters Association estimates there are only about 500 people in the country who can do that, and Susie Wollenweber is one of them. Working from her Indianapolis basement, Wollenweber provides broadcast...

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