Sisters are Talking Stock: From Our Street to Wall Street

Black Women are doing it for themselves in the classroom, the boardroom and on Wall Street. Onyx Woman magazine has created a forum to help take women to the next level of financial planning.

(PRWEB) June 15, 2004 -- Over the past 10 years, Onyx Woman magazine has provided career, entrepreneurial and financial information to educate women of color. The growing demand for financial education in the African-American community inspired publisher, Ola Jackson, to create a nonprofit entity entitled the Onyx Woman Network (OWN).
OWN provides women of color with greater access to information and resources on career advancement, entrepreneurial development and financial literacy via a magazine, seminars/training and a financial literacy resource guide. Jackson says the mission of OWN is to help African-American women on their adventures up the corporate ladder, on their journey through entrepreneurship, and through the maze of understanding how to make wiser financial choices that will enhance their overall quality of life.

In spite of the fact that African-Americans have made substantial economic and career progress over the past years, Jackson says, significant disadvantages still exist and contribute to income disparities and lack of economic stability. Women of color often have inadequate education regarding financial matters," says Jackson and they welcome this platform to discuss economic development issues. We are still playing catch up with our white counterparts simply because stocks, bonds and other investments were not discussed at the dining room table when we were growing up."
OWN offers women the opportunity to participate in a forum in a non-threatening environment where, alongside their peers, they can dialogue about appropriate consumer behavior and financial decisions. OWN gives a voice to women who were once an underserved market by financial institutions and investment firms. In a survey that followed past seminars, women voiced their misconceptions that they felt they had to be rich to invest. They also told us that they didnt realize that such minor changes in their purchasing habits and consumer awareness could result in such drastic changes in successful financial planning. Their generous feedback helped us to understand that we must remove many of the misconceptions and barriers that prevent women from even considering investing as an option," Jackson said.

The first seminar will focus on black women building wealth, home ownership and real estate investment. The guest speakers will be Carol Neyland, First Vice-Present of Mellon Financial Services; Rosemary Crawford, Esq., Crawford McDonald Greene, LLC and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee, and Dawn Webb, Our House Development. The event will take place Saturday, July 31, 2004, from 9:00 am -- 1:30 pm at Mellon Financial Service auditorium, 501 Grant Street, (formerly the Union Trust Bldg.).

Future seminars include: Ms. CEO: When Shes The Boss, Poised, Polished and Professional: So You Want to Be a Public Speaker and Your Career as a Consultant: Start Spreading the Word. For more information, call 412-731-5159, or go to their site.

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