Muriel “Mickie” Siebert, (born February 11, 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio), and known as "The First Woman of Finance", was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and the first woman to head one of its member firms.

Her struggle to obtain that seat – and join the 1,365 male members of the exchange – culminated successfully on December 28, 1967. Siebert has been a vocal advocate for women in finance and industry throughout her career.

Guest blog post by business owner Dianne Dixon.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report 2011, four of the top five nations that have taken significant steps toward achieving gender parity are Nordic. They are: Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden; Ireland rounds out the quintet.

The report was based on five years of data from 135 countries; it measured gender gap ratios in the following major categories: 

We each want to live a life of purpose, but where to start?

In this luminous, wide-ranging talk, Jacqueline Novogratz introduces us to people she's met in her work in "patient capital" -- people who have immersed themselves in a cause, a community, a passion for justice.

These human stories carry powerful moments of inspiration.