Stiletto Network

Lady Bountifuls

The New York Women’s Forum was one of the first places ambitious gals like Hyatt could connect with like-minded peers, women who understood their unique business and personal issues. These ladies were forging ahead despite sexism and discrimination. There weren’t many of them in any one company or even within entire professions, so they looked outside their industries to female leaders in other fields.

“There were very few women. It was lonely. You kept your head down, you did what you could do, you thought you were reinventing the wheel, and if you were promoted it was because you were that good,” says Davia Temin, a member of the Women’s Forum who has been a featured speaker at Hyatt’s Leadership Forum.

“In most companies, there ...