By Amanda Ponzar

So, here it is holiday time, and I’m getting ready to do a little last-minute shopping.

Yet, instead of sharing something merry, posting Santa shots, or making marketing predictions for 2011, I wanted to share a few stats:

• Women make up only 2.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs, but nearly half the labor force
• Women hold 16-17% of U.S. Congress seats, a decline after the recent elections (the first decline in 31 years that puts us 69th in the world)
• Women comprise ~15% of Corporate Boards
• 10 million women-owned small businesses generated $1.9 trillion in sales; equal to the GDP of China 

My friend Linda Paulson shared these stats with me, and I verified many at Catalyst’s website. Linda is passionate about women’s issues and manages the United Way Women's Leadership Councils (WLCs):

• Nearly 50,000 women in 120 communities raised $120 million in 2009; the most in their history despite the recession.
• Over a decade, these WLCs raised nearly $700 million for communities.
• These women champion issues and bring resources together to create change: making a difference in teen pregnancy in Anderson, SC; improving high school success in Winston-Salem; increasing parent engagement in schools in San Antonio; or growing the financial stability of women and girls in Cincinnati.

These powerful women are planning to get together at the 2011 United Way Women's Leadership Summit, March 2-4 in Newport Beach, CA, and Linda said, “Amanda, why don’t you invite Lip-sticking readers to attend?”  Hmm, why didn't I think of that?

You’ll meet incredible women leaders:

• Nell Newman, daughter of Paul Newman and Joann Woodward and co-founder of Newman's Organics, who'll explore how we all have assets we can use to create great change. 
• the Honorable Linda Tarr-Whelan, author of Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up and Changing the World and former Ambassador to the United Nations on the global status of women. Tarr-Whelan asserts that 30% representation of women on any decision-making body will increase the organization’s success. Stats above show how we’re fairing; hey, Santa, want to get me hired as CEO of a Fortune 500 company?

This women's summit is about networking, sharing business ideas, engaging around philanthropy and CSR (women do give twice as much as men), and tapping into women’s passion and power to make an impact.

Wow. Now go have a Merry Christmas!