My day as… Deloitte Director and Mother of Three

Posted on June 23, 2016June 23, 2016 by IPWA ADMIN

What's a regular day like for working mother of three Alison Weyland? Here she explains how she balances being a Director in Consulting at Deloitte with raising three boys in Santiago. About me… I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I graduated as a mechanical engineer and worked in manufacturing, but ultimately I didn't see it as a long term career so after a few years I decided to do an MBA and then change careers into consulting. I started working at Deloitte after finishing my ...

Tips for (potential) entrepreneurs

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Polly Gant

Who hasn't at some point dreamt of being their own boss and having the freedom to turn an idea or passion into a source of income? At IPWA's April 2016 event, the two speakers Penny Ortega, entrepreneur currently behind the successful Chile Experience community, and Karen Romero, a business development professional with experience of finding business and growing the client base for customers, provided IPWA members and guests with motivation and tips for starting a business in Chile. Here are t...

My day as… IPWA Committee Lead

Posted on March 7, 2016March 8, 2016 by Sarah Walker

An insight into the working lives of women in Santiago, Chile Marian Hakze leads, facilitates and guides the activities of the IPWA organizing committee to ensure that IPWA can deliver on its mission to help internationally minded women in Santiago to connect and develop. Here, Marian shares her thoughts on being IPWA Committee Lead and offers her advice to the anyone thinking of taking over her role when she steps down in April. I first came to Chile… When I was trave...

Women and Leadership

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Abby Gary

Drawing around 60 women, IPWA´s November event on Women and Leadership was a clearly pertinent topic for many members. The full room was buzzing with chatter and then quieted as the four panelists introduced themselves, sharing not only their career qualifications, but also their personal backgrounds. Lilian Saud is a Senior Manager for the Innovation and Technology Office at Oracle Chile. She mentioned she grew up in the conservative Brazilian society and, though she was a shy child, she has al...

Chile’s Fiestas Patrias

Posted on November 1, 2015November 1, 2015 by Evelyn Groschopp

18 September is independence day in Chile, and the country marks the date with a national holiday and week of celebrations. Unlike the usual events organized by IPWA for the international community of professional women in Santiago, the September event was more of a cultural event and social gathering, rather than am informative talk. The participating women were able to appreciate and enjoy one of the strongest traditions in Chile: Fiestas Patrias. The group learned about Chilean traditions and...

Managing Change and Uncertainty

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Paula Pino

Where are the emergency exits? Where are the fire-extinguishers? Where is the meeting place in case of emergency? This is how we started IPWA's August event, a talk on how to handle change and uncertainty. Ok, I had never thought about these details, although with the regular earthquakes we have, this should be standard information to have handy… The aim of the meeting was to explain our attitudes to change and assess our approach to dealing with change. We did a quick exercise in wh...

Tips for Managing the Intercultural Workplace in Santiago

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Polly Gant

This week we have an inspirational post from a special guest blogger, Ellen Dizzia. Ellen spends her time in Santiago trying to give back to the community, and using her energy for greater good in Chile. She set up an NGO, Access Ingles, aiming to get foreigners into public schools, working with students and teachers to improve the standard of English teaching. Here she writes about the challenges she faced when embarking on the project, which can serve as useful tips for all of us. For more i...

An Insight into Coaching

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Sarah Walker

“When you try to live your dream, the world conspires to make it happen.” This uplifting Paulo Coehlo quote was one of the many ways Michelle Riutort, a certified life coach, reinforced the usefulness of life coaching during her presentation at IPWA's June 2015 event: an Insight into Coaching. Michelle gave us an objective introduction to coaching as she guided us through her own decisions to becoming a life coach, starting from her time as event organiser and DJ, to the ups and downs in ...

Foreign Female Entrepreneurs in Chile

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Marcela Diaz

Co-hosted by Mujeres del Pacifico and IPWA, a networking cocktail for foreign female entrepreneurs took place at the W Hotel on July 14th, 2015. An evening meant to focus on “ how to export” quickly evolved into a powerful exchange of experiences and tips on how to gather the courage, build the network and the cultural awareness foreigners must balance in order to successfully launch and grow a business in Chile. Here are 6 facts that long-term residents and those newly arrived to Chile coul...

Hay Mujeres

Posted on August 24, 2015August 24, 2015 by Lindsay Garvin

On May 27, I had the opportunity to attend an IPWA event led by María de Los Ángeles Fernández. She was an exceptionally well-received presenter at an event that supports the networking and professional development of women in Santiago. She spoke to the group about the importance of women in leadership positions, its positive effects on the economy and society, and the need for successful women to be seen and heard in the public sector. The point she drove home throughout the night was that w...