Women and minority entrepreneurs, who together own more than 10 million U.S. businesses, have access to more resources than they might realize. These range from business planning advice to certifications aimed at helping entrepreneurs win government and big-company contracts. Help is offered by myriad groups, from professional associations to local municipalities.

via How Minority-Owned Businesses Can Catch a Break – BusinessWeek.

• How Remarkable Women Lead (Crown Business, 2009) by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston
• Women, Work and the Art of Savoir Faire (Atria Books, 2009) by Mireille Guiliano (on our “Books We Want to Read” list)
• Glass Ceilings and 100-Hour Couples (University of Georgia, 2009) by Karine Moe and Dianna Shandy

You can check out the reviews here or click on the above links to purchase.

If you can’t answer this question definitively or if you feel the slightest bit of unease, it may be worthwhile for you to do a quick review and re-adjustment of your social media profiles. Below are some ideas you can use to get your social networking identity career-ready:

1.  Get Picture Perfect. One area where people unwittingly “expose” themselves to unwanted scrutiny is in photographs posted online. Whether the photos are in your Facebook album, or on some other social networking site, it makes sense to get a handle on what images are out there and to minimize the exposure. This isn’t about whether the photographs are vulgar (let’s just assume that they’re not); the issue is whether they are congruent with your professional identity. It’s important to note that everyone does not view or understand professionalism in the same way. If you have any doubt about a picture, keep it hidden from public view. To get help managing your photo privacy settings on Facebook, read this. For other social networks, visit their help sections on privacy.

2. Take Privacy Settings Seriously. It’s important to manage the level of access that people have to your personal information online, particularly if you have connections that you don’t know very well. Here are links to privacy information for Facebook and Linkedin (for other networks, visit the help section and search under privacy). Look carefully at the settings that determine whether information is publicly or privately available. When in doubt: err on the side of keeping things private.

3. Keep Alert! Sign up for Google Alerts (they’re free) to be notified every time your name surfaces on the Internet. You can elect to be notified immediately or periodically. If your name is common, expect see regular alerts. If something objectionable surfaces attached to your name (even if it relates to someone else with an identical name), you’ll know in advance and be prepared to discuss it.

4. Identify Yourself. Check your usernames, user IDs, email addresses, and avatars (the small photos that represents your online identity) and ensure that they are consistent with the image you want to project.

These tips may seem like an infringement on your personal life, but the reality is that the lines between professional and personal conduct online are already blurred. Employers (and anyone else who doesn’t know you) are forced to make decisions about you based on what they can see online; it’s in your best interest to ensure that your online identity is congruent with professionalism in your industry.

In order for multinationals to retain senior Asian talent, they must now accept leadership differences of culture and gender, and better understand the needs of this highly educated, urban, professional group of female executives.

In turn, these women must make small shifts in what they do or don’t do. Women use a much more indirect communication style. Asian women in particular have a tendency to be humble and not talk openly about their accomplishments.

via How to Retain and Develop Asian Women Leaders – BusinessWeek.

Do you agree with Jane’s assessment? Share your thoughts in the comments.

If you’ve got 15 extra minutes in your day, here are few different things you can do (we suggest picking one, you overachievers):

1. Phone it in. Add telephone numbers from your recent call list into your phone’s contact list or address book.

2. Get a Read. Go to your favorite site and take your time to read a feature-length article or enjoy an interactive story. Need a suggestion? Try the New York Times Style Section or the New Yorker.

3. Stretch Yourself. Try these 10 stretches you can do at your desk, from the Mayo Clinic.

4. Pick Out Dinner. Visit the Food Network, Cooking Light, or 101 Cookbooks (vegetarian) and decide what’s for dinner.

5. Take A Step Forward. If you’re thinking of starting a business, or are embarking on a new career or project, take a step towards your goal. Setup a meeting, email a prospective client or vendor, start a “to do” list that focuses on your goal, or send a thank you note.

Photo credit: allaboutgeorge (Flickr)

Check out a few of the latest in news headlines related to women of color:

1. AT&T gives $250K to fund women of color entrepreneurs in California

2. WaPo weighs in on diversity on the federal bench in light of Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor

3. Women of color in college athletics meet at Rutgers for conference

4. NYT article on the politics of Black women’s hair

5. CitySaheli.com, a social networking site for South Asian women launched recently.

Enjoy!