sphinxx, the network for senior and aspiring female business leaders, has been announced as a finalist in the 2010 Telstra New South Wales Business Awards.  

sphinxx is a network of highly successful business women, with quarterly events – Ascend Development Days – in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. These events offer inspiration, practical tips and support and an opportunity for networking, peer support and mentoring.

Jen Dalitz, founder and SheEO of sphinxx, said:  “Making the finals of the Telstra Business Awards is obviously a career highlight, but it’s also important recognition and affirmation of the importance of continued lobbying and mentoring of women into management and board roles.” 

Dalitz started sphinxx as a hobby almost four years ago, as a website for time poor women to swap ideas, put forward thoughts, share knowledge. sphinxx.com.au has since amassed a following in the thousands and now holds its Ascend development days for senior women in business quarterly across four capital cities.  It has been selected as a finalist in the New South Wales businessowner Micro Business Award Category of the Telstra Business Awards in 2010. 

“When I came up with the idea of building a website to connect senior women in business I was still in my day job”, says Dalitz whose 16-year career in finance and consulting spanned diverse industries, international borders and a host of Fortune 500 and ASX50 companies.  “I had a job that I loved, a fantastic boss and was achieving the career goals I’d set for myself, but it was so hard finding other senior women in business to tap into, learn from and share experiences with.”

As sphinxx’s following and database grew, Dalitz could see it was time to develop sphinxx into a social business and find further opportunities. In 2008 sphinxx began a leadership program for senior women in business, a key component of which is the Ascend leadership development days which are now held every quarter in four cities across Australia and sponsored by Westpac.  This year over 1,000 women will participate in the sphinxx leadership development days in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. sphinxx also offers consulting services to employers, providing advice and education to organisations looking to attract, develop and retain their female talent and Dalitz has plans under way to expand this aspect of the business in 2010. 

sphinxx is committed to advancing women as leaders and its vision is to see women equally represented in leadership roles, in Australia’s workplaces and communities. “With the introduction over the coming year of the ASX guidelines and paid parental leave, the time has never been better for women looking to forge ahead in their careers”, says Dalitz.

“As an executive and business consultant, I’ve experienced first hand the challenges women face as they climb the corporate ladder; and the impact on the bottom line when female talent is under-utilised.  I created sphinxx to support women on their leadership journey, and to help employers solve the million-dollar-question of how to not only attract but also keep the best women on their teams.”

Away from sphinxx, Dalitz is a wife and mother of a small child and sits on the board of the Peer Support Foundation. She has also been nominated this year for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards for the second year running and last month was recognised with an Edna Ryan Workplace Award for improving conditions for women workers through the sphinxx programs and its leadership development days for senior women in business.  

For Further Media Information, interviews with or comment from Jen Dalitz, please contact Jen on 0414 647 382 or jen@sphinxx.com.au or Nikki White on 1300 969 070.