It's been a busy two weeks. It started off Friday May 5 with a speech to mark the end of ArvinMeritor's Diversity Week. If that company's name doesn't ring a bell, it may be because it's an auto parts supplier. But you probably use their products every day when you roll up a window or open your sunroof.

It was just the first in a number of encounters during the next few days that once again reminded me why we talk about women, economics, financial power and money. Even in the auto parts industry, there is growing discussion of how important women consumers are to their bottom line.

On Monday May 8, I spoke to the Marketing to Women conference about women, money and power. The audience ranged from executives at companies who are struggling to make their brands and products relevant to women all the way through to companies who get it and are looking for new ideas. It was great to see that continuum of ideas and to see and hear the conversations going on among the group.

That evening, I spoke at the Enlighten Executive Salon, a small gathering that brought together about 30 executives from Chicago businesses such as McDonald's and Northern Trust. These small groups make it easy to get into deeper conversations. And for me it was a chance to reconnect with executives at McDonald's, who I'm happy to hear continue to forge ahead with their products designed by women but sold to everyone. The conversation around our table focused on how important it is to keep the pressure on a company to support products like McDonald's premium salads. There was also discussion about how important women and their views can be inside of companies that need that extra push to do something dramatic for women consumers.

I dashed home to Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to accept the Diamond Award from the Detroit Chapter of Women in Communications. Once again, I was overwhelmed with how important it is to keep talking about the issues around women and how far we have come in the past several decades. Despite those strides, I found over those busy few days that women still don't know their own strength nor do they use it to their own advantage. I'll be blogging more about that issue in the coming weeks as well as inviting several people from my travels to join me as guests. Then in mid-June I'm off to China so look for blogs from there as well.