By Carley Wessler
I arrived in IT in a slightly roundabout way, starting my career as a special education teacher for children with autism and then in sales and distribution for a tobacco company.
Let me get this out of the way upfront: IT isn’t the only industry struggling with a gender gap. During my professional life, I’ve seen and experienced workplaces where women who are supported in their careers soar; on the opposite end, I’ve worked where our intelligence and contributions are undermined.
When I was teaching, I was surrounded by a strong staff of women, and only worked with eight men at two different schools. Most of the staff members were women, who excelled at finding unique ways to help children from all socio-economic backgrounds and even those with disabilities to not only meet expectations educationally but to surpass them.
After four years, I took a leap of faith and moved to the corporate world. When I joined that tobacco company, I worked for an intelligent woman whom was well respected, evidenced by the number of people who went to her with questions because they knew she’d have the answers. During my six years there, I took on other roles reporting to a variety of managers, who each had different leadership styles.
Our director was another strong woman, who was smart, assertive, talented and sharp. Early on, I learned from her that to be taken seriously as a woman there are things you must do to be heard and respected. To start, she was highly versed in all areas she was responsible and even areas she was not. She knew how to keep her people engaged, keeping communication lines open with often weekly meetings with her direct reports, and she knew the ins and outs of her team’s projects. At the same time, she was sympathetic to the personal things that each of us face.
I remember one specific thing she shared: Always make sure your attire is professional because you want people to listen to the words coming out of your mouth. The example she set and the knowledge she shared still have an impact on me today.
Throughout that time, I read a great deal about business and leadership, and that’s when I first encountered Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg and her book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. I was pregnant with our son, and I was empowered by that book. I still focus on her insights and what I learned from my previous director daily.
Fast forward to 2016, where Forbes has named 16 women as the most powerful in technology, an industry that has “a reputation for being unwelcoming to and biased against women.” While the list has been whittled by two, Sandberg has earned the top spot for the fifth year in a row – no surprise because she inspires women around the world with her “lean in” message. She makes no apologies that she expects equality and balance between men and women in the home and office. This list of brilliant, diverse and accomplished women never took no for an answer, and they kept going even in the face of adversity in an industry where they were outnumbered.
But we still have a long way to go, and I’ll talk about a great step forward in my next post, coming on Thursday.
Carley Wessler is an account executive with CTG.
No comments:
Post a Comment