I read most articles published about women in the workforce, bookmark many and question some. There are many statistics I wish I could verify but here are the stats that stick with me:
- Women make up 51% of the population of the United States.
- Women earn 60% of undergraduate degrees, 60% of all masters degrees, and 38% of MBAs specifically.
- 6% of the S&P 500 are lead by female CEOs.
- Last year, 8% of films made had female directors.
- 38% of the world's nations have had a female head of state or government.
- Women earned 82 cents for every dollar men made in 2016.
And here's how I'd summarize those stats:
- There are more of us than men.
- We are very educated.
- We don't lead the biggest corporations influencing our economy.
- Most portrayals of women in media are from a man's point of view.
- The U.S. is not the most progressive country for women in politics.
- We might suck at negotiating salaries, but is that the point?
On October 20th, Texas A&M's Mays Business School and Executive Development Center hosted their first Women in Leadership conference in College Station, Texas. With 400 attendees, they sold out, and had a wait list. The conference organizers said they had no idea they'd have this kind of response.
I can tell you that I get at least one email a week from Texas A&M University, my alma mater. And most get nothing more than a glance over. Especially the ones asking for donations. I often consider replying with "I think we can consider my monthly student loan payment a long-term donation." But the email with "Women's Leadership Initiative" in the subject line had my immediate attention, mainly due to the statistics I outlined above, and it sounds like it was the same case for at least 399 other women.
The conference started out with a keynote from retired Air Force pilot Kim Olson. She spoke about her career as one of the first female pilots in the USAF and said women pursuing leadership positions need five types of people in their life:
1) A female mentor, but preferably more of a "champion" who is invested in your success.
2) A female to mentor, who needs someone outside of their organization invested in their success.
3) People that are completely different from you, find diversity and learn everything you can from them.
4) A friend to share the personal stuff with, keep that out of the workplace and your mentorships (I could debate this one in some scenarios).
5) An enlightened man, because men still influence each other's opinions and actions more than women do, so find the ones who champion women and urge them on.
Olson noted that one of her proudest accomplishments is raising enlightened men who saw their mom in combat boots daily.
The conference continued with a panel discussion, featuring Deb Merril CEO of Just Energy Group and KC Waldron, VP of Advisor Services Compliance at Charles Schwab. They answered prepared questions and audience questions with refreshing candor and a depth of experience.
Merril was a VP at Enron and described the paralyzing experience of being told you have to fire your entire department. It helped hearing that everyone, even CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies, have had significant professional moments they wish they could do-over. She joked about the new company she started with ex-Enron execs and how they all emptied their piggy banks to get started since "Surprise - no one wanted to invest in a group of former Enron execs."
She gave us what I would consider to be some of the best parenting advice I've ever heard. When asked "How do you balance being a mother and CEO?" She answered, "I'm always where I need to be, physically and mentally. Whether that's with my kids or at work - I'm present. And I never apologized to my boys for going to work. I wanted them to know I loved my job. If I apologized every time I walked out the door they'd think I hated work and they'd resent it for taking me away from them. So by not apologizing, they learned to pay attention to what I do, and why I liked it so much. And they are proud of me." She also noted that women shouldn't try to be like the men in the room. She explained how being a woman has unique advantages. When she walks into a room, she said, people notice. "Why not use that? Own that."
While I can picture Merril taking a boardroom of suits by storm without flinching, Waldron's approach is different but no less effective. Waldron detailed her methodical approach to professional growth and how building relationships has led her to managing the compliance of 7,000 investor advisors around the world. Waldron explained several tactics that have helped her build rapport quickly and move through the ranks of law firms and now Charles Schwab. She sat with her managers and detailed out milestones every year that she needed to hit in order to grow into the next role and she mapped out key leaders within the company she need to establish relationships with and learn from. She also learned that preparing people (especially your managers) for the worst case scenario makes you look prepared if it happens, and like a hero if it doesn't. She left us with one final tidbit "Don't underestimate the power of sincere, specific flattery."
The conference ended with round table discussions led by attendees like myself who volunteered and submitted a topic. I had the opportunity to discuss how we build a stronger pipeline of women in underrepresented industries with a CPA for the Spurs, a Junior Marketing Major from Texas A&M, a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep, and a City Administrator among many others. We talked about industries like construction and tech who still fall far behind other industries in percentage of women employed and especially in leadership. We talked about starting earlier, before college, in showing girls the options available to them, and breaking the stigma of male-dominated industries before they even pick their majors in college.
The day felt short and full to the brim. I left feeling empowered, challenged and energized - and slightly guilty I didn't bring every female I know. Luckily, they've already promised there will be a next year. We'll be there, and I'm now inspired to further explore the shortage of women in construction and tech (the industries I work in) in the meantime.