Women in Business – Gender Equality a Personal View

Women in Business – Gender Equality a Personal View

Let's face it, the business world is hard, not matter your gender. However, when the rules of the game were built by men in an age where women were not welcome in the business world, it's no wonder that breaking the glass ceiling can seem like an impossible dream. The events of 2020 have only added more pressure for women in the workplace, and in some sectors, has them questioning their desire to continue working at all.

However, there is some good news and signs of slow and steady progress, women have been moving into more senior positions. According to McKinsey's Women in the Workplace Study: "At the beginning of 2020, the representation of women (in business) was trending in the right direction. This was most pronounced in senior management. Between January 2015 and January 2020, representation of women in senior-vice-president positions grew from 23 to 28 percent, and representation in the C-suite grew from 17 to 21 percent. Women remained dramatically underrepresented—particularly women of colour—but the numbers were slowly improving."

This article represents my experiences over the last 20 years in the corporate world. Some of these you can probably relate to, while others may be the type of experiences you hope you never experience. The goal is to provide some useful tips on how to navigate this ever-changing game and learn from the mistakes that I made along the way.

What has this got to do with gender equality? Well, it's easy to blame some of my missteps, or even blatant rejections, on my gender, but I believe the only person responsible for my success is me. Trust me, I have experienced gender bias and it is not fun and can be very painful. More to come on that a bit later. I've taken the stance that I use my gender as an asset, but not my only asset.

Women bring a unique perspective to the table and when we leverage the many talents of the others at the table, this can generate a powerful and productive force. Unfortunately, it feels like it's become him vs. her now, and we all must fight for our right to participate. So, I'd like to share two experiences that shaped my professional career and some key lessons that I hope will help you along your journey.

Finding the Perfect Balance

I've worked for small and large employers, each carrying its good and bad experiences. Don't be fooled in thinking there is ever a perfect place to work, as I believe that may be the impossible dream. However, I started my professional career as an administrative assistant. Not the most glamorous position in a large company, but what I learned over the first 5 years was that everyone needs to start somewhere.

Work ethic, determination and people skills are what enabled me to take the next step into a more visible role in the same company. By this time, I had become known as someone that could be relied upon to get things done. Now, I will warn you that with ability comes responsibility. You become the 'go to' person. That may seem great, for a minute, but can easily burn you out. Another risk that you run, and I certainly fell into this trap, is believing your own hype.

I will never forget the day that my line manager pulled me in to her office and said, "I think you're great BUT, you behave like a bull in a china shop most of the time. The result is good for the customer, but the collateral damage you collect along the way is not good. There is a time and place for when you need to be the bull, but you've got it all wrong. If you don't change your ways, you'll never go higher in this company." I was probably 28 at the time and this was a huge blow to my ego. I wasn't ready to hear that information and certainly did not know what to do with it. It took some time to digest, but the reality is that my gender did me no favours and my behaviour was seen as being aggressive and pushy, versus assertive and ambitious.

This was the first, but not the last, time that I was told to turn down my personality. I had a choice to make in this moment, I could take the advice and change the way I behaved, or I could carry on in the same manner. My advice is to accept and act on any feedback you receive, especially from senior female leaders. These women have been around the company and have learned to play the game. Learn from their mistakes.

It is not always easy to hear negative feedback and most of the time you just want to forget it ever happened. Don't let your own ego get in the way of your success. Solicit feedback from women that are older and younger than you. Accept their advice and use it to improve yourself.

This next sentence is especially important. You will never be accepted by everyone, all the time. THAT IS OKAY!

Change is Inevitable

The next lesson I learned was about 10 years later, once I had moved into a leadership role with people managing responsibilities. You'll be happy to know that I was fortunate enough to work for a company that put a big focus on leadership training, so I had the benefit of learning how to get things done through diplomacy, instead of being a bull. I had been promoted to a director level and was receiving positive feedback from my manager and customers on a regular basis.

All was going well in my world until the word 'restructure' was uttered. Within a short amount of time, my role changed, and I was no longer people managing and reporting to someone that had much less experience in the role. This lesson isn't so much about the actual change that happened, but how I responded to it. I was fortunate enough to have a female mentor within the company, who was strong, smart, experienced, and empathetic.

I requested a meeting with her, intending to have my feelings validated. I shared everything that had happened 'to' me and it came out with buckets of tears. After a good 5 minutes of talking about how unfair this change had been, I finally stopped. What she said next was another 'watershed' moment in my professional career. "Life is not fair. Business is not fair. Dry up your tears, pull yourself together and tell me what you're going to do now." Not the words that I expected, but the ones I needed to hear.

Change is inevitable and you must be able to adapt to it quickly without falling into a victim mentality. I encourage you to always have mentors or sponsors, who you can rely on when these big moments happen. It is easy to let your decisions and actions be driven by your emotions.

I can't say that it didn't take a bit of time to get over this change, which felt very personal for me, however I did exactly as I was told. I pushed on and continued to work hard to get to the next role, which came within 6 months. Everyone has bad experiences and some of them can easily be viewed as a male vs female challenge. It's important to note that you cannot change company culture, politics, or relationships. You must learn to play within the rules, while maintaining your integrity. That may be one of the hardest lessons to learn, but I assure you it's worth staying the course.

Staying the Course

Fast forward another 10 years and I have finally found my happy place. It may seem an odd question, but I have been asked how I was able to be so successful in an industry that is so male dominated. The answer was easy for me. I worked hard, I listened to experienced people around me and I acted on their advice. This does not mean that I still do not face similar challenges of negative mindsets, workplace culture, gender bias, and inequity from time to time. In my experience, how you respond to these challenges dictate your success.

Don't overlook the value that men bring to the table and leverage it as often as possible. Navigating the world of business can be complex, tricky, and political. I don't expect, or want, an opportunity to be given to me based solely on my gender. I think we can all agree that women just want the opportunity to compete for the same roles and that our gender is not the only asset that is measured. It is important that women and men work together to raise awareness of the challenges and help remove these blockers so that the gender gap can be closed. In doing this, we can improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace.