Women In Business Advice From Fortune 1000 Executives

Earlier this year I moderated a roundtable discussion with 20 women who were VPs and Directors of Fortune 1000 manufacturing service operations. The focus of our conversation: Women in a highly male-dominated industry.

For this week’s blog I am going to shake things up a bit and share my notes from this conversation with you.

Here goes…

Challenges:

• Women not well represented across the board from entry level positions to leadership.
• Women who do join often leave. How can we encourage them to stay in these roles and make it an environment that supports the diversity of women?
• Have we researched what is holding women back in our own organizations?

How to attract more women into a traditionally male-dominated industry?

• Examine recruitment marketing. Are women represented? Does the job description speak to both men and women? What pictures are shown on web site and social media?
• Women who are in this industry have the responsibility to be a role model and tell other women what a cool job we have, what benefits exist, what the career path looks like.
• “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” We must be the role model of women in leadership for the younger generations.
• Post more pictures of women in leadership. Celebrate a ton. Success success success!

Mentorship necessary:

• Find a male mentor within the organization that supports you to help you move up the ranks and understand the “Boys’ Club” rules.
• If there is not someone you trust who you work with, hire a coach outside your organization. 
• Why not take golf lessons, watch car races, etc. so you have something to relate with the men to.

Structure of a Global Women’s Network with one of the organizations:

• Marketed as a professional development organization.
• Supported by the CEO and company’s professional development budget.
• 1.5 hour long monthly lunch and learn session on women and leadership issues.
• Not always women-focused content, sometimes more general leadership content, but a way for women to come together and build their support network.

Important to remember that women ARE different.

• That’s why diversity is so important.
• Want to cultivate what makes us different and use that as a strength, rather than lean fully into masculinity.

If it’s not measured, it’s not managed.

• Make sure women and diversity metrics are measured from the number of women applicants to the amount of women in senior leadership.
• If women representation is not important to your organization, you may have to start the conversation. If people don’t buy in, consider looking for a different company more in line with your values. You need male buy in just as much as female buy in.
• Find one male ally and start there.
• Know the research on the results to the bottom line with female diversity.

How to respond to sexist comments:

• “If this was a man, would you have said that?”
• Ask this to yourself often too as we all have biases.

Resources:

• www.fairygodboss.com – career community for women
• Play Like A Man, Win Like A Woman book by Gail Evans
• www.paradigm4parity.com – addressing the leadership gap in corporate America
• #womenrising – hashtag to use in your women in leadership posts!
• www.wiseworks.org – resource for professional women in the business of sports

I hope something here inspired you!

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