Early in my career, I had a phone conversation that I’ll never forget. I remember what I was wearing, the time on the clock, the side of the San Francisco hotel bed I was standing on.
I was speaking to a female colleague, thanking her for referring me for a job that I had accepted, for which I was about to leave the room to go to my first day of onboarding. I closed the call saying, “If I have questions along the way, would you mind if I sent you a note from time to time to get your advice or help?”
She replied, “Well, no, that’s what (boss’s name) is for, and I have no intention of seeing you succeed.”
I still shake typing these words to you all, and it’s been quite some time.
But, this isn’t about me. This is about every woman reading this who immediately thought, “I have a story just like that.” This is about reflecting on where we have been as women at work and where we can go – together.
As we kick off this morning for International Women’s Day, I think about all the themes that many are supporting – diversity, equity, inclusion, break the bias, ending abuse, etc. – and while each initiative is so equally important, I will continue to beat the drum of fixing the foundation of how women at work treat one another.
I share the above experience because it was a turning point in my career, to not only proactively make positive impact for the women around me, but to do all I could to ensure that they never heard those same words.
As I have always said, there is room for everyone at the table, room for everyone to succeed, room for everyone to thrive.
We owe it to each other to support one another, invest in each other, seek opportunities for others to succeed, elevate those who are junior or underrepresented, and use our voices to lift those around us.
Together, we can counterbalance the impact of situations like the above, we can meaningfully surprise and delight the females in our personal and work lives by extending our hands to them, and we can be proactively conscious of how we empower those around us.
May this inspire you to do your part – we can (and will!) break the cycle, one step and person at a time!
