Continuing with our celebration of this week’s International Women’s Day, we wanted to focus on female leadership, and how women manage to find their ways to the executive level in a field still so dominated by their male counterparts. We spoke to several female executives at a number of different companies about their own experiences of being a woman destined for the C-suite. Here are six tales of fortitude and odds beaten.
Heather Hatlo PorterChief Communications Officer
What can you tell us about your journey to the C-suite as a woman?
My career at Chegg has been anything but linear. I’ve been responsible for philanthropy, events, marketing, and now Chief Communications Officer. There have been some setbacks along the way, but what has been consistent is that when doors have opened, I have had the courage to step in, to lean into new opportunities. It was never my objective to make it to the c-suite. My objective was to be a great contributor to my team, to have an impact on my organization, and to bring great value to the organization in every single role. As a result, I believe my career progressed naturally.
Do you think we’re seeing positive changes in the opportunities women are offered in the workforce? What still needs to change?
I think we’re seeing positive changes because there are more conversations and more people are being intentional about advancing women in the workplace. However, it’s still very early. Similarly to other areas of diversity and inclusion, we have to keep the dialogue going. If we don’t continue to invest in programs that nurture people from diverse backgrounds, different genders, to grow professionally we’ll end up back where we started.
When I started at Chegg there were zero female leaders on the executive team. When our CEO, Dan Rosensweig came on board, he wanted to ensure that not only our leadership team but our entire employee base was representative of the audience that we were serving. The reality is, our customers, over 50% of college students are female. Dan has been very intentional over the past 11 years, as has the rest of the leadership team, to work towards increasing diversity across all levels, so that we mirror the audience that we’re serving. We’ve been intentional in creating programs that support diversity. One example is the growth of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), it’s been thrilling for me to see some of our Emerging Professionals or members of our CheggHER group flourish with their presentation skills, and have opportunities to moderate events with guest speakers. Truly wonderful to see employees at all levels shine.
Check Out Chegg’s Careers Page Here!
Nupur SadiwalaCFO
What can you tell us about your journey to the C-suite as a woman?
It’s a privilege to be on the leadership team of any organization, allowing one to determine its future. It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly and believe that the journey to leadership is challenging regardless of gender. I have been supported by leaders and mentors along the way that have reminded me to not settle for less than what I am capable of. Having belief in myself and knowing that I have the ability to stretch myself to take on bigger roles, even when I thought I wasn’t ready, has been a mindset shift that I have embraced.
Do you think we’re seeing positive changes in the opportunities women are offered in the workforce? What still needs to change?
We are still in the very early days of offering equality in the workplace and the only thing I am encouraged by is that we are having constructive conversations. I believe that the top leadership has to walk the talk for any meaningful change to happen. No two people’s personal and professional experiences are the same. Finding ways that can allow for flexibility for employees and the maturity of trusting employees, is a first step in creating change.
Check Out Fetch Rewards’ Careers Page Here!
Rukmini BanerjeeCPO
What can you tell us about your journey to the C-suite as a woman?
It has definitely not been a straight path! My focus has been to contribute to the larger needs of the organizations I’ve been in, irrespective of the job I’ve held. That allowed exposure and learning way beyond what just doing my job would have. The other key component has been taking risks at times to raise my hand and jump into the deep end, even when I wasn’t 100% sure about it. These opportunities taught me it’s never about just me, but the team I’m surrounded by.
Do you think we’re seeing positive changes in the opportunities women are offered in the workforce? What still needs to change?
There is definitely a high sensitization to the challenges women face in the workforce in general and most leaders genuinely want to improve this. However, the focus needs to be much more on systemic solutions to the root causes of what is holding women back disproportionately: childcare support, having a more inclusive definition of great leadership, allowing the men to be more of an equal within their homes, etc.
Check Out Fetch Rewards’ Careers Page Here!
Amy RoyCPO
What can you tell us about your journey to the C-suite as a woman?
The journey has not been a straight line. There have been times I’ve moved from leader to individual contributor, back to leadership role. The path hasn’t always been clear but a willingness to take some risk and leave something comfortable has played a part. It has been largely influenced by male allies who have provided mentorship, sponsorship, and growth opportunities. It has also been influenced by a group of female role models.
Do you think we’re seeing positive changes in the opportunities women are offered in the workforce? What still needs to change?
While there are positive changes, there are still plenty of opportunities, especially for women of color. Unconscious bias still impacts the opinions of both women and men. There has been plenty of data captured around the impacts of COVID19. We’ll need to solve for how women reabsorb into the workplace, manage the stressors related to personal and professional lives, and how a leave from the workforce influences further career progression.
Check Out Namely’s Careers Page Here!
Leslie Emmons BurtheyVP of Marketing (Gold, Telehealth)
What can you tell us about your journey to the C-suite as a woman?
I began my career as an investment banking analyst, which was a great first job post-college. While I enjoyed analyzing and learning about companies I realized that I wanted to transition from the services sector, where I worked at a bank and analyzed many companies, to working in the industry, learning the ins and outs of how to run a particular company. I was recruited to a position in FP&A at Ralph Lauren which made sense because it was still in finance, but the actual day-to-day of the job was very different from my previous position. Although the FP&A role was a great transition role, what I loved most about my role was to liaison with all departments at the company and learning how they operate. Working in the fashion industry at Ralph Lauren is where I discovered my passion for consumer products and direct-to-consumer businesses, which ultimately put me on the career journey that landed me where I am today. Looking back, the story arc of my career has been getting closer to the revenue-generating side of the business, which is what I focus on as a marketing executive.
While I am hopeful that we as a society are making progress, the alarmingly disproportionate number of women who have left the workforce during coronavirus lockdowns is proof that there is still a lot of work to be done. I am encouraged to see companies having important conversations around issues that affect women’s advancement, such as paid family leave for both partners.
Check Out GoodRX’s Careers Page Here!
Stacy LawrenceVP of Editorial
What can you tell us about your journey to the C-suite as a woman?
I am a bit of an accidental executive. As a journalist, I focused on making my stories and section the best that they could be. I didn’t anticipate that would ever translate into setting the tone and standard for an editorial group, as well as contributing to broader company priorities. My opportunity feels like a windfall every day, an unexpected chance to try to do better at an entirely different level and scale.
Do you think we’re seeing positive changes in the opportunities women are offered in the workforce? What still needs to change?
I confined myself to remote and freelance opportunities about fifteen years ago, so I could raise our two young sons. I found time to work–and be the primary breadwinner–only with the aid of my mother and sister-in-law, as well as a preschool program through our local public parks for a few hours each day. It is so impossible to cobble together childcare, that needs to change. Without consistent, systemic support for all kinds of mothers, there can’t be any serious advancement for women in the workplace.
Check Out GoodRX’s Careers Page Here!