Women, it’s time to gain control of your careers

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Q: “I have recently taken on a leadership role at my company. That was the first time that I realized how few women were my peers. At that moment, I experienced an odd feeling like I had to represent women. I became quite ineffective in my work as I felt this heavy pressure on my shoulders to fight for women’s equality. What are your thoughts on this?”

– Won’t-Give-Up

A: Dear Won’t-Give-Up, you cannot help everyone and taking personal responsibility for your life must be your first priority. When you do this, you can impact the world. Here are research findings and strategies to release the talents inside of you.

The Barnard Center for Research on Women found that “women continue to face gender discrimination but it does not operate through the kinds of overt barriers to participation that mobilized activists in the 1960s. It is embedded in the everyday interaction.”

On the other hand, a Time magazine cover story sourced a workplace study by catalyst which studied 353 Fortune 500 companies and found that those with the most women in senior management had a higher return on equity by more than one-third!

I set out to learn strategies women can apply to their lives to realize their potential. I invited three successful women on my radio show, Career FastTrack, to share the following strategies to stacking the odds in your favour.

Believe in yourself: One of the surprising pieces of data that came out of my interview was not competency but confidence. Denise Baker, assistant dean for the Sauder School of Business Career Centre, highlighted the importance of trusting yourself and believing that you have every right to sit at the decision-making table. She went on to say that you have valuable contributions to make, and are smart and equally capable.
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Mentoring: “Mentoring can be very powerful for women who are struggling to reach their full potential” says Diane Akelaitis, a tax partner for Price Waterhouse-Coopers who is also involved with the firms Women in Leadership and Retention initiatives. Tips she highlights are the importance of networking in certain male-dominated industries. Women who are successful cite their mentors as being critical to their growth.

Celebrate: Akelaitis went on to say that women must learn to celebrate their own achievements. Women are naturally pre-wired to be modest about what they have accomplished and this harms women in the long run. Being recognized is important in advancing your career.

Networking: Women are more likely than a man to find their next job through an ad in the classifieds. In other words, they do not rely as heavily on networking to build their career as men. Woman are also more likely to be egalitarian while men more based on power and influence. According to Norm-Jean Thompson, founder of Canada’s Young Women in Business Network, this is the old way of networking. “I believe women are more effective at networking. They are focused on relationships and finding common ground with people and this is at the core of business success.”

Listen to the complete Career FastTrack podcast entitled Women: Empowering to Take Control of Their Career at www.citr.ca.

E-mail your question to: info@Dr-Career.com. Visit www.Dr-Career.com for a free download. Listen to Career FastTrack “Live” Mondays at 5:30pm on CiTR 101.9 FM or online at citr.ca.

A study of 353 Fortune 500 companies found that those with the most women in senior management had a higher return of equity by more than one-third!

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