Why Are There So Few Women in Data Analysis?

Data analysis positions are currently playing a huge role in tech as corporations around the world seek to understand and utilize big data for their business.

Women in DataAs we noted in 2012, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies are investing in big data, expecting over $1 billion in revenue as this technology changes the way we use information.

However, despite how these positions in the technology sphere are flourishing, the standard gender disparity of STEM fields remains intact. While women continue to earn degrees in technology and analytics, societal factors and discrimination within STEM industries keep them from getting and keeping these high-paying positions that are, by and large, taken up by men.

The Gender Disparity in Data Analysis

Gaining the education needed to fulfill these positions is the necessary first step to achieving equality in STEM fields. Although the number of women in data analysis and STEM fields remains lower than men, more women than ever are earning degrees in STEM, with 40 percent of statistics degrees currently being earned by women. Women also make up 40 percent of statistics department faculty that are set to move into tenured positions. There are a variety of campaigns that exist solely to push women and minorities towards these high-pay and in-demand jobs, and based on the number of degrees these groups are earning, it seems that their efforts are working.

Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily resolving the problem.

Although women are earning these degrees at higher rates than ever, it’s often still difficult for them to remain in these fields due to the low number of women they often work with, especially in workplaces that particularly lack diversity. A lack of women in leadership roles and as fellow coworkers can often make women feel out of place and unwelcome, and with the casual discrimination that women often experience, they sometimes choose to move on to other roles.

Women can help combat these experiences by furthering their education in data analysis roles and gaining background knowledge on business and marketing touchpoints that make the application of their education even more valuable. Being able to calculate marketing acquisition cost and having the ability to dig through the conceptual data it entails can make women an even larger asset for businesses that are trying to incorporate these skills throughout their company.

The Value of Women in Data Analysis

One reason women are unable to live up to their potential in STEM fields is due to a narrative that is still used throughout media today, generalizing those working in STEM and tech as nerdy males. However, women are just as naturally suited for these positions as men. Although this narrative never had any factual basis behind it, times have changed. The value of women in STEM roles has become more apparent as women excel in roles throughout every related industry.

Still, social conditioning has an impact. When women are not introduced to computing and data analysis skills early on in their life and education, it can be difficult for them to develop the type of organic connection that they would form if they had more exposure to these subjects in early years. In order to close the gender gap that is so prevalent in STEM fields today, experts often espouse the belief that early exposure to STEM and computer-related skills could help make a huge difference to the number of women who pursue these fields.

Another reason that gender diversity is often unbalanced is due to the way companies recruit for various positions. Many recruiting efforts rely on referrals to determine top candidates. However, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 64 percent of employees recommend candidates of the same gender as themselves. In 2015, a study found that women are three times less likely to seek tech internships than men, which is another common way that companies recruit for STEM-related positions.

Strong, bold, and intelligent women are in the public eye now more than ever. Still, women tend to cause surprise and even strike uneasiness in some of their male coworkers because of how uncommon women tend to be in STEM industries. This type of environment causes women to turn away from tech and data analysis directions as options in school and for their future careers.

There are many factors that contribute to the lack of women in data analysis roles, and there is a lot of evidence to support theories that societal constructs hold women back from taking up space in these positions. Diversity is known to attract the best and freshest talent to growing businesses. Making an effort to reassess company recruiting efforts to draw more women and minorities to these positions can make companies stand out from the rest. Women have valuable perspectives to bring to the field of data analysis, and encouraging more women to pursue data analysis roles and STEM fields in general would advance them greatly.

Sam Bowman writes about marketing, tech, and how the two merge. He enjoys getting to utilize the internet for community without actually having to leave his house. In his spare time he likes running, reading, and combining the two in a run to his local bookstore.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Voice of Experience: Sarah Alter, President and CEO of Network of Executive Women (NEW)

Sarah Alter“Find a company or career path with a runway that’s both long and wide so you can pivot throughout your career journey and expose yourself to diverse thoughts and perspectives,” suggests Sarah Alter.

She’s found an important piece of advice to be surrounding herself with people who have different backgrounds and experiences to achieve diversity of thought and plans—a desire that has led her to her newest challenge.

A NEW Challenge Complements Her Experience

While Alter currently serves as CEO of the Network of Executive Women (NEW), a nonprofit designed to advance all women in the workplace, the majority of her career has been in marketing and digital marketing both globally and nationally for retailers including Staples and Discover. Before taking over NEW, she served as the chief marketing officer for General Growth Properties, a shopping mall REIT that owned and operated 140 malls, helping to drive the right type of traffic into the stores.

While she was drawn to the altruistic nature of NEW and the ability to advance positive opportunities for women, she knew that she was ideally suited to the job due to her previous management experience in a similar industry and her time spent on boards and as a volunteer.

In this role, Alter looks forward to helping other women embrace their true selves and set them up for success. “Women are not broken, and they don’t need to be fixed, but they need to be developed and celebrated, which is a truth regardless of gender,” she says.

“I’m proud that I was given the opportunity to be a CEO and that I am able to deliver true and meaningful impact, not just from a business and financial perspective, but to help women.”

Her empathy for women in the work world stems in part from wishing that she had known at a younger age that she could truly be herself and ultimately still be successful.

Early in her career she was in a role at a financial services company where she had far exceeded a sales target she had been given. As she walked into her review, she expected the accolades to flow, but after a cursory “good job,” her manager proceeded to tell her that it was a team effort.

While Alter embraces the importance of collaboration and shared credit, she still had expected more, but what really prompted her to search out another role was the feedback that followed. Her manager proceeded to share “insight” he’d gained from male executives who said she wore clothing that was too bright and she was too motherly. With that, Alter knew she couldn’t succeed in that sort of workplace and left for greener pastures in the retail industry—eventually coming full circle to today where she can help advocate for women.

NEW-Sponsored Research Illuminates Opportunities

Alter has already had a number of accomplishments at NEW, and one she is proud of is a recent change to the mission statement to “advance all women in the workplace.” The addition of the word “all” was important to reinforce the concept that diversity and inclusion is a business imperative and the key to success. It also reflects conversations and research studies conducted with C-suite leaders that underscored the recurring theme that advancing women of color was the biggest priority that need to be addressed.

From these research findings, NEW has developed learning programs and corporate solutions that specifically assist companies on how better to support women of color. They are designed to address two main issues; the first is bias. As she says, “Like it or not, everyone is biased, and that begets favoritism as people promote those who think and act and look like them.”

By tackling unconscious bias, companies can create a more consciously inclusive culture, she says, adding that it’s also important to focus on moving women from corporate support roles and give them the opportunity to own a P and L.

Adding more women in upper levels also negates another common problem, that of isolation. As women of color progress in their career, they frequently don’t see others like them which creates a new challenge as younger leaders tend to believe that If they can’t see it, they can’t be it.

Finally the research offers a blueprint framework of solutions to effectively address the need for companies to offer the cultures, policies and support services that women need for appropriate work/life integration.

While the NEW research focuses on what companies can do, Alter believes that women need to assert their needs to help change norms from all directions. “Embrace your true authentic self and don’t settle for a company with a culture that doesn’t allow that to happen,” she says. In addition she encourages women to build their network and continue to rebuild and nurture it so it’s ready when needed. Finally she suggests women become more comfortable and educated on the technological transformation occurring in the world of business today to help broaden opportunities for growth.

Finding a Brilliant Balance of Her Own

Alter and her husband work hard to be a team in finding appropriate work/life integration themselves. With their three kids—two currently in college and one in high school—it’s a little easier to manage career and family, and Alter is realizing the importance of focusing on herself in a physical, spiritual and emotional way.

With their kids soon embarking on their own life journeys, Alter says they have been planning fabulous family vacations that have included sojourns to Argentina and Brazil, with an upcoming trip planned for Africa. “We want to have these great experiences with them but also show them that you have to work hard to get this. We have worked hard and appreciate that we can now bless our family with these amazing journeys and time together.”

In addition to family time, Alter and her husband pay it forward in their community. Both are involved in philanthropy and have served as co-chairs for the Chicago gala that benefits the JDRF for Type 1 diabetes research. In addition, Alter says she loves to partner with local business schools to mentor and coach and judge local competitions. “I consider it a fun pay back to all the people whom I’ve had support me over the years,” she says.

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The Importance of Supporting New Parents, Inside and Out of the Office

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Supporting new parentsGlobally, parental leave policies vary greatly among both advanced and developing countries, and researchers have determined that these policies can have a profound effect on female workforce participation rates.

Research conducted by Goldman Sachs found that in 2018, the participation of prime-age women in the US economy was lower in comparison to the workforce participation of this population in 2000, nearly 20 years earlier.

A separate study, titled “Female Labor Supply: Why Is the United States Falling Behind?” that was published in 2013 in the American Economic Review, found similar results, reporting that in 1990, the US had the sixth-highest female labor participation rate among 22 OECD countries. However, by 2010, the US’ ranking on this list fell to 17th.

Goldman Sachs research estimates that if the US were to introduce longer parental leave policies and higher public childcare spending, similar to policies adopted by other advanced economies, female-participation rates in the US could increase by around 4 percentage points.

Companies are therefore focused on their parental leave policies, including Goldman Sachs, which offers primary caregivers 16 weeks leave and non-primary caregivers four weeks leave following the birth or adoption of a child. In addition, the bank provides a variety of other services to employees to support them during this time period.

Here, Goldman Sachs people describe their parental leave experience, working with the firm’s dedicated Wellness team and share their advice for other new parents.

Naomi Leslie: “I Appreciated Being Treated Like Any Other New Mom”

Naomi Leslie, a managing director in the Investment Banking Division, described working closely with the firm’s Wellness team as she prepared for her baby, who was born via gestational carrier. “I appreciated the firm’s parental leave policy because I was treated like any other mother who was carrying a child,” said Leslie. “I took several months to be home with my daughter and bond with her, and felt well supported by the Wellness team in preparation for going on leave.”

Leslie noted that she relied on LifeCare’s consultants, as well as their recommendations for pediatricians and day care centers, in preparation for the arrival of her daughter. In advance of going on leave, she also discussed different approaches with Wellness for keeping in touch with her teams, and ultimately went on to develop coverage guidelines for each client.

She recommends that both women – and men – take the full parental leave offered to them, in order to “set the standard” going forward. “We should begin to treat paternity leave with the same reverence as maternity leave,” Leslie notes.

Jane Moffat: “The Support I Felt Was Unparalleled”

“The support I felt was unparalleled – both from the firm as a whole as well as Wellness, my team, and my internal clients,” said Jane Moffat, a vice president in the Legal Department. Based in the firm’s Washington, DC office, Moffat also described the lengths the firm went to in order to provide her with appropriate accommodations. “We have a wellness room in our office that was converted into a lactation room – as a breastfeeding mom, my needs were prioritized and it could not have been easier for me to return to work.”

As part of her role, Moffat makes overnight trips between Washington, DC and New York, and leveraged the firm’s milk shipping program, offered in partnership with LifeCare, to ship milk home overnight. Moffat said, “The process worked seamlessly each time – Goldman Sachs is truly the best place to work, including for a new mom.”

Vinod Jothiram: “Taking My Parental Leave Helped Me Bond With My Son”

As a soon-to-be new dad, Vinod Jothiram, a vice president in the Securities Division, thought that the firm only offered a few weeks for parental leave. However, as Jothiram planned to be the primary caregiver for his newborn son, he realized he was eligible for Goldman Sachs’ primary care parental leave program, which offers up to 16 weeks. “Taking my parental leave helped me bond with my son over the course of the 12 weeks I was home with him,” said Jothiram.

Jothiram described the process of taking his parental leave as “fairly straightforward,” noting that he had developed a transition plan to bring team members up to speed. He recommends: “If you’re taking a parental leave, think of it like mobility – you should develop a plan, and team members should be ready to pick up different roles upon your return.”

Naomi Lupemba: “Utilize Firm Resources During Your Transition”

“Prior to taking maternity leave, I was a bit concerned about being away from the office for several weeks,” explained Naomi Lupemba, an associate in Compliance. “However, after going through the process, I realized that this concern was completely unfounded – my team was very supportive of my parental leave.”

Lupemba described how she took advantage of the myriad of benefits offered by Goldman Sachs in advance of, during and after returning from maternity leave, including onsite prenatal classes and onsite childcare. “At my lunch break, I go see my son,” said Lupemba, noting that she uses firm-provided childcare at her office. “Being able to see him in the middle of the day removes a source of stress for me as a new mom.”

Elizabeth Reed: “My Managers and My Team Were Extremely Supportive”

“The idea of going on maternity leave was daunting,” said Elizabeth Reed, a managing director in the Investment Banking Division. “However, my maternity leave outperformed my expectations – my managers and my team were extremely supportive.”

Reed described her leave and returning to work as a “holistic recovery process” due to the support provided by the Wellness team, including lactation services and childcare guidance. Commenting on her return to the office, Reed said, “All my colleagues at work who have children have been incredibly helpful – I now have a whole new network to connect with as a sounding board.”

The Role of Corporations

In the absence of a federal paid parental leave policy, it’s more important than ever for private institutions and corporations to provide new parents with the resources they need to successfully take their parental leave, and ultimately return to the workforce.

Goldman Sachs is one example of what a company can do to help employees manage one of the biggest changes in their life, such as introducing a child into their family, successfully.

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The Professional Woman’s Guide to a Drama-Free Workplace

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Guest Contribution. The following article is adapted from the book, The Drama-Free Workplace.

Workplace DramaIn this post-#MeToo era, many women, both organizational leaders and individual contributors, are asking what role they can play in ridding our workplaces of drama.

Workplace drama comes in many forms, but two of the most common, and two that disproportionately affect professional women, are sexual harassment and bias.

Root Causes of Workplace Drama

The list of root causes is long, but here are four of the most important reasons why bias and sexual harassment exist at work:

Inauthentic leadership: A lack of authenticity creates or perpetuates a belief that management is hypocritical, that they only talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.

Problem-solving deficit: A lack of authenticity leads to inconsistency, usually seen in the form of the failure to implement solutions in an even-handed way.

Increased division: Failure to communicate clearly and transparently creates a sense of “us versus them” which perpetuates the cycle of division and mistrust.

Culture of complicity: An “us versus them” culture becomes permissive and tolerates bad behavior. This leads to blind spots since “we” think “they” are out to get us.

From Unconscious Bias to Radical Fairness

Bias is at the root of many of the issues that become workplace drama.

As the term gains popularity, many now cringe when they hear “unconscious bias” since they imagine training on something touchy-feely. Another way of stating it is that our “hidden” brain heavily influences our decision-making at work (and elsewhere). We won’t solve the issue unless we:

1) acknowledge that we are all influenced by factors outside our conscious minds;
2) that affect our decision-making (sometimes negatively); and
3) that despite this reality, there are ways we can fix the problem.

So, what can we do to take away the power of unconscious bias at work? Here are a few strategies:

  • Create stronger connections up, down and across. Research shows that we tend to view the world through a relatively homogenous lens. If your friends, coworkers and acquaintances tend to be from the same demographic groups as you (race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, geographic location, position at work, etc.) then how can we expect to debunk hidden beliefs we have about “the other?” Be creative – use stories and analogies, current events and research, facts and popular culture – anything that can show people that we have more in common than we think.
  • Be authentic. Employees can detect hypocracy from miles away. Implement programs that you’re truly committed to studying and resolving. Be the “and” in a “this OR that” world. Combine data/ AND a human touch to resolve issues of bias so that you are hiring and retaining top diverse talent.

Failure to implement realistic solutions to eliminate bias from decision-making at work leads to exclusion. This becomes clear as we look at issues of inclusion and diversity – if biased decision-making isn’t checked, your program to create a diverse workforce where each employee feels as though he or she belongs, is doomed.

The “Cure” for Workplace Sexual Harassment

For female professionals, the presence of sexual harassment at work is as dangerous as the presence of gender bias.

Here are three strategies you should take to eliminate sexual harassment at your organization:

  • Go beyond the letter of policies. While promising a “harassment free workplace” is a good promise, that should be the floor, not the ceiling. Just like you don’t want to eat at a restaurant that promises not to give you food poisoning (rather than promising an excellent dining experience) so too should workplaces promise a healthy, respectful and inclusive culture, not just mere legal compliance. The spirit of the policy should be just as important as the written word.
  • Step up and speak out. In many instances, harassing behavior starts out as minor, but when left unchecked, it not only escalates, the bad actor is emboldened to go one step further. Going from passive bystander to active upstander is therefore vital. There are a number of ways to accomplish this and the only rule is that doing nothing shouldn’t be an option.
  • If you’re a leader, help develop a system of perceived fairness, in addition to actual fairness. For the elimination of sexual harassment, the single most important way to do this is to hold everyone equally accountable for misconduct. Everyone. Even if the bad actor is the CEO, or a leader deemed “too valuable to lose.”

And while these strategies might appear to be geared toward leaders, they apply equally to every employee who has a vested interest in ridding our workplace of bias and harassment– we’re all in this together and it will require each one of us to implement these strategies to succeed. By taking these steps, you will play a vital role in making sure that bias and harassment are a thing of the past at your workplace.

Patti Perez is VP of Workplace Strategy at Emtrain. She is a licensed California attorney, a professionally-certified HR executive, and a specialist in the prevention and resolution of workplace drama. She is a frequent speaker on these topics and is the author of the soon-to-be-published The Drama-Free Workplace (Wiley, April 2019).

This is a guest contribution and does not represent the opinions of theglasshammer.com- all views are of the guest writer.

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Voice of Experience: Lisa Hutter, Senior Director of Planning for the Southwest Region, Wells Fargo Private Bank

Lisa Hutter has been well served by the advice to take time to listen, but then also reflect, in order to figure out how you want to respond.

“If you are listening solely to respond, you won’t hear everything you should,” she cautions. “Focusing, being present and then taking time to be thoughtful will always lead you to a better answer,” she says.

These skills have been especially pertinent in her career, particularly in her current role where she has a hand in helping both her clients and her internal team.

Helping Clients Achieve the Best

Hutter went right from college to law school but always knew she wanted to focus on estate planning. She joined a major accounting firm for four years, then moved into the banking arena and even had her own law firm for a short time before finding her home in the trust industry. Her first role was as a trust officer focusing on estate planning, and then she joined Wells Fargo as a team leader, where she manages a team of planners who include attorneys, CFPs and accountants who offer a collaborative approach to advising private clients.

Three years ago she was offered her current position as senior director of planning for the southwest region and moved to Austin, Texas, where she has added strategy to her responsibilities. In addition she is closely involved with the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts, helping to continue education and awareness and has been gratified at the strides they have made in moving the needle.

As she thinks back over her career, one of the accomplishments she’s been proud of is her focus on building teams—focusing not only on supporting one another and promoting trust, but also offering her employees a clear path forward in their career. She has been pleased with the way she has been able to manage a cultural shift in her region, leading to stronger teams who can better serve clients.

And that’s the cornerstone of everything she does, noting how rewarding it is to work with clients and see the positive difference she can nurture in the family unit. In fact, Hutter is excited about advances Wells Fargo is making with a more recent offering in the Private Bank called Family Dynamics.

Statistics show that when families of wealth fail, 70 percent of the time it’s because of a breakdown in communication. In that way, this offering is ideal to help bolster communication for any family contemplating their future.

Another growing trend that is inspiring her work is the “graying” of the business owner; Hutter finds there are many in her region who are nearing retirement age and exploring their options. “The best way to create a smooth transition is to start three to five years out, which also pulls in the family dynamics element,” she notes.

Confidence Will Take You Far

Hutter has always admired Sheryl Sandberg’s advice, particularly the reality that a lot of times we second guess ourselves and think we have to be perfect for a certain role or project before we throw our hat in the ring. “It’s important to realize that job descriptions shouldn’t be read as prescriptive around every single element where if you don’t have a few items on the list you shouldn’t bother applying; instead rely on the right skills you already have to succeed and be confident in yourself, apply for the role and through the course of interviews you and the folks making the hiring decision will determine if you are the right fit for the role. In the end, you might surprise yourself.”

Confidence is vitally important in her industry, when it’s not uncommon to walk into a senior leadership meeting and be outnumbered, sometimes even as the only woman. “You have to get comfortable with leaning forward and making your voice heard,” she says, adding that she has helped her teammates understand this perspective by encouraging them to put themselves in those shoes.

At the same time that you should always strive for new paths, Hutter believes that young women who are entering this industry would be well-served by being patient and taking the time to really master their job. “You can get involved in so many projects and therefore find opportunities to be challenged, even while you sit in your current job and make a name for yourself there,” she points out.

In fact, she finds that a lot of success has to do with getting to know people all over the organization and at all levels and learning more about their day-to-day jobs. “That can help you identify another area where your skills might be transferable but is more interesting to you, and you don’t want to miss out on that by not seeking new opportunities.”

It’s one of the reasons she served in the role of regional leader for the firm’s Women’s Team Network while she has continued to serve in similar roles. She urges all her colleagues to take advantage of the development programs available in person as well as on the internal site—both to boost specific skills as well as to expand networking by meeting others with whom they don’t interact on a day-to-day basis.

“Be Kind To Yourself”

Hutter’s advice for women at her level will resonate with anyone in a fast-paced field. “Be kind to yourself,” she says. “We are not perfect and so we need to believe that what we are doing is enough. Take the time to be present and focus on what matters, like your family, and shut down if you need to because that’s okay.”

She herself takes that advice to heart with her own family. In addition, she has an excellent outlet through regular workouts at her husband’s CrossFit box, appropriately named “Third Element.”

“It’s my community and home away from home, and it helps us model a healthy lifestyle for our kids,” Hutter says. In addition to mitigating stress, achieving a new goal in her workout has another important byproduct—transferring those feelings of success to the workplace.

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Should I stay or should I go? Are you thinking of leaving for the right reasons?

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Nicki Gilmour - Founder of The Glasshammer.comShould I stay in my job or leave to go to a new firm? This is often the question that brings people to coaching.

There is no simple answer to this, but there are ways to truly explore what is best for you.

I can break these down into three categories:

1. Systemic dysfunction – is there misalignment in the way people and processes meet? Is the culture and how work gets done around here, one of inconsistent management practices with no real support with process and policy to ensure good behaviors happen? Is leadership lacking? Is the mission unclear? Are you able to do your job the way you see fit?

2. You – your mental models, behaviors, reaction and actions.

3. Them – other people and their mental models, behaviors, reactions and actions.

It is only by looking at these factors that you can make an assessment of whether staying or leaving is best. You go with you to the next job so repeating patterns won’t bring you happiness or success if those patterns needs to be broken.

I am now taking up to 15 new coaching clients for Spring/Summer – if you are interested in signing up and working with me for 5 sessions, book in for an exploratory call to see if I can help you over the next 6-9 months so you can develop, grow, succeed and feel renewal at work.

Testimonials from mid to senior level professionals available.

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Rising Star: Alex Trevino-McCallum, Vice President of Client Development for Citi Retail Services for the Midsouth and South Atlantic Regions

Alex TrevinoCareer success comes easier when you focus on reinventing yourself professionally, without changing your core values, says Alex Trevino-McCallum.

Her success has come from taking her knowledge about two different industries and meshing them, to the mutual benefit of both.

From Retail to Banking

That philosophy is why Trevino-McCallum excels in her current position at Citi Retail Services, relying on her extensive background with her retail partner, Home Depot. She began her career there as a cashier at the age of 19 and worked her way up through various roles for the next 21 years. Along the way, she built relationships with subject matter experts throughout The Home Depot, including the store credit manager from Citi, which powers The Home Depot credit card. The Citi credit manager confirmed to Alex that joining the Citi team could be a great move for her career path.

While it was a hard decision, given the loyalty she had built up with Home Depot, she also believed she could bring a high level of knowledge to the position, since she knew the culture and people at the store so well. Although she lacked direct banking experience, her knowledge gained as the liaison between Home Depot and Citi made her an ideal candidate. The position required exceptional relationship-building skills and persistence to ensure associates were familiar with the credit options available—both traits where she excelled.

Trevino-McCallum transitioned to Citi Retail Services four years ago, moving from Mississippi to Atlanta, in itself an accomplishment as she was starting fresh with no support system. And that’s the professional achievement she is most proud of so far–having the confidence to pivot her career with this current role. As she becomes a resource rather than the “newbie,” she sees her decision validated every day.

And she appreciates the ongoing challenges of her position, assisting both Citi and Home Depot in navigating changes in the industry, and focusing on helping Citi become even more ingrained in the retail partner culture, then adapting those lessons to other retailers and specialty stores to keep expanding her personal development.

Family as a Barometer of What’s Important

Although Trevino-McCallum spends a great deal of time on the road overseeing 30 to 40 stores, she’s able to be home almost every night, which has been a game-changer for her. While her job is challenging and fast-paced, it enables her to prioritize her core values both at work and at home with her family.

While she has always put her family first, now they are able to sit down to dinner together most nights. “We’ve always made a conscious decision to slow down and enjoy time together, and this role allows us to do that,” she says.

This focus on family came early, with both her parents as important role models. Trevino-McCallum says that her mom is the strongest woman she knows—displaying empathy and compassion combined with grit. “Although she’s been through a lot both personally and professionally, she continues to see the bright side of everything,” she says. And Trevino-McCallum says she learned her ability to balance from her mom, whom she describes as “the queen of juggling.”

Her dad had a professional career that she aspires to, as she always admired his commitment and drive. “He was a great team leader and gained trust and engagement with those who worked around him,” she says. However, she notes that sometimes that came at the expense of family time so she aims to land somewhere in the middle.

Trevino-McCallum constantly works on accelerating her skills, and appreciates the opportunities that Citi offers via a wide variety of functional groups. She has a healthy curiosity in the business, including partner management, which would highlight her experience in building close relationships, as well as interest in operations and marketing, which would utilize her skills in team building and networking. She recently put her hat in to be part of the “SET” team (Store Execution Team), focused on delivering tools and skills to the larger Home Depot Field Support organization promoting efficiency and effectiveness.

To feed her desire for continuous development, Trevino-McCallum pursues individual learning via “Degreed,” a Citi-hosted learning platform, while remaining connected across the organization as a member of the women’s network in Atlanta. A highlight of her participation has been supporting a learning day for Girl Scouts that mirrors the “Shark Tank” model, allowing the girls to experience the corporate world in a creative manner.

In her time off work, Trevino-McCallum loves to read and travel, and although she relishes her time with her family, including those daily dinners, she says she and her husband look forward to an empty nest when they’ll have more time to start a mission of finding nearby hidden beaches.

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Voice of Experience: Becky Lindahl, Head of Litigation, Charlotte, N.C.; Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Rebecca LindahlAs a junior associate, Becky Lindahl says it took her a while to learn to stress less and recognize that building her practice was a long-term process, more particularly when it came to new business.

Only through experience did she come to realize that it was unrealistic to expect a young lawyer, fresh out of law school, to deliver solid business prospects. It turns out that some of the steps she was taking were the right ones and they ultimately put her on a path to success: making contacts in-house and keeping in touch with peers at law firms.

Now, Lindahl encourages younger associates to first focus on getting basic core skills, such as writing and reviewing and analyzing documents, down pat. “I see how they want to advise clients right away, and I can sense the frustration when they don’t have the opportunity to immediately sit in the first, or even the second, chair,” she says. “But the only way you learn is through mastering the fundamentals and observing senior attorneys to gain the experience you need. Eventually it all clicks.”

Earning Litigation Credibility

That savvy advice comes from experience and is the foundation for Lindahl’s impressive career rise. After joining Katten as a summer associate in 2005, she became a full-time associate following her graduation from Wake Forest University School of Law and federal clerkship. She was elevated to income partner in August 2014 and became Charlotte’s litigation head in January 2018.

Over the years, she has amassed numerous successes. One of her most notable was the first major case she managed from start to finish as lead counsel in a four-week federal jury trial during the summer of 2017 in Greensboro, N.C., representing a leading manufacturer and innovator in LED lighting technology. Under Lindahl’s leadership, with tens of millions of dollars in damages on the line, she scored a courtroom victory when the jury sided with her client on every issue.

“While the case was obviously high-stakes for the client financially, it also had great reputational risks and industry-wide concerns, so it was incredibly satisfying to lead the team to success,” Lindahl says. She found an affinity for bigger impact litigation and is currently lead counsel in two other similarly high-stakes lawsuits within the industry.

Concerning industry trends, Lindahl is concerned with balancing the risks and rewards of technology-assisted and automated discovery, which is becoming more prevalent in litigation. As she notes, automation of operations and services can lower costs for firms and increase efficiency. However, she also sees potential challenges in relying too much on innovating tools for tasks and processes when diving deep into cases, particularly in cases that may reach a jury. For example, lawyers might spot patterns in emails that emerging technology could miss, such as a meeting place that pops up regularly and corroborates timing of key events. “We have to be smart about managing litigation in a way that’s cost-sensitive and effective, and when you are preparing for a high-stakes trial, there is no substitute for having a comprehensive knowledge of the details of critical documents,” Lindahl says.

Advocates at Home and Work Help Bring Balance

Lindahl brings that same measured vision to her own work/life blend. With little control over your schedule in federal court, the unpredictability can be challenging for trial lawyers who are also trying to manage a family.

An understanding firm culture can help. For example, she says that she trusts her Charlotte associates to appropriately prioritize client needs and works with her associates on a one-on-one basis to provide necessary flexibility to accomplish that goal.

For her, having an understanding spouse is vital, and she encourages women who are starting in the industry to consider the importance of surrounding themselves with compassionate people in their corner. “The job is hard enough as it is, but it would be impossible to sustain without a supportive partner, if you choose to have one,” Lindahl said.

While some women have struggled over having a perfect balance or being able to “do it all,” she appreciates advice she received early in her career from a fellow female attorney at Katten who suggested she be kinder to herself and give herself some grace when things are challenging either at work or home.

Now, Lindahl passes on that same philosophy to younger associates in her current role as the Charlotte co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Forum. The group offers a national mentoring panel where senior women serve as mentors to younger women, whether for practice- or career-related topics or even personal issues.

For example, before Lindahl and her husband adopted their daughter, they went through years of infertility treatments. She said she appreciated how generous women at the firm were with their advice as she balanced the rigors of the time commitment, and that the firm’s benefits provided insurance coverage for the expensive treatments. When the couple made the decision to adopt a child, Lindahl reached out to another attorney to talk about the adoption process and managing parental leave on the short notice at which adoption sometimes occurs, and now offers her insight to women facing similar scenarios and seeking advice.

Today, she is mom to a 13-month-old daughter.

Lindahl is committed to variety of causes and sits on the board of directors for Safe Alliance, which provides wraparound support services for victims of domestic assault and sexual assault.

As an avid sports fan, she is looking forward to moving her family to Charlotte’s center city, within walking distance of the Spectrum Center, home to the NBA’s Hornets and other entertainment acts.

“There is no perfect balance between work and home, but I have had some success managing my practice and family by simply focusing on the most important task—whether client or family-related—before me at any given time,” Lindahl says.

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Why Less Is More: Advice for Female Overachievers Everywhere

Women-Cheering-featured

By Aimee Hansen

With the recent International Women’s Day 2019 mantra being #Balanceforbetter, we have proof that giving less of yourself at work could be the best move for you and your career.

Being overly conscientious and accommodating in your work approach – which women are far more likely to be – may diffuse your energy and impact, without helping you advance in the office.

Overcoming the compulsion to overwork is about more than being mentally strategic and discerning with the work you do, though changing behaviors can change beliefs. The hardest part of choosing not to do too much may be riding through the emotional discomfort of not being as overly conscientious as you’re used to.

As girls and women, we’ve come to believe we have to work very hard not even to get ahead, but just to stay safe.

What did we really learn as girls at school?

“What if those same habits that propel girls to the top of their class — their hyper-conscientiousness about schoolwork — also hold them back in the work force?” writes Dr. Lisa Damour in the New York Times.

At school age, girls have the edge on performance and they also work harder, have greater discipline and perform better. Damour finds that girls are more likely to grind away and to leave as little as possible room for error. Anecdotally, it’s observed that boys are more likely to up their game if something slips, while girls are less likely to allow the possibility of slippage, holding the energy of maximum effort.

Damour writes, “We need to ask: What if school is a confidence factory for our sons, but only a competence factory for our daughters?” She asserts that with girls, we need to stop applauding ‘inefficient overwork’ and start rewarding ‘economy of effort’.

Part of this is encouraging girls to acknowledge how much they already know and then where to focus their mastery building, as opposed to only building up capacity for work. The confidence gap and stress gap between genders is only widened when girls and women put disproportionate stock in their ability to work extra hard, as opposed to their innate abilities to deliver good results.

We think we have to work harder (and we do) at work.

A study designed to monitor the impact of privacy filters on productivity at 3M also verified the suspicion that women employees work harder. “During a ten minute experimental trial, female employees worked longer without (2.5 minutes vs 2.1 minutes) or with (4.9 minutes vs 4.3 minutes) a privacy filter. 52 percent of male workers walked away during a waiting period while only 38 present of women did.

Across three decades of studies, professional women in both Britain and the United States are also significantly more likely than male peers to agree to the statement “My job requires that I work very hard.”

“Between a man and a woman who hold the same job, shoulder the same burdens at home and have the same education and skills, the woman is likely to feel she must work harder,“ said co-researcher and sociologist Elizabeth Gorman.

The researchers speculate that “the association between gender and reported required work effort is best interpreted as reflecting stricter performance standards imposed on women, even when women and men hold the same jobs.”

Being too conscientious adds up to emotional exhaustion.

Women tend to experience more stress in the workplace – and a UK survey found up to 67% higher stress levels for women between 34 and 44 compared to men.

Research on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) explored five types of behavior for impact on individual well-being: “altruism (helping a colleague), conscientiousness (going beyond the minimum), civic virtue (involvement in the organisation), courtesy (avoiding work-related problems with others) and sportsmanship (tolerating inconveniences and impositions of work).”

The research showed that employees who regularly put in hours and effort beyond the call of duty experience more emotional exhaustion and work-family conflict – especially for those who carry out responsibilities at a high level.

The study also found “employees who already performed well in their job and had a high level of conscientiousness also suffered significantly higher emotional exhaustion and work-family conflict. Those who exerted greater effort in their work and family roles, with a general sense of not wanting to let people down, found they had little left in reserve, increasing the challenges of balancing work with a healthy family life.”

Doing well at work, not surprisingly, leads to more work: “Managers are prone to delegate more tasks and responsibilities to conscientious employees who are likely to try to maintain consistently high levels of output.”

If you get hooked to hyper-conscientiousness as your success card, you’ll feel you have to keep it going, even when it grows.

What if we just cared less?

Beyond the external demands, clinical psychologist Dr Jessamy Hibberd, co-author of This Book Will Make You Calm, notes the internal demands that we create for ourselves on top of external demands. “These are the pressures you place on yourself,” Hibberd told The Guardian. “For example, checking and rechecking work, spending too long on each task, taking work home and setting excessively high standards.”

As Lauren Bravo writes in the same piece, “As promising students we were told ‘aim high! Join in! You can do anything!’ – but nobody thought to mention we could also aim lower, opt out or do exactly what our pay cheque required and no more.”

“The happiest people at work seem to be the ones who don’t care as much,” writes Bravo, “they might just be on to something.”

How do to less and more.

University of California, Berkeley professor and author of Great at Work, says our approach to work is “broken.” He said to Forbes, “We pursue a paradigm of ‘more is better’ — but more hours doesn’t lead to better performance. And it leads to worse work/life balance.’”

From a survey on what really drives performance, Hansen found some secrets behind doing less to create more impact:

Do Fewer Things: Top performers are very selective in what they do and don’t scatter their efforts too much across too many tasks or too many meetings. Hansen says, “It’s counterintuitive. It’s not how much you can get done in a day, but how few things you have to do in order to excel.”

Sarah Knight, author of “The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k,” encourages us to declutter our mind and care less. She also suggests ditching corporate formalities like conference calls, when the time can be used more productively.

Push Back: If you’re asked to stretch yourself across too many things, Hansen suggests pushing for prioritization. “Say: ‘You asked me to do two things last week and now you’re asking for a third. Which should I prioritize? I can do all three, but it won’t be high-quality work.’ You’re not saying ‘I don’t want to do it.’ This requires some courage and tact.” Another tip: Say no to additional responsibilities with low visibility that won’t truly advance you.

“Do Less, Then Obsess”: Hansen suggests to do less tasks, but put attention into doing the things you commit to with excellence. Take time putting the attention into the details and making the work you commit to high quality. Do less, and do it better.

Women have been devalued in the workplace. You can stop devaluing yourself by finding ways to trim away the work that’s draining your energy more than its advancing you towards your own career desires.

Author Bio:

Aimee Hansen is a writer here at theglasshammer.com.

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