Voice of Experience: Stephanie Hauge, President, Financial Women’s Association

by Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

“Gender diversification represents a range of approaches to risk analysis and problem solving. All of that is part of the equation of getting better decisions made in a company; it isn’t just to dress up the boardroom or the C-suite with females. If there had been different perspectives and different experiences among the leadership and decision-makers [of the companies that were at the center of the financial meltdown], I believe it could have had a very different outcome.” said Stephanie Hauge, president of the Financial Women’s Association.

Hauge started her own financial career at a pharma company in New Jersey. Working as a marketing customer service representative while attending night school at Seton Hall—first for her B.A. in Accounting and then her M.B.A. in Finance—she saw firsthand the importance of gender diversity and the challenges women face in the workplace.

“I was one of just a few women in the accounting department. A senior accountant at the time, I ended up filling in for my boss when he was not doing his job. When he was eventually let go, there was a lot of external and internal support for me to be moved up into his position. But, [some months later when I still hadn’t been promoted and/or gotten a pay raise], I went to the head of the department to ask why, since I was already doing the job. The department head actually said to me, ‘If I promote you into this position, then all those guys I play golf with will work for a woman and I can’t do that to them.’ Although after some further conversation, I was officially appointed into the position, that incident made me question whether or not I would want to continue there, but it also was a seminal moment in terms of my focus on helping other women. ”

She did move on, spending a few years as a controller at a dialysis equipment manufacturing division of National Medical Care, before being recruited into AT&T. She ended up having an illustrious 20-year career in finance at the telecom giant, on both the business product side and the corporate services side.

“You’ve got to ask for what you want.”

And although AT&T took the professional development of women very seriously, there were still some challenges for women shooting for the upper echelons of the organization. “I discerned at a key juncture that the decisions about who would be getting finance advancement opportunities and promotions were basically being made by four male leaders so I got on the calendar for one of them. I put forth my story about my achievements in the organization and my desire to advance. (You can’t imagine how much courage and patience it took to get on this person’s calendar.) And then he told me that I had to get on the calendar for the other three men as well. So I did.” The promotions did happen for her, ultimately allowing her to work her way up to CFO of the shared and corporate services of the company.

Hauge learned a valuable lesson from that experience. She said, “A lot of women—and I was one of them for a long time—assume that since they are doing a great job and people are thanking them, [the promotion] is going to happen for them automatically. But you’ve got to ask for what you want.”

After retiring from AT&T in 2000, she was brought into a start-up called theglobe.com, as CFO and Treasurer, in that company’s last-ditch attempt to turn the business around by bringing in professional management. She ended up leaving less than a year later, when she did a workout with the company and put all the assets into the hands of the board. Hauge was once again called on to use her in-depth knowledge of the telecom industry when she was contacted by some former colleagues from AT&T who had a business plan for the development of a joint venture between Sprint and Virgin. “I signed on as a consultant to do the financial start up of Virgin Mobile. I didn’t want to work there as an employee because I had spent more than my fair share of time in the telecom space.”

Taking On a “Post Career”

Hauge ultimately moved into the not-for-profit sector, working as the Director of Finance and Administration for a large charitable foundation for almost 4½ years. For a number of years, she had served on Seton Hall’s Advisory Council. She was then contacted by Seton Hall’s development director to take on her current role: director for corporate and foundation relations. “So I agreed to do it. I already had my career; I really call it my post career. Now, I’m really enjoying doing this and helping my alma mater.”

In addition to her “post career,” Hauge spends a substantial amount of time mentoring other women as the president of the Financial Women’s Association. “Women have an accountability and responsibility to nurture other women leaders. I have always been supportive of helping other women be successful. While a CFO at AT&T, I was an executive champion for women there. I saw the Financial Women’s Association as a way to do it on broader scale.”

She added, “FWA offers opportunities for women all along the career spectrum, from emerging leaders to seasoned executives. It provides a network of professional women who bring value and who go out of their way to help each other.”

About her current role with the organization, Hauge said: “Clearly I’ve come into the presidency at a time when there are huge challenges in the financial services sector that are affecting the organization. The reputation of the industry has been somewhat tarnished, and [people are feeling that]. I’d like FWA to exercise more thought leadership on key issues, such as the economy and how we are moving out of the downturn… all the potential regulation coming down the pike… These are very interesting and exciting times in my estimation.”

On November 16th, Financial Women’s Association is sponsoring its inaugural Economic Forum at Thomson Reuters in Manhattan to address many of those timely issues. The event will feature a panel of top women in the financial industry tackling topics including GDP and global growth, the shifting vista of banking, and other issues related to the rapidly changing economic environment To attend this event or to learn more about the Financial Women’s Association, please visit their website here.