The Glass Hammer is proud to celebrate women in technology with a week of profiles of women at the top of the tech field. Make sure to check out our upcoming event Women in IT: Staying Technical and Getting to the Top.

By Elizabeth Harrin (London)

Isabelle Jenkins took a computerised careers test at university. The results told her to join the army or become a management consultant.

“In retrospect, management consultancy would have been a sensible choice,” she says, “but no one explained what it was. The job counselling I got at university was terrible.”

Today, Jenkins is a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in the Financial Services Consulting business – not exactly where she thought she’d be when she was job hunting after graduation, but a job she loves. “When you peel them back, seventy per cent of consulting business problems involve technology,” she explains. “You need to have a technology focus to solve problems.”

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Taking risks is not the way I looked at things. I thought of them as opportunities,” explains Niloufar Molavi, PricewaterhouseCoopers‘ Chief Diversity Officer, when describing her career progression. “You have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone.”

Having worked for PwC for nearly 20 years, Molavi has seized upon many opportunities. She began her career as a tax associate in PwC’s Houston office in 1991, and was admitted to the partnership in 2001, working in the firm’s energy tax practice. In 2006, she assumed the leadership role for PwC’s national energy tax practice.

Throughout her career at PwC, and particularly for the last several years, Molavi has championed diversity in the firm’s Houston office. Her efforts grabbed the attention of Bob Moritz, PwC’s chairman and senior partner, who last summer asked Molavi to take on a larger, national role leading diversity and inclusion initiatives as the firm’s CDO.

What most excites her about the new role is the one-to-one connection she is able to make with PwC’s people. “One of the things I’ve always loved about being a professional accountant is the ability to connect with people,” says Molavi. “Everything is about making sure we are building a much more inclusive organization. We want to make sure our people understand and are comfortable working and interacting with people who are different from them. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Motivated by a “secret love” of being a teacher, Susan Allen, TICE (Technology, Information Communications and Entertainment) Assurance Leader for PwC Canada and Chair of the firm’s Women in Leadership/Retention of Women initiative, has built her career on her leadership capabilities, and is motivated by a passion for encouraging women leaders.

She began her career at the University of Toronto. “I graduated from university with a geography and drama degree, because I wanted to be a teacher,” Allen explained. “I fell into accounting because I took on a job as the University Cashier, and the world of accounting opened up to me as I started taking courses.” Allen joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1981, after taking an introductory accounting course, and was offered a position in training as a new manager – which was perfect for her inclination toward teaching. “Funny that I had to get my CA to be a teacher!” she joked.

A 3 year secondment and two children later, Allen was promoted to senior manager. Commending PwC for the company’s flexibility, she said, “I decided that part time was the answer for me.” Working full time January through April, three days per week May through September, and four days per week September through June allowed her to spend more time with her young children – and still make partner in the regular amount of time.

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By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“I see myself riding a wave,” explained Wanda Eriksen, Assurance Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Zurich office and founder of its Women’s Initiative. “I think that I’m really part of the change. Looking back, I’m going to be in that group to really have more opportunity.” Eriksen sees a shift in attitudes regarding women in the workplace – an acceptance that grows larger with each generation.

She recalled how she had been approached to spearhead the Women’s Initiative for PwC Switzerland. “Until about four years ago, I was not even remotely informed about gender issues. I was like, ‘I don’t want to start any trouble!’” she joked. “In the beginning I needed to be convinced. [In Switzerland], we were probably about 10 years behind the U.S.,” regarding gender activities.

“I don’t want to say there are barriers… there aren’t a lot of women in leadership positions,” Eriksen explained, attributing this to the “little me” syndrome, in which leaders (usually men) promote people who are like themselves or take someone similar to themselves under their wing. “It’s more related to behavior than barriers,” she said. “I also see that things are changing, solely through the increasing volume of women choosing to have a career.”

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By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

Growing up as a little girl on a farm in Arkansas, Gena Lovett, now Principal and COO at Alexandra Investment Management, knew instinctively that she belonged on Wall Street. There was something about the ringing of the opening bell each day on the morning news that left a lasting impact and kept her dreaming of a high-powered career in New York City. Lovett’s mother, Beulah Lovett, the most influential person in her life, worked herself to the bone and dedicated her life to ensuring that she and her three siblings were taken care of after their father died when Lovett was just ten-years-old. Despite being a single, widowed, working mom, Lovett’s mother was able to keep her children on the straight and narrow after they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Eventually all four children would graduate from college, Lovett herself receiving a B.A. in Business Administration from Philander Smith College.

Fast forward just over twenty years later and Lovett has served on numerous boards, accrued years of financial services experience, developed a wide range of expertise managing front, middle, and back office operations, and currently finds herself in the esteemed position of being the first Black American Principal and COO at Alexandra Investment Management, an alternative investment advisor managing assets of approximately $500 million. As if that didn’t keep her busy enough, Lovett is also acting President of the New York Junior League (NYJL), an organization of 3,000 women volunteers who work to address some of the city’s most critical issues through volunteer services. Each member of the organization is dedicated to working just as hard as Lovett does, as 85 percent of the volunteers have full-time jobs and contribute more than 250,000 service hours.

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