Do we really have to paint a picture to make the serious under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) fields any clearer? YES, decided the faculty at New Jersey Institute of Technology, who have released the infograph, “Are Stereotypes Keeping Women Away from Science?”
Paint a picture it does. A quick glance reveals that women are represented half as much in STEM professions (25%) as they are in the workforce, while rarer yet in engineering and computer and mathematical sciences. From associates to doctorate, women are much less likely to convert their (relatively fewer) STEM degrees into a career in the field, where they’ll net unequal pay and less recognition. In fact, women are twice as likely to end up working in the lower-paying fields of education or healthcare with their STEM degree. Underneath this are the unconscious bias against female applicants and early ingraining of gender stereotypes.
Despite the frustrating gender dynamics at play for women in the STEM field, the biggest reason for the gender gap is too few are. Two recent studies recommend to get more women into the STEM door, widen the entrance: address narrow stereotypes about the field.
Gender, Science, and the “Brilliance” Factor
Recent research published in Science by Leslie and Cimpian found that in academia women are underrepresented in fields across science and humanities that value innate brilliance and morerepresented in those that value hard work and dedication.
Why? Because our culture still implicitly links raw, innate talent/genius/inborn ability/brilliance with men and not women.
As the Washington Post put it, “The difference between Sherlock Holmes and Hermione Granger may help explain why women don’t thrive as much as men in some fields of academia. One is brilliant by nature and the other has to work her butt off, and they represent the pervasive gender stereotypes of our age.“
Across 1,800 academics from 30 different disciplines, academia participants rated the importance of having “an innate gift or talent” or “a special aptitude that just can’t be taught” to succeed in their field versus the value of “motivation and sustained effort.” The study found the implicit emphasis put on brilliance as a success criteria predicted under-representation of women far better than other tested hypotheses. The findings extended to African-American representation, too.
The researchers clarified there’s no convincing evidence that men and women differ in capacity for brilliance, and the study can’t validate it’s actual importance in the field. “The argument is about the culture of the field,” Cimpian said. “In our current cultural climate, where women are stereotypically seen as less likely to possess these special intellectual gifts, emphasizing that those gifts are required for success is going to have a differential effect on men and women.”
Researcher Leslie shared, “Consider for example how difficult it is to think of even a single pop-culture portrayal of a woman who like Sherlock Holmes (& others)…displays that special spark of innate, unschooled genius.”
Field-specific success beliefs conspire with long-held gender stereotypes. “Any group that’s stereotyped to lack a trait that a field values is going to be underrepresented in that field,” Cimpian said.
While the gender stereotype around brilliance may be infuriating, the researchers recommend it’s the stereotype around the discipline that can easily change: downplay the importance of innate brilliance and reflect all excellence requires hard work.
“These findings suggest that academics who wish to increase the diversity of their fields should pay particular attention to the messages they send about what’s required for success,” said Leslie.
Culture Stereotypes & Computer Science
Dove-tailing the recommendation, a new research paper from Cheryan, Master, and Meltzoff asserts that to open the gates to computer science and engineering wider for women, diversify the gatekeeper stereotypes about the culture of these fields.
The article reports, “Computer science and engineering are stereotyped in modern American culture as male-oriented fields that involve social isolation, an intense focus on machinery, and inborn brilliance. These stereotypes are compatible with qualities that are typically more valued in men than women in American culture. As a result, when computer science and engineering stereotypes are salient, girls report less interest in these fields than their male peers.”
The authors acknowledge that many social constraints keep women from engineering and computer science. But they found that diversifying the way these fields are represented – the kind of people, the nature of the work, and values of the field – changes young women’s sense of interest and belonging in the field.
With no direct experience of the field, stereotypes and media representations are often what students have to go on, and they are tight and narrow. Picture a white, geeky, tech-focused, socially awkward but intellectually brilliant, pale-skinned guy with glasses who sleeps and eats science and works on his own. The researchers say cultural stereotypes like this “are perceived as incompatible with qualities that are valued in women, such as being feminine, people-oriented, and modest about one’s abilities.” Women don’t feel they belong to the culture.
The researchers argue that diversifying and broadening the stereotypes (rather than getting rid of them as they also positively draw people) attracts more women to computer science and engineering by enabling them to identify more with the fields, without deflecting male interest.
One opportunity to widen image is in media, which strongly impacts upon stereotypes. In one study women who read articles that computer science was breaking away from stereotypes were more interested in the field than those who read an article confirming them, whereas men’s interest was not affected.
A second opportunity to widen image is in more diverse exposure to the people in the field. In a previous study, Cheryan found that women’s interest was positively influenced when they interviewed a computer scientist who had non-stereotypical appearance (plain t-shirt) and preferences (eg enjoys socializing), regardless of their gender. In fact, the experience increased women’s sense they could succeed in the field compared to women who interviewed with the stereotype. Men’s sense they could succeed was not affected.
The researchers noted, “When the people in computer science depict themselves in a manner consistent with the stereotypes, it can convey to other students that one must fit the stereotypes to be successful in these fields.”
A third opportunity to widen image is around workenvironments, which reflect dominant cultural values. The researchers previously found that young women who were exposed to a room with non-stereotypical objects (nature posters vs. Star Trek, water bottles vs. soda cans, neutral books vs. science fiction books) were far more likely to express interest in pursuing computer science than those that visited a stereotypical room. This represents a sense of “ambient” belonging.
The researchers point out that while these sciences remain male-dominated cultures in which women do face obstacles, “A broader image that shows many different types of people and working environments in computer science and engineering actually represents a more realistic portrayal.” Diversifying representation of computer science helped increased female enrolment in certain universities.
Going beyond narrow cultural stereotypes in STEM widens the door to girls and women. And as more women dare to enter it, the culture will likely, if slowly, evolve too.
By Aimee Hansen
You Can Be the CEO, It Just Takes Longer as a Woman
LeadershipRead more
Bumps in the road. What happens when things go temporarily wrong at work?
Career Tip of the Week!What do you do in this situation? You are faced with a choice of how to recover. Yes, how to recover as there are many emotions and thoughts involved with this type of situation. The best thing you can do is let go of any negative emotion ( anger, bitterness etc) and list what you enjoyed most and what you enjoyed least about both the job itself and the company culture. This will help you figure out what is next for you, professionally!
Voice of Experience: Sinead Strain, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Voices of Experience“It’s vital that our industry shows girls the diversity of roles on offer, and lets them see how technology skills can open the door to virtually any industry,” says Strain. “There’s a wide spectrum of opportunities, and learning about tech gives girls the foundational skills they need to succeed wherever they decide to go. It’s a skill that’s transferable.”
For Strain, it’s important to make it clear to women entering the industry that their choice isn’t to stay in or opt out, but rather that they can always try something new.
And that’s what has kept Strain moving up the ladder in her career. After graduating from Dublin City University, she participated in a work placement with Microsoft in Dublin. The rewarding experience taught her a variety of lessons, but one would impact her career path: she realized that she wanted to pursue her tech career in a business-facing technology role.
Strain began pursuing roles in financial services and has spent 21 years in the industry with two firms. Her first stint was at JP Morgan, and for the past 10 years she has worked at Goldman Sachs.
A career defining moment came in 2008 when Strain was named global head of FX trading and sales technology. This appointment occurred only a few weeks before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Strain describes the experience as “baptism by fire. I literally jumped into the deep end, and it was one of those pivotal times where you have to accelerate your learning and call on the skills that you have acquired over the years.”
In 2014 Strain was named head of FICC technology. Strain acknowledges that this role was an exciting move, as she now oversees technology for the entire FICC division. Reflecting on her career, Strain names this promotion as one of the achievements she’s most proud of, and highlights the opportunities this position affords: “I love the diversity of the role and the opportunity to partner and build relationships across the firm.”
No two days are the same, as Strain balances working with her teams to drive business growth, leveraging platform solutions to support internal and external clients, and managing a diverse technology stack while investing and developing technical talent.
Her Role in the Evolving World of Tech
Strain is acutely aware of the rapid changes in tech, the disruptive nature of technology in the world at large and how financial firms have evolved by keeping up with the latest trends. She notes that Goldman Sachs leadership often refers to the firm as a technology company because of its innovation in finding technological solutions to drive growth. She cites a new platform called Marquee which will offer external clients access to its in-house tools that analyze markets and manage risk.
Fostering adoption of strategic platforms to enable the FICC business is both rewarding and progressive, says Strain. “The rate of change from a technology perspective is unprecedented and presents an exciting time to embrace and leverage these changes to enable our business and our clients.”
Similarly, this can be seen more broadly across the financial industry. “The innovative culture of startups has led to the growing dominance of FinTech and has led to the creation of disruptive technology that has influenced Wall Street,” Strain says.
The Challenge To Retain Women
Having just returned from the 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, through the Anita Borg Institute, Strain says that much of the discussion at the conference surrounded retaining and promoting women in the industry. Where the focus had been on building a talent pipeline, she says that now companies need to provide an equal platform to retain women and increase the percentage of senior female role models. “We need up-and-coming women to say, ‘I want to stay in,’ because they see more senior women who have conquered the challenges, whether around work-life balance or just feeling different in the industry, who can provide the encouragement they need not to opt out.”
Strain notes that being interviewed by two senior women at Goldman Sachs was a key differentiator for her. “I knew I was coming into the right culture and that’s what I want for others,” she says.
She stresses that the positive effect female mentors have had on her career inspires her to continue to support initiatives such as Girls Who Code, where she can share the story of her own career journey to high school girls interested in technology.
Strain has always been active in Goldman Sachs’ Women in Tech network and currently is a global sponsor for the program, stressing that this type of network allows women to bolster their skills. Strain champions programs such as Leadership Development and Geek Speak, which helps women find their voice to talk openly and confidently about their tech accomplishments and develop leadership skills.
Strain also has represented Goldman Sachs on the steering committee of ABI.NY, the New York chapter of the Anita Borg Institute, since its inception two years ago. The chapter is focused on building a community of female technologists in New York City.
An avid traveler, Strain developed a passion for wildlife early on, having grown up with a father who loved wildlife.She loves to travel to places like Africa, including a recent trip to Botswana – “the more remote, the better,” she says. “I love the chance to be disconnected from the world and immerse myself in an experience that’s so different from my day-to-day life
Changing Industry Stereotypes Can Increase Women in STEM
Career Advice, Women in TechnologyPaint a picture it does. A quick glance reveals that women are represented half as much in STEM professions (25%) as they are in the workforce, while rarer yet in engineering and computer and mathematical sciences. From associates to doctorate, women are much less likely to convert their (relatively fewer) STEM degrees into a career in the field, where they’ll net unequal pay and less recognition. In fact, women are twice as likely to end up working in the lower-paying fields of education or healthcare with their STEM degree. Underneath this are the unconscious bias against female applicants and early ingraining of gender stereotypes.
Despite the frustrating gender dynamics at play for women in the STEM field, the biggest reason for the gender gap is too few are. Two recent studies recommend to get more women into the STEM door, widen the entrance: address narrow stereotypes about the field.
Gender, Science, and the “Brilliance” Factor
Recent research published in Science by Leslie and Cimpian found that in academia women are underrepresented in fields across science and humanities that value innate brilliance and morerepresented in those that value hard work and dedication.
Why? Because our culture still implicitly links raw, innate talent/genius/inborn ability/brilliance with men and not women.
As the Washington Post put it, “The difference between Sherlock Holmes and Hermione Granger may help explain why women don’t thrive as much as men in some fields of academia. One is brilliant by nature and the other has to work her butt off, and they represent the pervasive gender stereotypes of our age.“
Across 1,800 academics from 30 different disciplines, academia participants rated the importance of having “an innate gift or talent” or “a special aptitude that just can’t be taught” to succeed in their field versus the value of “motivation and sustained effort.” The study found the implicit emphasis put on brilliance as a success criteria predicted under-representation of women far better than other tested hypotheses. The findings extended to African-American representation, too.
The researchers clarified there’s no convincing evidence that men and women differ in capacity for brilliance, and the study can’t validate it’s actual importance in the field. “The argument is about the culture of the field,” Cimpian said. “In our current cultural climate, where women are stereotypically seen as less likely to possess these special intellectual gifts, emphasizing that those gifts are required for success is going to have a differential effect on men and women.”
Researcher Leslie shared, “Consider for example how difficult it is to think of even a single pop-culture portrayal of a woman who like Sherlock Holmes (& others)…displays that special spark of innate, unschooled genius.”
Field-specific success beliefs conspire with long-held gender stereotypes. “Any group that’s stereotyped to lack a trait that a field values is going to be underrepresented in that field,” Cimpian said.
While the gender stereotype around brilliance may be infuriating, the researchers recommend it’s the stereotype around the discipline that can easily change: downplay the importance of innate brilliance and reflect all excellence requires hard work.
“These findings suggest that academics who wish to increase the diversity of their fields should pay particular attention to the messages they send about what’s required for success,” said Leslie.
Culture Stereotypes & Computer Science
Dove-tailing the recommendation, a new research paper from Cheryan, Master, and Meltzoff asserts that to open the gates to computer science and engineering wider for women, diversify the gatekeeper stereotypes about the culture of these fields.
The article reports, “Computer science and engineering are stereotyped in modern American culture as male-oriented fields that involve social isolation, an intense focus on machinery, and inborn brilliance. These stereotypes are compatible with qualities that are typically more valued in men than women in American culture. As a result, when computer science and engineering stereotypes are salient, girls report less interest in these fields than their male peers.”
The authors acknowledge that many social constraints keep women from engineering and computer science. But they found that diversifying the way these fields are represented – the kind of people, the nature of the work, and values of the field – changes young women’s sense of interest and belonging in the field.
With no direct experience of the field, stereotypes and media representations are often what students have to go on, and they are tight and narrow. Picture a white, geeky, tech-focused, socially awkward but intellectually brilliant, pale-skinned guy with glasses who sleeps and eats science and works on his own. The researchers say cultural stereotypes like this “are perceived as incompatible with qualities that are valued in women, such as being feminine, people-oriented, and modest about one’s abilities.” Women don’t feel they belong to the culture.
The researchers argue that diversifying and broadening the stereotypes (rather than getting rid of them as they also positively draw people) attracts more women to computer science and engineering by enabling them to identify more with the fields, without deflecting male interest.
One opportunity to widen image is in media, which strongly impacts upon stereotypes. In one study women who read articles that computer science was breaking away from stereotypes were more interested in the field than those who read an article confirming them, whereas men’s interest was not affected.
A second opportunity to widen image is in more diverse exposure to the people in the field. In a previous study, Cheryan found that women’s interest was positively influenced when they interviewed a computer scientist who had non-stereotypical appearance (plain t-shirt) and preferences (eg enjoys socializing), regardless of their gender. In fact, the experience increased women’s sense they could succeed in the field compared to women who interviewed with the stereotype. Men’s sense they could succeed was not affected.
The researchers noted, “When the people in computer science depict themselves in a manner consistent with the stereotypes, it can convey to other students that one must fit the stereotypes to be successful in these fields.”
A third opportunity to widen image is around workenvironments, which reflect dominant cultural values. The researchers previously found that young women who were exposed to a room with non-stereotypical objects (nature posters vs. Star Trek, water bottles vs. soda cans, neutral books vs. science fiction books) were far more likely to express interest in pursuing computer science than those that visited a stereotypical room. This represents a sense of “ambient” belonging.
The researchers point out that while these sciences remain male-dominated cultures in which women do face obstacles, “A broader image that shows many different types of people and working environments in computer science and engineering actually represents a more realistic portrayal.” Diversifying representation of computer science helped increased female enrolment in certain universities.
Going beyond narrow cultural stereotypes in STEM widens the door to girls and women. And as more women dare to enter it, the culture will likely, if slowly, evolve too.
By Aimee Hansen
To Allow Women to be Leaders, We Need to Change the Culture
LeadershipRead more
Female CTOs: You Can Make a Difference
Career Advice, Guest ContributionFemale executives can leverage a data driven approach to make an impact in business
Sixty-three percent of IT leaders say their IT budget is increasing, according to the 2015 Society for Information Management (SIM) IT Trends Study. More than 1,000 senior IT leaders and CIOs responded, and based on the results, one trend is clear: IT budgets are growing not only in scale, but importance as well.
Imagine that a female executive leverages the company’s IT asset portfolio through data analytics to discover it can save millions by culling valueless applications. She has now played an instrumental role in bolstering the budget, and her strategy is rock solid because she has based it on numbers. In most cases, numbers do not lie. She has asserted her value to the organization and made a significant impact.
Women in technology leadership roles seem to understand IT’s impact on business. Gartner reported that in the fourth quarter of 2013, female CIOs expected to increase their IT budgets 2.5 percent in 2014, whereas male CIOs reported an average increase of 0.2 percent.
Awareness is especially critical now, as the business landscape shifts in terms of budgeting strategies. Just as a CEO would evaluate cost centers and money pits, eradicating those that don’t drive business value, CIOs need to evaluate their own operation and eliminate valueless IT assets. For example, while software represents 34 percent of enterprise technology spending, CIOs spend 55 percent of the applications budget on maintenance and support, according to Forrester Research’s most recent “State Of Enterprise Software And Emerging Trends” report.
Studies show, however, technology leaders are failing to cull wasteful applications, as leadership in other departments has a tendency to regard it as an intense and long-term effort. As a result, CIOs feel pressured to allocate talent to keep IT running rather than transform it.
But armed with numbers, a female executive could step in and make the case for more thorough asset portfolio analysis. After all, it does not matter who has the loudest voice in the room when millions of dollars are at stake. Money talks, regardless of gender.
Plus, executives who enter the data analytics fray are making a positive impact on operations in several ways. In 2011, Gartner predicted that by 2015, at least 50 percent of organizations would be “regularly assessing business value relative to application costs and risks as a part of the IT budget process.” This process would provide great value, revealing which applications were worth the expense, which they should phase out, and which IT assets would benefit from extra security precautions.
“Sadly,” Gartner writes in the latest report on the topic from 2014, “most organizations don’t have an application strategy, and, because APM (application portfolio management) is one of the poorest-scoring disciplines in our ITScore assessment, we can assume that most organizations don’t have APM, either.”
The risks that come with not having an application strategy could also spell trouble as cyber security concerns rise. Respondents to PwC’s 2015 Global Information Security Survey reported the total number of detected security incidents in 2014 exceeded 42.8 million, a 48 percent increase over 2013. Moreover, the survey found security-breach-related financial losses to be 34 percent higher than the year prior.
So this female executive would not only contribute to budget health, she would also play a role in facilitating more efficient processes and tighter cyber security.
Identifying applications and their associated business functions enterprise-wide reveal redundancies, as well as applications that do not justify the high overall costs. These valueless IT assets perpetuate the idea that IT is only “keeping the lights on,” consistently maintaining status quo projects rather than introducing new digital capabilities.
Forrester Research experts surveyed more than 3,700 IT leaders in late 2013, and respondents estimated that an average of 72 percent of the money in their budgets was being spent “keeping the lights on,” meaning supporting ongoing operations. Only 28 percent went toward spending on new projects. This is a recipe for business growth stagnation.
Identifying and removing valueless assets can help the entire organization achieve a more balanced split of innovation to maintenance. When female executives step up to the plate with a data driven approach, they can transform IT into a business driver that pushes the bottom line company-wide, and make a name for themselves in the process.
Guest Contributed by Lindsay Bather, Business Operations Manager, KillerIT
KillerIT, a division of Forsythe Technology, Inc., is a Gartner-recognized IT program and portfolio management (PPM) software suite that provides a data-driven roadmap to optimize IT and accelerate digital business. In 2014, Gartner named KillerIT both a “Cool Vendor in Program and Portfolio Management” and in the Visionaries Quadrant of its “Magic Quadrant for Integrated IT Portfolio Analysis Applications.”
Voice Of Experience: Mary McDowell, Global Technology Executive and Independent Board Director, Nokia
Voices of ExperienceMcDowell’s entire career has been in the technology industry, where she first grew her expertise in product management, then held division president positions at global companies. Over the years, she has been able to build a lasting legacy, which is the achievement she is most proud of today — creating enduring product franchises. As an example, she cites her experience with Compaq, which she joinedright out of school, as part of the team that developed the first Intel-based servers. It subsequently grew into a multi-billion dollar business that she ran, and though the company no longer exists, the product line lives on.
For the past two years McDowell has focused on corporate board work. Currently she is involved with a UK-based exhibition and media company called UBM and two tech companies that are carving out new space: Autodesk is revolutionizing how people design great stuff and Bazaarvoice is pioneering how the voice of the consumer is heard by brands.
“Over the course of my career, the chain of how you listen to the consumer to make effective product decisions fundamentally changed,” she says. “Earlier in my career we’d watch focus groups through one-way mirrors and get these little cards that people would fill out telling us how they liked our products, and we would go through and note the salient comments. Now there are millions of points of consumer data you can use to make decisions and the bigger issue is how you distill it down to what’s important.”
She notes that her career has taken her through exciting technological changes – she began as part of the PC and mobile revolution and now she is enmeshed in the next waves of the tech revolution, which will include 3D printing, martech and the “Internet of things.” “There’s a whole new wave of advances in process and it’s exciting to be part of it,” she says.
Negotiating for Success
McDowell has seen that women need to have the confidence to advocate for themselves. Recently she was meeting with a college senior whom she’s mentoring, who was relating an exciting and lucrative job offer she had received. However, not long after accepting it, she spoke with a male colleague who had received a similar offer and negotiated it even higher. The student’s remark that the offer had been so good she hadn’t even thought to negotiate resonated with McDowell, who shares a similar story. After a merger, the human resources department had come to her with a six-figure raise that she had immediately accepted, elated. But now, she muses, “How much money did I possibly leave on the table all those years?”
McDowell sees that this mindset can start early, citing the behavior she’s seen in trick or treaters. “In my neighborhood we get lots (over a thousand!) of kids on Halloween. I’ve noticed that the girls will accept the candy politely (even if it is something they really don’t like) while boys might ask if they can have more, or a different kind.”
Career Advice that Works – Whether You Are Just Starting Out or More Seasoned
Some of the first advice McDowell received was to get to the office before the boss does and stay until they’re gone. “That sage advice is actually disastrous when you work in tech,” she says. “It’s an environment where you could work constantly, unless you prioritize your time and your life. What you deliver and how you add value to an organization are far more valuable than hours on the clock. You have to focus on what really matters and let the small stuff go.”
But she also learned lots of valuable lessons along the way, including that you have to put yourself forward and accept some of the less structured opportunitess and challenges. “Being more open to risk is very salient for women. I was fortunate to work with some great guys who guided me that waiting for your good performance to get noticed for the big promotion doesn’t work. You have to raise your hand.
McDowell mentions that when she and her peers began their careers, they were just behind the first wave of women pioneers. “They were tough because they had fought to break through some very challenging environments,” she says. “I believe that’s where the stereotype of tough women comes from, butI see less and less of this. What I see now is lots more collaboration and engaging to help other women succeed. And all that stuff your mom said about being nice to people — it’s not a quid pro quo but it does lay the right foundation for your whole career.”
Outside the Office
McDowell is an active member of the Committee of 200 (C200), a professional women’s organization that attracts the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. She initially joined the group when she lived in London and continues her collaboration today in New York, specifically enjoying the networking and the work they do reaching out to women in university and mentoring entrepreneurs.
Her husband is CEO of the National Kidney Foundation and a transplant recipient himself so she also promotes the cause whenever she can. Her other well-rounded interests including travel, reading and singing in a choir.
Voice of Experience: Lori Fellela, Senior Director, TIAA-CREF
Voices of ExperienceFellela started her career — literally learning by doing — when at the New York Daily News, she was responsible for installing and configuring PC components. “Not only did I learn a lot about PCs, hardware and software, I also got a lot of insight into what not to do, since my manager did not hold back on providing pointed feedback,” she says.
After that, in a software development role at PepsiCo, Fellela worked with a talented management team. It was in this role that she realized software development was not the best fit — interacting with a keyboard all day drained her energy. She subsequently moved to a project management role, where she led an initiative to bring in the company’s first major database platform. She soon relocated to New England and signed on with Fidelity Investments.
Hired to provide production support for a niche piece of software, after six weeks Fellela concluded the role was not challenging enough. She walked into her manager’s office and told him the work required wasn’t a full-time job. Her manager offered her the role of managing the UNIX team – something that was outside of her general comfort zone.Recognizing her capabilities, attitude and expressed willingness to take on additional responsibility, her manager continued to offer her challenging opportunities to build her leadership skills. For example, when she learned that the firm had one year to replace an old piece of software, a project that no one else wanted to take on, she volunteered.
“That’s how you make a name for yourself, by doing something no one else wants to do. This approach has been a consistent theme for me, and something I credit for the trajectory of my career.”
The project ended up being highly successful, which cemented her importance to the team, a
cohesive group of four with whom she still stays in touch.
After 16 years at Fidelity, Fellela relocated to Charlotte to work for TIAA-CREF where she says she again has a wonderful manager who gives her plenty of leeway. “You have to show that you have confidence in your own decisions,” she says.
Technology at the Forefront
In her current role as executive infrastructure manager, Fellela has responsibility for end user technology for the firm. She is proud of the work she is doing and the team that she has built. “My bench of direct reports is very strong. They have had a huge, positive impact on how the employees of TIAA-CREF do their jobs, and ultimately service our clients.”
One aspect of the job that she is most excited about right now is the conversations that they are having about what the user experience needs to be. Concepts being discussed include how users leverage elements like social collaboration in the business place, and what physical devices they will want to use in the future. The goal is to drive flexibility in choice for the end users, while still maintaining best practices in security — which she acknowledges can be a dichotomy. “The common thread is around figuring out where our end users will want to be in a few years, and helping to get them there in a secure way.”
The Value of Networking
When TIAA-CREF wanted to launch a women’s council last year, Fellela again raised her hand to say “I’ll take it.” She came up with the out-of-the-box idea to host a “Food Truck Rodeo” event to provide information [and snacks] while getting volunteers to sign up for council activities – an event which received great reviews.
Fellela recommends that women take advantage of mentoring and networking programs not only by attending events such as the Rodeo, but also by volunteering to be part of the teams that make them happen. These opportunities offer employees the chance to raise their visibility because others can see you in action. This also helps one establish and expand on their firm-wide network. “I have made wonderful connections that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible without a reason to meet and work with these women outside of my day-to-day routine.”
She credits her current manager with helping her see the importance of developing a network. As a “master of relationships,” he gave her some wise advice: it’s important to know someone before you ask them for something or they ask you. She has since made it her mission to get out there and meet people and has seen a huge pay-off.
As a tool in the arsenal of networking, Fellela recommends people arm themselves with three questions to ask to start conversations; though she cautions that it shouldn’t be about what you need from them, but what you can do for them. However, she adds that it’s perfectly ok not to be an expert and for other people to know that. “I wish I’d had the self-confidence to ask people to explain things,” she recollects. “It’s important to learn to ask for information or help without concern for appearing weak.”
Family Ties
Outside the office, Fellela, a self-described gym enthusiast, says she loves to work out and is a weight lifting coach on the weekends. Her 22-year-old daughter has started enjoying it as well. “The whole coaching aspect is fun,” she says. “I work with a lot of women in the gym, providing technical coaching and encouragement, and I see how getting stronger really helps boost their confidence. They are all great — they just need to hear it.”
Her 26 year-old-son is a professional chef, and her daughter is finishing up her undergraduate degree in physical therapy and is planning to attend grad school. Her husband, an officer in the National Guard, is currently stationed in Kosovo.
Mover and Shaker: Maureen Erokwu, CEO, Vosmap
Movers and Shakers, People“We hear success stories about career journeys, but more people need to see what the process looks like and understand that it’s going to be hard. Sometimes we give up right before it all comes together, but you have to go through the ugly stage first and resist comparing yourself to those who have already been through those phases.”
This sage advice comes from someone who created her own thriving career by focusing on her skill sets and passions.
After graduating and beginning a career in business development, Erokwu decided to take a step back and mindfully determine what impact she was going to have in the world.
She focused on developing her interest in photography, which not only showed her the importance of passion but helped her meet people who opened up a new world – as they were inviting her places to capture a moment, she determined that she could parlay her passion into a career.
“I learned that in some ways, it doesn’t matter how good you are; it’s how you market yourself and tell your story, and that’s what determines if the world will know who you are.”
Having begun her career in Florida, she returned to the livelier pace of New York and landed a contract with Google. Most people consider Google a technology company, but she discovered that with Google Maps, there’s the element of life imagery which gave her the opportunity to combine photos and technology — two things she loves — into her current role creating imagery of businesses on Google and ensuring the photos meet technical standards.
Erokwu says her success has come from three simple steps: have a vision, build the team and then constantly test and pivot if you have to. “Don’t give up when it gets hard, but use those failures as learning opportunities,” she says. “It just means you are that much closer to getting it right.”
Appreciating the Chance to Mentor and Role Model
The professional achievement she is most proud of so far — being able to monetize something she loves – is also allowing her to fulfill another one of her goals. “I am finally getting to a place where I can share my story and inspire other women to explore career paths. It’s not just about me, it’s about the people that I can impact. That’s my high,” she says.
And it stems from her early experience not having the mentors she needed, which she now realizes made her journey more frustrating than it had to be. Although she always had great support from her family, it wasn’t the guidance she needed to run and build a business and therefore her success took longer. And that’s why she encourages people to seek out mentorship early on. “It helps you fast track,” she acknowledges.
Though she never had one particular role model, she worked to create her own. “If I read about someone in an industry article who had wisdom I could capture, I would make them a role model in my mind. I encourage people who don’t have a dedicated role model to keep their eyes open for qualities that are what you need,” Erokwu says, adding that she also greatly admires the foresight of Elon Musk and what he’s done with his brand.
Her desire to be a mentor also plays out in her daily work, which involves helping local businesses find marketing opportunities. “We’re not only mapping them, but we’re hosting events and giving them tools they can leverage online to really stand out and make their business successful.”
She encourages women to find support groups because she has seen that something incredible happens when women work together. “Sometimes when there are men in the room, women get silent, but when you find spaces with just women, you are going to be your best self.”
When women find spaces that validate them wholeheartedly, they can move to the next level. For Erokwu, those “communities of allies” included Digital Undivided and Lesbians In Tech.
Opening up the World
As an advisor for the group, she says it has been life-changing to share their mission and has also created opportunities for professional development, such as speaking on panels.
Although her work focuses on New York, the nature of it takes her to places worldwide, fulfilling her desire to travel.
“My love for photography has turned into a love of programming,” she says, adding that she taught herself how to code.
Tech’s Gender Gap Should Surprise No One
Career Advice, Women in TechnologyThe numbers weren’t assuring. While women made up 47% of the U.S. workforce in 2014, the seven big, publicly traded tech companies that The Verge tracked only averaged 29% female. Amazon had the highest share of women workers at 37%, while Microsoft came in with the lowest share of women workers at 24%.
The share of women in leadership roles was even more stark. On average, at the seven companies studied, only 18% of executives and senior managers were women. The company with the highest percentage of female leaders was Facebook, at 23%, while Microsoft had the lowest percentage at 13%.
These are embarrassing numbers (and just as embarrassing were the statistics on racial and ethnic diversity – on average, only 21% of leaders at these companies weren’t white). But they shouldn’t come as a surprise. Researchers have long identified the problems behind the lack of diversity in the technology industry.
What is surprising, though, is how clearly defined the solutions to these problems are. Women keep leaving the industry; we know why; we know how to fix it. Yet the gap persists. A recent report by Catalyst identified several concrete reasons high potential women in tech leave for greener pastures and what these companies can do about it.
The technology industry purports to create innovative solutions to the world’s toughest problems. Perhaps it’s time for industry leaders to shift their gaze toward their own ranks, and implement the solutions experts have crafted to solve one of tech’s toughest problems: the workforce gender gap.
Leaky Pipeline
Tech companies like to tout their work to develop the “pipeline” of women into the industry, sponsoring programs designed to get girls and young women interested in STEM fields. This work is important and laudable. But an early lack of interest in science and technology isn’t the only reason for the low rate of women leaders working now in the industry.
The diversity benchmarking and solutions organization Catalyst says high potential women actively seek to leave the industry. According to Catalyst, women who took business jobs in the tech industry after earning an MBA were more likely than men to leave for another industry (women, 53%; men, 31%). And women who started in business roles in other industries were less likely than men to migrate to the tech industry (women, 9%; men, 13%).
Male MBAs who left the tech industry were more likely than women to say they changed jobs for greater opportunities (men, 67%; women, 52%), while women MBAs were more likely to say the left for personal reasons (women, 21%; men, 12%).
“Organizations invest tremendous resources to attract high potentials, and if that talent walks out the door—for any reason—it is incredibly costly for the company. Not only has that talent taken their skills and training elsewhere, but new employees have to be recruited and trained,” writes report author Anna Beninger, director of research at Catalyst.
The attrition problems are well documented, and so are the reasons behind them. Catalyst says women regularly start in lower level positions in the tech industry than men after earning MBAs. That means they also start at lower salaries from day one, a pay gap that persists over time.
In the study, high potential women MBAs in tech said they faced unclear requirements for evaluation and advancement, while men said their goals were clear. High potential women MBAs in tech said they had fewer role models than men, and vastly fewer said they felt similar to their coworkers than men did.
“Feeling like an outsider relative to their coworkers affects their access to development opportunities, sponsorship, and ultimately their aspirations to the top,” Beninger writes.
“Given the dearth of women in tech-intensive industries, including those in business roles, it is crucial for senior-level men in tech-intensive industries to champion women, and in time, create more women role models.”
Clarifying evaluation and promotion requirements, paying employees fairly, ensuring workers are able to meet family responsibilities and still get their jobs done, building cultures that value people outside the majority, and having corporate leadership set the tone from the top on diversity — these are all things that can help stop the female and minority attrition from the tech industry.
In practice, these solutions will take hard work to achieve. Implementing new policies is easy — it’s changing people’s mindsets that is difficult. But it is possible and necessary. The tech industry needs the best minds out there to solve problems in an increasingly complex business environment. It won’t be able to attract and retain the top people until business leaders approach this problem earnestly. Their work is cut out for them.
By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)