Women In The Channel – A Challenge to Be Bold
Our final post in our Ingram Micro One session coverage focuses on a subject that is near and dear to me.
As a partner in a woman-owned, women-led company with over 50% of our team and 75% of our leadership being female, I have strong opinions on the success of women in the channel. I’ve been attending “women in the channel” networking sessions for five years now, while I enjoy the chocolates and the wine, what I really wanted to see like this year was progress.
Being a woman in the channel can suck. We all know it, and we’ve all tolerated the nonsense involved in it for a long time. It was the price of admission for working in a male-dominated industry, and I and other women dealt with it because quite simply, we had to. We took one for the team so our daughters could work in STEM.
Yet the reality of it, is fewer women are choosing STEM careers. Who knows why? Maybe it’s because the industry isn’t changing. Five years later we are still dealing with the same issues, and often we’re still talking about the exact same things.
The statement always made is “Women need to band together, support each other, believe in each other, and encourage each other!”
Yes. Great. We say that at every event we go to.
“Get a strong female mentor!”
We all nod our heads and agree, yes, good idea.
“Hire more women. Promote more women. Take younger women under your wing!”
We nod our heads even more aggressively, refill our wine glasses, exchange knowing looks. Yes, we should do this.
The men we work with aren’t changing – but the bigger problem is neither are we. I know men who are great champions of women in the channel, but they can’t do it for us. Women can’t be passive and expect progress. You want your daughters to consider STEM careers? Pave a bold, inspiring path for them.
This year I am happy to report that Ingram Micro nailed it. The session with Susan Brady focused on Linkage’s Women in Leadership Model. Six themes were discussed. Women were encouraged to be:
Aware.
Bold.
Clear.
Connected.
Inspiring.
Influential.
This mornings breakfast had no discussions on “is it hard to be a mother and a CEO?” Instead table discussions were held on sharing the “bold moves” we have made and how has that helped us move forward. The women at my table told tales of being “bold enough” to take their ideas on M&A to the CEO and getting put in charge of the M&A team because their ideas were inspiring and taking that leap of faith to forge a new career path while being pulled by others to “stay the course.”
We also talked about pausing your inner critic — that voice in your head that holds you back from being bold and assertive. This is a topic that my team would say that I struggle with. Our CEO made this statement to me yesterday: “Why are you the last one to know that you are good at something?” The comment came up after I was struggling with a blog post on securities after the general session yesterday. She was right. I AM always the last one to believe in myself. My biggest take away from the WIC breakfast is this – I am in control of my own destiny; and I am destined for greatness. In turn, therefore, our company is as well. Susan Brady said “what we think and feel drives what we do and say.” This is something that I need to remember so that I can continue to grow business through bold choices and strong ideas.
I am excited that each new year brings with it the opportunity to make the workplace just that much better for the other women who will choose to work in tech. We can make a difference. By the time our daughters enter the work force we might have this ship righted! This year, I encourage women in the channel to rally and start driving aggressive progress. Here are a few thoughts I’d like to leave with my fellow WICs:
- Let’s focus our attention on things that are important. I pay the women in my company the same salaries as the men. Are you working for companies that pay you appropriately, and if you are a female Founder or CEO, are you ensuring your hiring practices are fair and equitable?
- Let’s use our buying power to accelerate change. I’ve actively made the choice to not sponsor or attend events that allow or encourage any kind of sexist behavior. This can extend in to all areas of business – stop buying from companies that aren’t committed to equality. Is neutral an acceptable stance? That’s a personal decision. If all women with channel buying power start voting with their dollars, things will start changing a whole lot faster.