Q: What does celebrating Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: Celebrating my gratitude for generations of women who have come before me. The women who bravely stood up for equality for women in the face of harassment and threats. I celebrate that I get to pursue happiness in my family life and my professional career.
Q: Have you experienced any barriers (personal or professional) and how did you overcome them?
A: After having my second child and returning to work, I felt a tension that I hadn’t experienced after my first maternity leave. I was enthusiastic to return and willing to take on the world after staying home for nearly 3 months with my newborn. My colleagues were sensitive to the life adjustment that I had been through and were more cautious in giving me the chance to “take on the world”. That was difficult internally for me to process.
While I understand and appreciated their concern for not giving me too much right away, I felt like I wasn’t given the opportunity to give my input. By having candid conversations with my leaders and colleagues, we were able to have healthy dialog to include me in decisions related to workload instead of assumptions related to my life changes affecting decisions related to my opportunities at work.
Q: How can we work towards striving for a more equal workplace and breaking workplace gender biases?
A: Women should be empowering other women and encouraging them in the choices they make. Some women choose to stay home and raise their children. That’s amazing. Some women choose to work outside the home after having children. I made that choice, and I am not ashamed of my chosen path to be a working mom. My thoughts are to give individuals the space and encouragement to use their voices to have open, honest, and transparent conversations without the fear of backlash. That is one of the things I love most about Jabian. I can speak authentically without fear.
Q: Do you have any influential women you look up to? Why are you inspired by them?
A: I look up to my mother. She had a super successful career with a major telecommunications company for 28 years. She modeled what it was like to be a leader in the workplace, as well as a loving mother in the home. She worked full-time, and still managed to be my brothers’ Cub Scout leader, my Girl Scout Troop Leader, and helped me with my homework whenever I asked. She is one of the women who stood up and fought for women’s rights in the 70s. She knew what it was like to be a working mom and has helped me adapt to motherhood while being a lady boss. So grateful for my mom.