My #WomInspired Role Model by Lauren, Head of Coast Sales

Before I was a mother, I was a daughter. The daughter of an
extremely motivated and successful eye surgeon. She was my first exposure to
feminism and the drive for equality between men and women. She was one of the
first women to graduate from the University of Notre Dame, finished at the top
of her class in medical school, and even went back to school on the weekends
when I was in high school to get her MBA. She was constantly proving to me, and
to others, that women are just as capable as men of being intelligent and
successful in their careers. 

I felt proud of her when I was growing up, but I
also craved more from her as a mother. I can remember her telling the story of
her maternity leave to friends when I was younger…she went back to work after
two weeks (which is unfathomable to me now that I have two little girls of my
own). She missed school drop-off and pick-up and was not as involved in the
day-to-day as many of my friends’ mothers. The opportunity cost of being a
successful and fulfilled woman was less time focused on, arguably, her most
important role. 

As I’ve grown into an adult, I’ve had the opportunity to
develop a wonderful career working with extremely smart people at some of the
most forward-thinking companies in the world. I’ve also been blessed with two
little girls who look to me for the same guidance and reliability I longed for
when I was younger. There is an illusion of choice that exists in the corporate
world and I joined The Second Shift to help make that choice a reality. Women
should not have to sacrifice their careers entirely in order to be more present
as mothers. Similarly, they should not have to sacrifice motherhood to “get
ahead” in the workforce. I am dedicated to helping women find fulfillment and
success in both facets of their lives by working to shift traditional company
mindsets. When there’s a will, there’s a way.

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CFO Kemp’s #WomInspired Role Model

I spent most of my career in
Finance, specifically in Investment Banking and Financial Advisory.  As we
all know, female mentors and role models in the finance sector are not common
given that the vast majority of senior management in Finance are not in fact
female!  However, I have worked for some great women in my career. Randy
taught me how to fake a home cooked dinner for your future in-laws (bring your
own pots to your local Italian joint and get them to cook a meal in your pots –
warm it all up in your own kitchen – voila!).  Kim taught me how to handle
difficult situations with kindness and empathy.  Nancy taught me about
grace under pressure and never to apologize.   

However,
I want to address my inspiration for joining the Second Shift – mission driven
entrepreneurs.  I spent a number of years working with companies in
Education Technology – a sector where many brilliant entrepreneurs are building
businesses that make money AND improve the lives of millions of students and
families. 

Entrepreneurs
are building companies around the world that support women, students, food
availability, environmental initiatives, clean water, healthcare and many other
critical needs – it is truly inspirational. These businesses share a common
thread – passionate entrepreneurs with a vision of how to build a profitable
business by improving the world, and harnessing technology to achieve their
vision.  I wanted to have an opportunity to do something similar – work
hard, build a successful business, and make the world a better place.  Most
importantly, I want to be a role model for my own daughter and show her that
you can build a company where doing well is equally important as doing good.

Cheers!

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Meet Member Amanda Novakovic

One of the reasons we take the time to interview each incoming member
personally is that you never know the nugget of information you will find out
about that person. That’s exactly what happened with Second Shift member Amanda
Novakovic. We were deep in the painfully arduous process of becoming certified as a Women Business Enterprise when we spoke to Amanda and learned that her
expertise is sheparding companies through the process of certification. Oh the
happiness and relief we felt handing the entire job over to Amanda to project
manage! A few months later we got our certification and just like that we became officially recognized as a women-owned business.

Below Amanda shares her tips for being a successful project manager
and why Second Shift members should consider getting certified as a WBE.

You’ve worked in HR and Operations for companies like Target; how did you
shift your focus as a consultant to one specialized area?

It
takes planning and discipline to become a consultant. The key to my success in the
corporate world is exactly what helped me gain traction as a consultant. HR and
Operations for a company like Target was really all about Project Management,
and although I have helped many clients get certified as a Women Business
Enterprise (WBE), my specialty is really managing the details of a variety of
projects from the entertainment industry to the construction market.

What is WBE and why is it important?

One
of the areas I consult in is helping businesses to get certified as a WBE, a
Women Business Enterprise. This designation can be a great way to boost
business for a women-owned business that meets a defined set of requirements
set by the state or national certifying agency. Certification can open the door
to work with companies who have established diversity goals, as well as the
State and Federal Government. In many states, up to 30% of all project funding
must go to a certified WBE.

Can Second Shift
members/consultants get certified as WBE?

It is definitely possible! It is also
advantageous depending on their type of business and what their goals for their
business are. I have certified other consultants that have used the
certification for networking and access to jobs.

Why is it so incredibly difficult and complicated??? 

Getting
certified can be complex and that’s where the skills of a good project manager
come into play. There are so many facets to the certification that it is often
overwhelming for people to do on their own. It is a very tedious and detailed
process and can be considered very invasive to some people. That is why if you
are a new organization, it is best not to even begin the process until after
you have been in business for a year. However, I highly recommend starting a
certification application folder from day one because you will need some of
those documents. There has been so much fraud in the WBE space that the process
and application is extremely thorough to protect you and to ensure companies
that are not a true WBE do not get granted certification.

Here
are some tips for getting certified as a WBE:

  • Make sure you research the right certification for
    your business – not all certifications will be beneficial to every organization  
  • Partner with a previously certified firm, who has gone
    through the process to know what to expect
  • Take your time with your application – triple check it
    before submitting
  • Make sure you research any and all services you wish to be
    certified for fully –it’s much easier to select the correct ones up front than
    to change them after you are certified.
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Gina’s #Wominspired Role Model

After discovering stage fright before every class doesn’t lend it self to a teaching career, I found my way into advertising at Ogilvy & Mather. Somehow I talked my way into the role of assistant to the creative head of the agency.

I was completely out of my depth, overwhelmed by the amount of work, the pace and the expectations. There was no way I would survive. I was sure I would be fired once I was discovered to be an imposter. It was just a matter if time.

And then something amazing happened. I met CEO Charlotte Beers.

We were in an elevator. I knew she recognized me from my gatekeepers post outside my boss’s office, so I bravely introduced myself.

She smiled “How’s our boy doing? I know you’ll take good care of him and make sure he has what he needs to the get that work done. I’m counting on you.” And with that she got out.

In no more than 2 minutes Ms. Beers instilled a confidence in me that I never thought possible. She let me in on the secret. I could figure this out. I had to. The CEO was counting on me.

Since founding The Second Shift I have met Ms. Beers again. She remembers none of this, which I find this even more inspirational. I was not some special case that she stewarded thru the process, acting as my mentor. For her this was business as usual. When you are in a position of power you can affect change without knowing it.

You may even become a role model.

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Jenny’s #Wominspired Role Model

It seems kind of strange to attribute my choice of career to a fictional character, but the truth is, I choose to make a career in broadcast journalism based on Mary Richards the main character of the Mary Tyler Moore show. Though the show went off the air a few months before I was born, I discovered The Mary Tyler Moore Show late at night watching re-runs on Nick at Night and I developed such a girl crush that I modeled an entire career on the star!  I loved Mary’s independence, kind-heartedness, optimism, vibrant friendships, work ethic and fearless feminism. At the time I didn’t’ know much about the role that the show played in breaking many stereotypes about working women, I just loved her job and wanted to do what she was doing. Years later I would find myself in newsrooms in Durham, NC listening to a police scanner or in the Bronx covering local interest stories and think—look at me, I am Mary Richards!  

Mary Tyler Moore was a role model for my entire career journey; her recent death made me re-look at the influences in my own life and career and wonder who else has a story they want to share. With this in mind The Second Shift is launching a new series #wominspired and we are asking for our members to tell their own stories about individuals, fictional or real, who were a driving force in shaping their professional lives. We will continue  personal inspiration stories from Second Shift team members with weekly blog posts. Please post from your own social media accounts using #wominspired and we will share your stories on our blog as well.

Stayed tuned for Gina’s story next week and we are excited to hear from you!
Jenny

Image Via: The New York Times

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2017 Makers Conference

I was honored to be invited to the Makers
conference and left inspired and hopeful with the knowledge that the future is
definitely female. Despite all the optimism, there was an acknowledgment of where
we find ourselves as American women. 

  • We heard from Cecile Richards, the head of
    Planned Parenthood about
    what happens if the government defunds the organization leaving a $500 million
    gap that will leave thousands of women without reproductive health care. 
  • Joanne Barsh of McKinsey once again presented
    the findings from the McKinsey/Lean In study
    that showed the extraordinary gaps in pay, board seats and CEO titles between
    men and women.
  • Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg argued that until
    we have national paid parental leave women will never have the same opportunity
    for advancement as their male counterparts.

In a room full of some of the most powerful
women in technology, communication, entertainment and marketing, what was the
take-away? It could have been a huge downer, but I am buoyed by the opportunity
and the message that we each have to be the change we want to see. At The
Second Shift that means working everyday on behalf of our members and clients to
build the most robust and effective platform that disrupts the status quo. And
we are ready and we ARE the change we want to see.

#BEBOLD #MakeWorkWorkForYou

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The Legacy of Brenda Barnes

On January 17th when Brenda Barnes passed away it made headlines around the country. In the 1990s she when she was the head of Pepsi-Cola North America she famously left her job to spend time with her family. This decision made Barnes a polarizing figure in the “can women have it all” debate.  At the time she said “I hope people can look at my decision not as ‘women can’t do it’ but, ‘for 22 years Brenda gave her all and did a lot of great things.’ I don’t think there’s any man who doesn’t have the same struggle. Hopefully, one day corporate America can battle this.”

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Image Via The New York Times

Has corporate America changed in the past 20 years? Not much. In fact Catalyst recently released a study showing that a lack of flexible work arrangements is the number one challenge keeping women from work place advancement.

A lot has changed since 1997 when Barnes became a lightning rod for work life struggles:

  • The iPhone was invented
  • Cloud-based computing allowed for remote sharing of files
  • Google and Facebook were launched
  • Aeron chairs arrived. Then inflatable balls instead of desk chairs were in vogue. Now standing desks.
  • Social and digital media became a thing
  • LINKEDIN!

At the same time a lot has not. Women today only make up 47% of the workforce and 4% of CEOs. The corporate world is beginning to embrace the idea of flexible work, but there is a long way to go.

For seven years Barnes remained on the sidelines with her 3 young children. Like many of our Second Shift members, the demands of her job did not allow for any work/life balance. She returned to work full-time in 2004 as president of Sara Lee and then became CEO. In her story there is a lesson for businesses to think outside the box and realize, as Barnes said, “there’s a large pool of women who chose to leave the work force. But it doesn’t mean they lost their brains.”

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The  Second Shift hosted an intimate breakfast and panel discussion for our NY based members. Jenny and Gina spoke candidly with Ariane Goldman the founder of the HATCH maternity collection and Lisen Stromberg the author of Work, Pause, Thrive: How To Pause For Parenthood Without Killing Your Career. The important take aways:

-Have Confidence

-Don’t apologize for your life and career choices

-Don’t give up easily

-Understand the deck is stacked against you, but don’t let that stop you

-Have realistic expectations of what a non-traditional career path looks like

-Don’t look back, focus on the journey in front of you and making your mark in unchartered territory

What am amazing morning with so many inspiring women. Thank you Ariane and Lisen. This is the first of many events for our members. We will be coming to a city near you soon!

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We March Onward!

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Hello Second Shift Members!

Last Saturday Gina and Jenny and many of our Second Shift
team along with our friends, family and colleagues boarded a bus and headed to
D.C to join more than 1 million people taking part in Women’s Marches around
the world. It was one of the most exciting, invigorating, and emotional days in
our lives. Seeing women from all races, ages and political affiliations gather
together in solidarity was remarkable. While we are not a politically motivated
or partisan business, we are unequivocally activists for women’s rights; equality
and opportunity belong to everyone, regardless of party, age, gender, and
religion.  The Second Shift, by working
to keep women in the workforce, is tackling a small piece of a much larger
social issue.

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Here are some scary statistics that motivate us every day:

·      Nearly 50% of
the US workforce is women. 

·      70% of those
women are mothers with children under 18 years old.

·      The US is the
only industrialized nation in the world to not have guaranteed paid maternity
leave. 

·      Women currently
hold less than 5 of Fortune 500 CEO roles.

·      Women are the
main breadwinner in 4/10 families.

·      Women receive
more college and graduate degrees than men.

·      Women earn 80
cents to every dollar earned by men—a gender wage gap of 21%.

·      19 percent of
Fortune 500 board seats are currently held by women.

·       In the 50
states, the average cost for an infant in center-based care can be as high as $17,082
per year. 

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Women are making incredible strides entering the workforce,
but as they move along their career paths they do not receive the advancement
and fundamental support to remain and climb the ladder of achievement and
success. Whether it is glaring gender wage differences, lack of maternity leave
and exorbitant childcare costs, the lack of support by corporations and the
government is driving women from the traditional work place. The good
news—technology has made it easy to work from anywhere at anytime and companies
like ours are here to provide opportunities so women do not have to make a
choice of “in or out.” Until then, we march!

For more photos of our day at the #WomensMarch, check us out on Instagram @TheSecond_Shift.

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