Women in Technology and Leadership

When I told people where I would be working this summer, I got several warnings that my organization–big, old, traditional–would be an old boy’s club. It has nothing in common with a hip young company where you might expect to see innovative feminist practices sprout up. But what it does have are tons of women working in technical roles: as developers, architects, data modelers, and QA testers. Also, there’s a surprising amount of women represented in leadership roles within the IT department–program managers, directors, vice presidents (one of which is a Scripps alum!), group and senior vice presidents. It wasn’t just my team, in the more frequently lady-inclusive world of project management, where my manager and almost every member were women. There were smart ladies everywhere!

I’ve taken two key points from this unexpected environment.

1) The extremely varied but effective leadership styles of the women I saw in leadership are a toolbox I can use to develop my own.

2) Big organizations, as unhip as they are, can be more supportive and inclusive of women and marginalized populations than startups, because they are so deliberate.

Leadership styles: 

When I first started work, trailing behind my manager to many, many meetings, I was blown away by the authority and directness of the women leaders I saw. These women are fierce to question vagueness, to correct information, to redirect discussion, and to stake their claim. These are qualities I’m sure their male peers shared, but I was fascinated by the women. Part of this is just my subconscious, culturally constructed created view of femininity. But my appreciation was also based on my lived experience as a frustrated loudmouth in a sea of girls who seemed more polite, more attractive, but also so quiet! I don’t know whether it was debate, my hippie church, my feminist mama, or some genetic factor that made me stand out in middle school and high school as that girl in class. I was (and basically still am) a know it all, a chatterbox, a teacher’s pet, bossy, annoying, blunt….the list goes on. But in these meetings, unlike in class, it was considered helpful, appropriate, and impressive for everyone to speak decisively and directly on the subjects they owned.

Obviously, in most of these meetings, I wasn’t the subject matter expert, so I didn’t speak up. But when I do know something, and no one else shares it, I chime in. This didn’t happen from nowhere; I was imitating the behavior I saw from effective female leaders.

The universal factor I saw was authority, as I’ve mentioned before. But apart from that, I saw different women use a variety of styles and tactics to lead.

Empathy: This is an old stereotypical lady strength, but I’ve seen women who embody this value without losing their toughness. For example, our chief product owner frequently backs up her points by referencing the impact it would have on her reports, the product owners. Managers and officials who make a point to understand and be appreciative of their team’s effort are well-liked and well-respected.

Lean In: A Look Into Sheryl Sandberg’s Video Conference and Her Book

A few weeks ago, Scripps tuned in to Sheryl Sandberg’s video conference* to discuss her New York Times bestseller, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.  About 150 schools all over the world joined the discussion on Twitter, along with students from NorCal who had the privilege to see her in person.

Many students gathered in Balch Auditorium to watch the live feed to Sheryl Sandberg’s video conference.

Sheryl Sandberg is the current COO of Facebook and is considered to be one of the most successful women in the modern business world. Not only is she responsible for billions of dollars in assets, outside of work, she boasts a balanced family life and a loving relationship with her husband. She seems to be one of the very few professional women in the world who truly “has it all.”

A few months ago, 60 Minutes interviewed her about her prolific career at Google and Facebook, and on the advice she has for other aspiring professional women. Her answer is for women to “lean in.”

The entirety of the video conference revolved around this one concept of “leaning in,” the namesake of her book. She diagnoses the greatest issue plaguing women’s achievement is our tendency to “lean back” in life decisions. When it is time to make certain decisions that would greatly impact our career, we end up choosing the wrong paths for fears of what would happen in the future [Ex: My boss won’t like it if I don’t fit in…If I am more aggressive, will my coworkers stop liking me? What if I get married? What if I want to have kids? What if I am not good enough?].

She doesn’t discount these fears. In fact, she believes these fears are so perpetuated in society that there is nothing better we can do for ourselves instead to “lean in:” take risks, do what’s right for you, and do not apologize for taking charge of your ambition.

She believes so strongly in this fundamental concept that she launch a nonprofit organization designed for women to help others succeed in their professional endeavors. All around the world, there are now “circles” where women can discuss her book, host career workshops, and become mentors for one another. I was not a fan on how much time Sandberg allocated in conference talk to advertise students to expand this “circle network” to their college campuses. Despite my annoyance, she does have a point and her mission is a very very large undertaking for a single woman.

Although I have some reservations about Sandberg’s theory, overall, I think she is an excellent role model and I have a huge admiration for her and her work. I just purchased my copy of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead and am looking forward to join the Scripps’s book discussion on Friday, November 15th at 4pm at the Student Union, hosted by the Scripps College Economics Society.

What are your thoughts about Lean In and/or the live video conference? Comment below!

* Note: The video is of last April’s college video conference.

Post-mock, pre-real interview thoughts and reflections

First and foremost—a huge congratulations to everyone who submitted Fulbright and Watson applications last week! We did it—wahoo! On Friday, I had my mock-interview in preparation for the actual Fulbright interview this week. It was so helpful that I decided to share some general tips that I think can apply universally to any interview:

1) It is okay to pause. During interviews, I am so anxious to start talking that I immediately plunge into an answer. I sometimes end up missing the actual point of the question (not ideal) and a train-wreck of fragmented thoughts instead spills out. Silence in an interview feels terribly awkward, but actually pausing a moment to think about the question and mentally outline a response will help you immensely. It is perfectly, 100% acceptable to take a second (though it may seem like a painful eternity to you) to organize and collect your thoughts. Ultimately, you will sound more articulate, qualified, and confident because your reply will be well formulated and structured rather than a jumble of disjointed ideas.

2) Select, in advance, a list of five achievements/ experiences/ qualities that you definitely want to incorporate into the interview. For instance, personally significant moments in my life (that are relevant in a Fulbright context) include studying public health in India, working with AmeriCorps last summer, building community through spearheading various South Asian organizations on campus—and so on. By pre-preparing concrete cases that truly define me and speak to my interests, I can be presented with any question and be prepared with a solid answer. Entering the interview with five specific points to highlight, I will adapt them to a question and work to weave them into my response. The goal is that this will help eliminate any curve-balls and make it so that you are not scrambling for an example to draw on during the interview.

3) Don’t shy away from your own greatness. The hardest question in any interview for me is “We have many strong applicants—why should we choose you?” I feel wildly uncomfortable by questions that so directly shine the spotlight on me and my qualifications, and I know others share this unease as well. My friend recently had a mock interview at CP&R for medical school, and while describing her involvement on campus, she failed to mention that she serves in positions of leadership—including president—in many of the organizations. In emphasizing the important and meaningful work of the organizations, she unknowingly downplayed her role and minimized her own outstanding contributions. It has been extensively proven that women are socially conditioned from childhood to be modest and humble. The resulting hesitation to take ownership of our personal merit and success means that we are constantly devaluing our strengths and experiences. (Did you know that one of the reasons for the wage gap between women and men is that men will aggressively negotiate a salary while women are much more likely to accept an offer immediately without any discussion?) An interview is meant for you to market yourself, and while I’m not encouraging you to lavishly embellish every minor detail of your life, I think it is imperative that we actively work on being comfortable with self-promotion and proudly voicing our unique achievements and ambitions. Don’t short-change yourself.

Life After Scripps (happening NOW!) is offering various workshops that address this critical issue. Be sure to check out ‘Negotiating Skills’ on Tuesday and ‘Crafting Your Identity: Personal Branding and The Post-Scripps Transition’ on Wednesday for expert guidance and advice on how to effectively communicate your worth.

In reference to last week’s blog entry, my friends vetoed the black blazer and grey pants combination (Where would I be in life without them to dress me?). Here are some pictures featuring our interview outfits if you are searching for a little inspiration:

Not the most flattering of pictures (it was really early in the morning in our defense), but Emily and me in the Motley beforehand doing mock mock-interviews.

Bryn (another fellow blogger!) and me after our interviews at the lovely CP&R staff lunch. 

My friend Monica looking super trendy for her mock-interview on Friday as well. Yay!