Women’s History Month Series

CBL: Coming into the master’s program, I already had a pretty good grasp of some topics from a technical perspective, but HDO really rounded out the artistic and more wholistic elements, which brought the bigger picture together. HDO brings a practicality to situations and processes that many people find really challenging. Many struggle every day at work to figure out the “why’s” and “what’s” of their organization, whereas HDO teaches “why, what,” and just as important, the “how.” Other programs only teach one of those, maybe two, and some teach the philosophies behind them, but not all together and certainly not how to implement them with the knowledge and understanding that HDO provides. Who are your professional and/or personal female heroes? CBL: I have two; first, my Mom. With my Dad in the Navy, she really had to operate as a single parent much of the time. She also had this amazing career, and seeing her navigate being a great mother, wife and career-woman was powerful. It shaped my work-ethic and allowed me to have this really wonderful, rich life without constraints. Seeing my Mom do all that really showed me life is not about “either, or,” it’s about “and.” That power of “and” was really amazing, I never felt that I had to choose one thing over another. The second woman is someone named Sharon Brady, my second manager in my career. She made such an impression on me. I was a young, twenty-two year old manager, and she made time to sit down and coach me. Back then, the working world was very different for women to navigate and she was so ahead of her time in the way she thought about everything. I continue to aspire being like her in my every day life. What do you think is the biggest obstacle holding women back in the workplace? CBL: Honestly? Themselves! I think the narrative that women tell themselves things, mentally, so often that they don’t challenge it and believe it, eventually. They then miss out on subsequent opportunities. Oftentimes, they’re also not activating or making use of their seat at the table. Rewriting the narrative in their head, finding their voice and using it makes the biggest difference. I’ve been fortunate enough to always have had a board of directors hold the mirror up and force me to the best version of myself, and women need those types of networks. They also fall into a trap of thinking they are alone or have to go about their goals alone, and they don’t! Change that unsure, inner narrative, find your voice and use it! Considering the great strides women have made in the workplace, do you think women entering the workforce in 2022 face greater or fewer obstacles than in previous decades? CBL: I don’t know if it’s fewer or greater, but there’s an assumption that today it is all better. There’s this common practice of not challenging assumption and unconscious bias. Many people want to believe that we’ve solved the problems. While the numbers are better and on paper it looks like they have, the goals haven’t been reached yet. I talk about this with the executive teams Blank Page LLC works with all the time. They’re so concerned with getting women at the table and more diversity of backgrounds, but they often can’t answer what they’re doing with it once the seats are filled. While the problems and obstacles may be quieter, we still have to figure out how to make those voices heard. We still have to work hard to take the initiative to create that inclusion and make it a habit, and it isn’t a habit yet. There’s lots of good intention out there, but we need to work to create that habit.