3 Surprising Tips for Women Navigating the Corporate World
Of all the hot topics in corporate out there today, ‘Women in STEM,’ and the ‘gender pay gap’ are among the top 2 I’d say (give or take). As a woman who entered corporate in 2014 and has lived there since, I’d say I have some authority to share my 2 cents on how to navigate this ever-changing space.
Now let’s allow that part to marinate, shall we?
An ‘ever changing space.’
Now, more than ever, we are seeing rapid change in not only corporate culture, but diversity and inclusion too (sure there is more work to be done, but you didn’t come here to read about that). So it’s here I’ll lead you with my first and most important piece of advice:
1. Don’t dwell on the past.
‘But Martha it’s my first day. What past?’
The past I’m referring to is the collective past. The past that the media tells you about. The past that women before you lived (and suffered) through. The quickest, and biggest disservice you can do to yourself is start this journey with a clouded mind filled with low expectations and a wall up in the name of ‘history’. When in fact that history is changing so quickly, you’ll be treating yourself like a minority more than anyone if you get stuck in this perspective! Instead, focus on the present. If you’ve been hired for a role, well, YOU were hired for the role. So step into that role with all that you got, like it was made for you. Looking ahead to the future.
2. Don’t underestimate your capacity to affect change
I’m not going to kid you here, of course you are not the only one exposed to this history. There will be people in your work environment that haven’t been outside the past 10 years, so you may encounter a comment, email (or letter sent by owl) that takes you straight back into the past with this colleague. Instead of travelling back in time with them you can invite them to come back and join in the conversation. Like speaking to a family member. Be open and share your insights with them. This is how we move forward as a community. By teaching each other, sharing our experiences and being vulnerable. If you are a female entering a male dominated environment, you will affect change. Whether directly through conversations, or by simply applying for the role and existing in that environment. You are immediately skewing the numbers by taking that seat. Pretty cool, right?
3. Being a unicorn in the room can be a huge advantage
Embrace this opportunity of being noticed. It’s not going to last for long (refer to ‘ever changing space). The hard work you put in will not go unnoticed. Sometimes the biggest challenge in corporate can be trying not to get drowned out by all the people and the work being produced. What if instead you focused on continually growing, getting better and producing quality work? Seek feedback, and get better. Ask for mentorship from seniors who you respect. There are plenty of things you can be doing to feed your mind with excitement and growth, instead of hiding in a corner out of fear of being noticed. Soon you’ll be noticed for your hard work and realise no one was seeing a unicorn, but you.
I’m not here to tell you that there will not be challenges, because there will be. I experienced this for myself on a daily basis. There were days I went home crying because I felt so out of place. I felt so out of place. The biggest challenge wasn’t being a woman in corporate, or being a minority. The biggest challenge was in my own mind. The limitations I placed on myself because of my perception of myself and others. When I anchored myself back to these three pieces of advice, it was through that effort of looking at things differently that I had the best interactions, the most growth and the confidence to seek out opportunities that led me to promotions, higher pay, and better overall well being in the workplace.
Now this may seem dramatic, but I’ll leave you with a quote from Holocaust survivor, Edith Eager (just for an extra dose of perspective) “no one can take away from you what you’ve put in your mind.”
