For me the Connection side is having the opportunity to come together as women, it’s what we’ve been doing for centuries. Talking and validating each of our experiences is very powerful, often just hearing another woman express that she sometimes feels the same way in different situations or often helps me find the humor in it! That’s often enough to keep me going.
The opportunity to connect on International Women’s Day gives us the space to rebalance as women in this way.
Time for reflection In the business world, in heavy industries, it is also a very powerful opportunity to see where we have come and more importantly where our blind spots are.
Blind Spots gives us the ability to work together, to reflect on what women bring to organizations. When I look back at my business in the early years, it was 100% female staff. This actually wasn’t good for the company because we lost key skill sets and perspectives that men bring to teams. Now my company has a 50/50 balance and it seems to work very well. I still have so much to learn as a leader, especially in communication! My focus for 2023!
I’m a firm believer that women and men can accomplish amazing things together, throughout my career there’s been a trade-off I’ve realized I’ve had to make. Time away from my kids to pursue a career.
In 2010 it all came to a head, I realized that for the small amount I was being paid, I was just taking that money and paying other people to “not raise” my kids before and after school. And when I was with them, I wasn’t present because I was so committed to my employers’ business that I kept taking phone calls and working late into the night to keep up.
As a business owner now, and as a mother of older children with more time on my hands, I want to be actively involved in shaping the role women play in business, in a complimentary way where pay is not directly tied to hours worked. Men and women think, act and communicate differently, this is not new information. The question is how we can shape fairness and attitudes about the contribution of time in companies in a complementary way to economic decision-making at both the business and societal levels for the greater good of our communities.
What inspired you to pursue a career in your field and what challenges have you faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry?
Shipping is pretty much all I’ve ever known, from carrying ladders for my dad and loading coolers into shipping containers, to walking on big ships and wharves. Functionally, I’m very secure.
The challenges have been wide and varied, but one of the most troubling challenges of 12 years in the business has recently baffled me. In early February last year, a Service Provider experienced operational issues on 4 back-to-back shipments, needless to say based on the service received, these issues needed to be improved.
How we improve, talk, discuss, listen to each other. This service provider unfortunately would not accept that improvements needed to be made and after a series of emails they advised that a social community was too small and they were talking to each other.
I expressed my concern and conveyed that as a woman I felt this was a threat. A threat to my reputation, a threat to my ability to continue my business, and a threat to my safety when and if I ever decide to return to this community.
I am a very large man in both physical structure and income, so psychologically I honestly don’t think these types of men understand the impact they can have on a woman. Unfortunately, 8 months later, although he denied being a threat at the time, he sent a man from that social community to one of our mutual customers to tell him to stop doing business with me. The poor customer was absolutely confused, as was I, it was over $1600 – of which I had already absorbed $800 for the customer.
The emails that followed from this man to the poor customer were nothing short of deplorable and extremely disturbing. The continued attack on my character over something so small was extremely disturbing and at times I will admit, disturbing. I am worried about how far this aggression towards me will go and when it will stop. Unfortunately, this service provider lost significant revenue due to their own behavior.
The lesson I learned……is that in trying to understand the behavior I had some amazing conversations with other male industry associates, both corporate and sole traders, warehouse operators and transport providers, all men.
I was given great support and understanding as to what might be motivating this behavior, but even better this experience enabled me to better communicate and resolve disputes with the amazing service providers we currently work with.
For me, this is the silver lining. We always improve by looking at blind spots and seeing how we can do better.
How do you use your platform as a female leader to advocate for women’s rights and gender equality?
I have to admit I fail here. I don’t do anything to advocate, I just hire the best person for the job at hand. The fee they receive is the purchase price. I ask for my empathy when there is a need for an employee to support their family, whether it’s one of our team members currently taking time off to nurse their sick mother or creating a maternity leave plan for one of the other members of your team who are about to start the Parenting journey recently.
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to become leaders in their respective fields?
Connect with women, get curious about the different communication styles between men and women. Practice or in my case learn to be assertive in a calm and direct manner when there is a communication style that makes you uncomfortable.
Find your supporters, log in, log in, log in! I have an amazing support network of incredible men who are generous with their knowledge and support in business and . I also have an amazing tribe of women both in business and in my personal life who champion me, listen and validate my feelings. So between the Network and the Tribe, I am privileged to have amazing support to stay curious and continue to improve as a person and in my chosen profession. Stay curious!
What is the best advice you have been given as a woman in your career?
Just keep going and that actually being a Woman is my superpower
We would greatly appreciate your contribution to our campaign. Just two questions (or more if you want) would be great.
I know International Women’s Day is this week, but I thought we might sneak in a few posts to celebrate you and other people we really admire. Once we receive your response, we’ll create a featured blog post on our website and share it on our social media channels.
