In honor of Women’s Day I would like to recognize ARS. Since entering the ARS office, I had only spoken to women and I was surprised by the woman to man ratio (65% female and 35% male). Check Coming from a highly-malecentric corporate job – it was refreshing and it put my new job jitters at bay. While interviewing in the CEO’s office, I was surrounded by inspirational artwork and lots of family photos. The woman in the photos looked truly happy and so did her husband. Check As I sat with my to-be supervisor, she told me about the staff culture – lots of students, moms, and parents… we offer a flexible schedule [aka a real work-life-balance]…most importantly we work as a team. Check I couldn’t help but hear John Maxwell: “Teamwork makes the dream work!” After completing the interview, I accepted the job on the spot.
Overcoming Gender Expectation
It’s funny how my tell-tails with jobs have changed – rather, become informed, after 10+ years in the workforce. Let’s be honest, the likelihood of me not being a feminist and challenging status-quo was REAL slim. I was raised in a single-mother, female dominated household of Baby Boomers and Baby Boomers Echo. One memory I will never forget – coming home from a rather heated day with some male classmates. My mother, proceeded to tell me,
“Elizabeth, you live in a man’s world, you may not be able to change that – but you can refuse to accept their barriers and their constant BS.”
Knowing my mother – the “their” was not in reference to men, but to the societal confines and double-standards of gender. While pursuing my male-dominated degrees and working three jobs – I used her words to fuel my grit. I carried those words all the way through my first-gen – Summa Cum Laude, Double BA, Masters, and partial MBA.
I think over my work history and it’s crazy to me how sexist the workforce still is! I’ve worked in several industries – Private Household. Aquatics. Special Events. Hospitality. Higher Education. Athletics. Tech. Each industry has their own “corks”, but the underlying issue – our societal norms and each company’s “accepted company culture.”
Full Circle
Week 1 down at ARS, and I was invited to Coffee with the CEO. True confession, Lizzie didn’t do a ton of research prior to, and I was shocked when a man (Joe) sat across from me (that smiling woman – his wife!). During this Coffee date, I continued to be surprised. Joe took us to a local juice bar (that was allergen conscious), gave us a tour of the cafe (literally), let us order whatever we wanted, shared his personal story with us, and asked us to share whatever-we-would-like to help him get to know us. Over the course of the next few months, this culture did not go astray. ARS not only talks the talk – they walk the walk. Furthermore, we support charities like March of Dimes and the US Fund for UNICEF, which are some of the best charities for women and girls.
In honor of International Women’s Day, I would like to recognize ARS and Emma Watson for her forever ICONIC UN address!
UN History of International Women’s Day https://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/history.shtml
2014 Emma Watson YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk