Stephanie: I am very big on collaboration, both with internal team members or other leaders throughout the organization. Myra: Key relationships that you can build both internally and externally are just critical to pushing your organization forward if you're trying to drive change. Becky: The tension that we experience is then the frontline manager who has the one headcount for a limited number of resources already on their team. How do they embrace a program or initiative like mine?
When you see potential for your company to improve in some way—whether it’s to overhaul an outdated policy, round out benefits, or to make jobs more workable, how can you instigate change? Three women who Amy B interviewed during Women at Work’s April 27 live virtual event saw that potential and carried it through, to programs and policies that are making a difference:
Myra Orndoff, a senior manager at Capital One, campaigned for the company to create more part-time tech jobs after she went part time herself as a way to stay in the workforce while raising four kids.
Stephanie LeBlanc, who leads Google’s global programming for women of color, launched and continues to refine an annual summit that’s become a focal point of the multinational’s DEI strategy because of the positive effects it’s had on retention and advancement.
Becky Guenther persuaded Rehmann, the financial services firm where she leads HR, to give its employees free maternity, eldercare, and mental health counseling.
What can we learn from their advocacy and persuasion skills? How are they tracking their programs’ impact on women’s health, representation, and job satisfaction—and what are the results so far? How can you follow their lead? They fill us in.
Resources:
Sign up for the Women at Work newsletter.
Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org