Sponsoring Other Women

When On the Basis of Sex was in theaters this year, Steve and I went to see it. I admittedly don’t know a lot about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s rise to the Supreme Court, so it was good background of her life. And not only that, but an education on how she moved the equal rights fight forward. I was so not educated on the case the movie was based on, and it wasn’t what I expected when you think of women’s rights. I’d definitely suggest the feel-good movie because it’ll make your proud of and grateful for women who came before you. And, if I can get superficial for a moment, I loved the costumes in the film, too. The ’70s weren’t always the most flattering clothes, but I fell in love with the way RGB and other women rocked dresses and skirts as power suits. I ordered this DVF dress from Rent the Runway not long after seeing the movie, and channeled my inner RGB for work.

But now, let’s get back to the point of this post.

I attended a women’s forum recently and the timing was perfect to get me thinking about ways to celebrate International Women’s Day. Keynote speaker Rita Sola Cook of Bank of America kicked off the forum talking about how women can surround themselves with the right people and lift up others. Of course being a mentor is one option to help advance women in the workforce, but more specifically, Rita touched on the sponsorship of other women. She shared actionable steps you and I can take to help ensure diversity in the workplace.

Maybe you’ve already been a sponsor for someone subconsciously, but hearing Rita bullet out how to do it gave me tangible ideas to take back to the office. I also sent the tips to Steve, my Dad and brother to remind them they can be allies for diversity and inclusion – especially in male dominated fields my dad and brother work in: steel and engineering.

Here were some of my favorite takeaways on how to be a sponsor of women in honor of International Women’s Day:
– Talk the woman up to executives both while she’s present and when she’s not. Building her up won’t make your light shine any less bright.
– Add women to your teams or recommend them for promotions.
Men are already more likely to raise their hand for a new challenge, so even if the woman you have in mind isn’t the traditional fit, identify transferable skills and encourage her to take a chance if you believe in her.
– Be transparent about your salaries to one another. This is especially important to ask male coworkers to do so women have knowledge about fair compensation at work.

I love International Women’s Day, but I can’t help but feel like it’s one day we celebrate each other and then we’re quieter for the rest of the year. Oftentimes, that’s because it’s easy for us (especially me, who works at a women owned business) to think we’re long past the RGB days. But, just the other day I saw a post in a professional Facebook group that I’m a part of that blew my mind. I read a woman’s recap of her job interview with a CEO – a man – who asked her if she had kids. When she answered truthfully, “two,” the CEO told her that he didn’t think he could hire her because she has two kids, and he sees how much work running a family is for his wife.

Thank goodness there are laws in place now that make that question illegal, but a potential consequence apparently doesn’t stop some men from taking advantage of their position of power. Hearing stories like that reminded me why we make noise on International Women’s Day, and can work together to sponsor each other year-round.