POV: You are looking through job descriptions and no position gives you the drive to apply. Sounds familiar? A high percentage of young women today cannot identify themselves with job offers for higher positions. That is because the descriptions are too often designed for male applicants. Unless we as women are confident enough to still apply, these leading positions will always be filled with mostly men. How do we change that? By making sure those women who already have a seat on the executive table, stand up and pave the way. Be champions and assure that you are not the only one or a lower percentage represented at what seems to be a boys club table. The future can only be female, if we claim our power and use it for change. The time has come, don’t you think?
Someone I recently had an inspiring conversation with, was encouraging exactly that. Emilie Rose has built a career for herself, being the marketing genius behind the beautiful adidas x Ivy Park campaigns; besides all the other job titles she represents. Everyone sees the result posted on social media or being shown on TV and selected stores, but did you ever think about the hard work that goes into it? Or who is behind the brilliant campaign concept? Not only has Emilie been working for Adidas for over a decade, she is the working force that connects the dots and delivers the finished campaign.
She talked to me about how – in order to be confident in what we do – we have to turn off that voice whether that’s our ego or insecurity speaking. We are smart enough, we often just don’t get a chance to prove it. Although Emilie has earned her seat at the boys club table, she is still either one of only a few women invited to the conversation or is oftentimes still missing out. Did that ever stop her from achieving her goals? No. Instead, she is encouraging others to own their female power. For Emilie, it matters to not only push change in that scenario, but to educate and motivate future female generations that want to step into any kind of business or corporate area. It is so important to use your voice and position to provide the right knowledge and advice for the successful women of tomorrow. Emilie has surely broken barriers in her own industry and has shown young girls out there that you can succeed as a woman, by working hard and demanding your seat at the table.
Women across all industries have spoken up about the importance of stepping up, to flip the hierarchy. When entertainer, author and YouTube sensation Lilly Singh started out, she was that low percentage that was barely represented on the platform. What she did with the power she claimed has changed minds and inspired girls all around the world. Lilly was criticized for speaking up about inequality in the digital space and for not being the “average woman”. She wanted to give a new and different perspective, but it was neither recognized nor applauded, as it should have been. She might have gotten her seat at the table and was eager to pave the way to help fix a misogynistic problem. But she slowly realized that fixing the seat does not fix the problem, because the table was never built for women like us in the first place. Our perception of success is a wobbly chair and a boys club table that is not the encouraging support system you might have hoped for. The solution? Fix the table. In her recent TED talk, Lilly explained what that could look like. A woman should not be just grateful to have a seat at the table, she should be paid to sit at a table she largely helped build.
It is about time to make space for female voices, offer them opportunities and let them lead you to the kind of success that will be above average. The future will absolutely be female, so it is extremely important to put in the work and unite our voices to push for change. And it’s because of women like Emilie Rose and Lilly Singh that we are moving in the right direction and making constant progress to turn that boys club gathering into a girls table. We sometimes think we’re too small to have an impact, but you never know who’s watching and learning from you. It could be the next Oprah Winfrey, Anna Wintour or Emma Grede. We need to pave the way and make sure our children and grandchildren not only have footprints to step into one day, but will have the power to create their own impactful path.
ROARA Magazine 