A special place in HELL is reserved for you if…..
If you’re like me, you are usually reading the clever little sayings on the side of your Starbucks disposable cup through blurry eyes whilst trying to plan the busy day ahead of you. There was one that stood out for me a year and a half ago, which I still remember to this day. The cup said ‘there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.’ Yikes, I thought to myself, as if I don’t do enough things already that are sure to send me to hell!
Seriously, though, I find it so sad that we females have a reputation of being one woman for herself. And yet, it is understandable. As the proverbial ‘they’ say, a woman has to work twice as hard to prove herself in a lot of the workplaces she finds herself, and to achieve the same financial rewards as a man. And then when babies enter the picture, it becomes that much harder to compete in the workplace for those highly coveted power positions, which men handily secure with a cigar in one hand and a single malt scotch in the other. Ladies fight as hard as we can to climb the corporate ladder, sometimes at all costs, forsaking the poor other gals who happen to be in our path of career destruction. It is what it is (which is different that what will be will be). …. Or is it?
Above, I have painted the darker picture of being a woman. But, there is a silver lining to the dark cloud. The brighter picture is that there are several organizations out there that exist purely to offer a community based on the principles of support and empowerment. One such organization, which I have the pleasure of contributing to as a Board member is Wired Woman Society. This Canadian society’s mission is to create an open, nurturing, integrity-based environment that encourages women to explore opportunities in technology, science and new media and to build successful careers that will allow them to become a driving force in these growing sectors, and contribute to our great nations GNP. Programs and activities coordinated by Wired Woman support the three core goals of the society: networking, education and mentorship.
Like so many of these organizations, Wired Woman exists solely on the contributions of volunteers, women helping women (and not just because we don’t want to go to hell!). Personally, I’ve found the experience of being on a board to be incredibly valuable, not only for feeling that I am making a real difference, but also for garnering experience for a future push to belong to the Board of a public company one day. Volunteer Board positions make great resume fodder. But the most rewarding experience for me has actually been from the act of mentoring. I still feel like a young woman fresh out of university, but really I am in my thirties, deep into my business development career at a high performance software consulting and development company. And how did I get here? Through the mentoring of a few key, powerful people (thanks Gordon Divitt and Heather Black!) who took the time out of their busy days to care about my personal and professional growth. I woke up one day thinking it was time to give back, and give back I did. The mentorship program paired me with a delightful girl (ok, she’s only 6 years younger than me, but we’re still all girls after all!) from Poland. Her English skills were impeccable from years of living in the UK, and her academic record was spotless, so really her only challenge was to figure out how to make her own professional mark in her brand new place of residence – Canada. With a few pointers from yours truly, she was off to the races, and soon after had established a promising career with a software company that was willing to sponsor her, and she had even bought her very own bachelor condo by Stanley Park. She was an instant success, and furthermore, she goes around telling everyone it’s all because of me. This, of course, is totally silly since she earned every bit of her success through her own dedication and hard work. But she felt that without some good advice and a bit of cheerleading (my specialty) she would have been dead in the water, and thus she is incredibly thankful. And isn’t it nice to be appreciated once in a while? Our bosses and husbands and family and friends all appreciate us, of course, but sometimes they forget to take the time to tell us. That is the added bonus of mentoring – it’s easy as sin, and you get paid in accolades. It’s good stuff. Everyone should try it.
Finally, special credit goes to my employer, 2Paths Solutions, for the enthusiastic support of my involvement with Wired Woman. Sometimes there are activities that take me away from my day-to-day obligations at work, and my CEO Aaron Gladders has not only been supportive, he’s gone one step further. For the Wired Woman yearly retreat, he offered the use of our office, and even offered to make coffees for the gals. (and Yes, he’s married, so his intentions are pure!). Lots of companies support community involvement for their employees, and often will grant company time or resources towards a worthy cause. I would heartily encourage anyone in a company like that to take advantage of that opportunity. If your not sure about the company policy, ask about it (or recommend one be created!). Why? Because everybody wins when a volunteer is born.
For more information on Wired Woman Society, click here.
http://www.wiredwoman.com/mc/page.do?sitePageId=3196&orgId=wws
Tags: community, wired.women
