Speak up! Your Career — and Our World — Depend on It
As an ambitious woman, your time is precious — and limited. Between running from meeting to meeting, while managing impulsive bosses and cranky clients, it’s hard to imagine squeezing in anything else (like, a nap).
What if I told you that three specific skills will not only help you advance your career — but also make you a more engaged citizen? I bet you’re curious.
Prior to co-founding the All In Together Campaign (AIT), I had never worked in politics. I hadn’t interned on Capitol Hill or worked on a campaign. I was a vice president at the Center for Talent Innovation, a think tank that conducts research on minority groups’ barriers to professional advancement. I worked exclusively with Fortune 500 companies, building women’s leadership programs and advising the “corporate establishment” on how to create less homogenous workforces.
When I left to start AIT, all I had was a degree in politics and a belief that women’s voices in politics were crucial, but too quiet. But what I discovered shocked me. The political sector wasn’t any different from the corporate world — they were structurally mirrored!
First (and likely most obvious), women remain woefully underrepresented in leadership positions, making up a pathetic four percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and only 20 percent of the U.S. Congress.
In the private sector, as well as in politics, women walk a nearly impossible-to-navigate tightrope, fraught with contradiction when it comes to their executive presence. And, just as in the private sector, women’s voices are often missing from public life. One study on Vermont town halls, for example, found that women made up nearly half of the attendees — but less than a third of those who asked questions.
The good news? The same tactics that are most effective in the political sphere can also advance your career. Here are three valuable skills that can improve your professional life — and your community.
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