Step Up

I've spent my 25 year career in male-dominated fields, and let me tell you: It's not easy. I was subject to bullying. I was ignored at meetings. My ideas were dismissed without reason. I was passed up for promotion countless times, while my less skilled male colleagues moved ahead. And, yes, the sexual harassment was unbearable. I wanted to give up so many times, and I almost did. What I've learned is that there is a way to break through. There are strategic and tactical ways you can work within the system and get ahead. Trust me. I did it. If you saw me, you'd understand why this was a freaking miracle. I'm less than 5 feet tall and (relatively) slim. Having olive skin and black curly hair didn't help. My Master's Degree in Political Science could have been a piece of toilet paper in the eyes of my engineering and trade finance banker colleagues. Yet, I found a way to step up and get noticed. I stepped up by volunteering for projects. I stepped up by working harder, longer and smarter than everyone else. I stepped up by refusing to sit in the back row against the wall when there was no room around the boardroom table. Instead, I pulled one of those back chairs up to the boardroom table and made room for myself. I stepped up by making sure that everyone I met in the business world knew me and was impressed by me. But the biggest lesson I learned is to step up by finding key strategies and tactics that helped me work within the system to get ahead. And now I want to share that with you. I want to throw down the gauntlet so that you too can succeed. I want to show you a number of strategies and tactics that you can use to get ahead in whatever male-dominated sector you work. Because I know you can.