As a white middle-aged woman, being a coach is the only time in my life where I have been among the majority demographic in my sector. At all other times, I've been in the minority
focusing on science and maths in my education
working in accountancy and technology consulting, and
running my own business
Having lived that life, and with the beauty of hindsight, there are certain things that either helped or would have helped make the journey easier. And that’s the focus of this blog.
What can help women build the life and career they want when they work in sectors where, as a woman, they are in the minority?
...and for me, that means women who choose to run their own businesses or who work in sectors that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM).
Ultimately,
My wish is for every woman to feel empowered
to truly embrace their uniqueness,
be their authentic selves at work, and
build the life and career they want
So what support do women working in the minority need to do that?
What are the areas where a bit of support would make that more simple, manageable and comfortable?
Well, I’m afraid I can’t resist a cheesy acronym, so here we go -
Work/Life Balance – finding ways to achieve that
Others – creating the relationships you need to succeed
Managing the bias, assumptions, and inequality
Enablers – developing the qualities you need to succeed
Navigating your career and life journey
...and here's a bit more detail for each with links to some of my other blogs to help you help yourself.
Work/Life Balance
Finding ways to balance all the competing priorities on your time and energy.
This comes up all the time in coaching and not just for Women in business and STEM!
How do we as humans, living in a hectic and full world achieve a happy balance and get the results we want in all areas of our lives?
Blogs
Others
Developing flexible and inclusive communication skills, that allow you to create the relationships you need to succeed.
Building a network, having influence and impact, developing authentic and inclusive leadership skills, understanding how to build and maintain high-performing teams, working well with difference, embracing diversity and being a role model.
Blogs
Managing the bias, challenges and assumptions
Providing support to help you understand people and find the inner strength, resilience and strategies to challenge inequality and bias when it rears its head and face the assumptions and challenges that arise from being a woman working as part of the minority.
Blogs
Enablers
Removing common blockers like perfectionism and imposter syndrome and developing the core qualities we all need to succeed like emotional intelligence and resilience.
I'll be covering each of the 10 components of Emotional Intelligence over the coming weeks with blogs on those blockers after that. If you want to make sure you see all of my future blogs, you can subscribe to my monthly round-up email here.
In the meantime, why not check out these blogs
Navigating your career
Helping you to take ownership of your career and make progress to where you want to be.
Understanding and playing to your values and strengths, owning and visibly demonstrating your value and capability. Finding and pursuing your path.
Blogs
So that's my selection of some of the things that I think can help.
They’ve obviously all been key for me as a woman in STEM, as that's how I've got the content for all those blogs :) I hope you find something in the mix that will help you help yourself and...I would say this wouldn't I...while self-help is helpful, working with a coach is a more efficient, effective, engaging, empowering and enjoyable way to make the changes you need for the life and career that you want.
If you'd like to