Women have been urged by the popular press to “lean into” their careers to break the glass ceiling; but, is this enough to advance the presence of women in leadership? The first part of this workshop will review gender barriers in corporate advancement, the progress of women in leadership roles, and the competitive advantage afforded by women leaders. The second part of the workshop will focus on individual strategies that women can use to climb the corporate ladder and a discussion of what organizations can do to attract, retain, and develop women.
Learning Objectives
Attendees should be able to:
- Describe the progress and current representation of women in corporate leadership roles.
- Review theoretical and popular lenses for understanding barriers to women’s advancement
- Explain the business case for advancing women in leadership.
- Identify and compare individual strategies women can use to grow into and succeed in higher level leadership positions.
- Select and apply organizational strategies for attracting, retaining and developing women leaders (e.g., sponsorship programs, cultural transformation).
Intended Audience
The workshop is intended for a general audience at a post-graduate level; no specific content knowledge is required.
Presenters
Elizabeth Boyd, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor and Research Director of the Women’s Leadership Center at Kennesaw State University. Her research interests include gender and the workplace, unconscious bias, work-life issues, statistics and measurement, and research design. Her recent work has explored the effectiveness of employee resource groups for women and how work-family conflict may impact the leaky-pipeline phenomenon. Her research has been published in Human Performance, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Business and Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Sex Roles, Self and Identity, and European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. She has been recognized by Kennesaw State University with an Outstanding Contribution Award for her accomplishments and dedication in support of diversity and making Kennesaw State University a more inclusive and welcoming environment. In addition, she frequently engages in consulting work with small and large organizations around diversity and work-life issues, as well as provides expert opinions on these issues within the media. Her work has been covered by a number of news outlets including Forbes, Fast Company, Parents Magazine and US News. Dr. Boyd received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University.
Susan Hitchcock is Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives at Turknett Leadership Group (TLG). She is the founder and current director of TLG’s popular Women in Leadership (WIL) seminar series. Susan is also involved in research, writing, and speaking on the subject of women and leadership. Before joining TLG, Susan had a 24-year career with BellSouth Corporation (now AT&T) where her roles spanned a broad range of line and staff functions including network operations, strategic planning, human factors, management assessment, technical training and executive support. At the executive level, Susan specialized in internal and external communications. She also provided succession planning and leadership development for over 35,000 Network employees across a nine state region. A strong advocate for women’s leadership, Susan has served on the following boards: Atlanta Women’s Network, Georgia Executive Women’s Network, Board of Director’s Network, and Possible Woman Foundation International. A special passion of Susan’s is her “SHEroes” project which includes over 50 profiles – life and career stories – about diverse women of achievement. A native of Franklin, Kentucky, Susan graduated with honor from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, with a B.A. in Psychology. She also completed the Executive Development Program at Boston University’s Leadership Institute.
Beatriz Rodriguez is the Chief Diversity Officer for The Home Depot, reporting directly to the EVP of U.S. Stores and Operations. In this role, she is responsible for developing enterprise-wide strategies and solutions that promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce, among vendors and suppliers, and within the community. Known for her out-of-the-box thinking, Beatriz is a key influencer among her peers and senior leaders in recruiting, retaining and developing the Company’s high performing workforce of more than 350,000 associates. The scope of her role also includes leading the supplier diversity strategy to ensure the identification and inclusion of diverse suppliers in the sourcing and procurement process. Beatriz received her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Puerto Rico. Later, she earned her MBA in Human Resources from Webster University and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Walden University.
Tracy L. Garner is Vice President of Internet and Entertainment Field Services at AT&T, where she is responsible for the field technician organization providing installation and maintenance of U-Verse, IPDSL and DIRECTV for the Southeast - Mountain Shores Region. Tracy began her career in 1983 working as an Outside Plant Engineer and over the last 33 years has held positions of increasing responsibility. Tracy serves as an Executive Advisor to the Atlanta Chapter and the National Chapter of the Women of AT&T and has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Women Who Inspire in AT&T. She has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award every year since 2011 and was recognized in 2012 with the Turknett Leadership Group Leadership Character Award. In 2015, she was named the Distinguished Alumna in Career Achievement from Stratford Academy. In 2016, she was named Woman of the Year in Technology for Large/Enterprise Businesses, presented by Women in Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys Georgia Tech sporting events, golf, snow skiing, the beach, and community service work. Prior to joining BellSouth/AT&T, Tracy attended Georgia Tech and graduated from Southern Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Engineering Technology.