After 25 years in the direct selling business, Mary Kay Ash resigned her position as a national training director when yet another man she had trained was promoted above her – at twice her salary. Her response was visionary. At first, she started writing a book that would help women gain the opportunities she had been denied. But soon she realized she was creating a plan that would do much more than give advice. It formed the foundation for a new opportunity where women could develop their talents and achieve unlimited success. At the time of Mary Kay's death in 2001, Mary Kay Cosmetics was represented in 37 countries, with the annual sales of over $2 billion.
Success Stories of female entrepreneurs like the story of Mary Kay Ash are rare. Although women won ground in a lot of business sectors, in the top management positions they are still rare to find. There is a bunch of possible reasons for that. One reason was revealed by the McKinsey study "Women Matter" (2008). The research team found that 64% of women in the US see the absence of female role models as a barrier to their career development. But would an increase in numbers of female role models really make a difference?
In the high-tech sector, where women are in all levels of the hierarchy significantly underrepresented, mentoring programs for women have proven already first results. For example the Distributed Mentoring Program by the University of British Columbia matches undergraduate technical women with female mentors during one summer research experience. During these months the female students not only learn the "hard skills" from their mentors, but they also experience what the reality of women researchers looks like and how they can assert themselves in challenging situations. The measurement of effectiveness of this mentoring program shows that fifty percent of mentored women go on to graduate school compared to about three percent of all women who earn undergraduate degrees in computer science. In other words, the presence of female role models increases the number of women in technical fields.
Similar effects are found as the result of a Canadian program for teenage girls. At the University of Ottawa, the School of Psychology is exploring the benefits of the availability of all-female high school Computer Science courses. This initiative shows that computer classes lead by female teachers and full-female classes raise the participation of girls from 10% to 40%. The results suggest that these all-female classes have a positive influence on attracting women and maintaining them in technical fields.
For a little career booster, look around at women you admire. Whether someone in your family, a colleague, a sports star, activist, public speaker, learn all you can about this person. You may be able to talk with her directly, or read her biography. How did she get to where she is at now? What mistakes did she make along the way? How can you use her advice or actions in your own life? How can you avoid the pitfalls she encountered? Keep your eyes open and find your role model.
