Nominations are now open for Banker & Tradesman’s sixth annual Women of FIRE Awards, the newspaper’s yearly recognition of the outstanding achievements of women in the finance, insurance and real estate (hence FIRE) industries.
There have been many well-known Women of FIRE over the years, including Amy Tierce, Carol Bulman, Amy Mizner, Kathy Condon, Gilda Nogueira, Marty Jones and Cathy Minnerly. There have also been quite a few winners whose names may be less recognizable, but their contributions no less remarkable. Women like Karen Gill, “a behind-the-scenes financial mastermind” who keeps “millions of dollars running smoothly and efficiently to nonprofit developers.” Women like Ellen Tan, CEO of the Commonwealth Land Trust, who devoted 25 years of her career to the nonprofit and the people it helps. Women like Armenian immigrant Svetlana Javakhyan, a classically trained violist who began her second career in real estate after a neurological issue caused her to give up her first.
For many of these women, six years is but a moment in the span of their careers – no doubt they would urge a little patience and perspective – but in truth very little has changed for women in the workforce since the awards were launched.
A persistent and pervasive pay gap still exists – just ask Attorney General Maura Healey, whose office launched a website to call attention to the issue, equalpayma.com. Corporate boards and the C-suite are still predominantly male (and white). There exists an initiative, 2020 Women on Board, that aims to increase the number of women on corporate boards to 20 percent by the year 2020. This, despite the fact that according to the 2014 U.S. Census, women already outnumber men in both the country’s population and its workforce.
And many, many women, though they may be loath to admit it, are still afraid to speak about the challenges they have faced on their way up the ladder and the issues they still face as they struggle to stay there. A recent New York Times exploration of gender diversity in the advertising industry featured a number of very successful ad executives, many of whom refused to speak of years of discrimination in order to “protect relationships in the industry.”
Protecting relationships is important. So is reaching back for the women behind you as you climb; having a mentor of any gender is enormously helpful, but a mentor whose gender matches yours can make all the difference.
There are a lot of things that can – and should – be done to rectify the shameful lack of diversity in American corporations, particularly in its leadership positions. One of them is to shine a light on the work being done right now by outstanding women. When up-and-comers see someone like them celebrated, it inspires them to think they, too, can achieve those lofty heights.
If you know a woman deserving of recognition for her career achievements, nominate her today. The future female corporate leaders of America thank you.
