Women are now leaving the workforce at four times the rate of men. What needs to be done to alleviate this?
The first step is understanding and empathizing with the reasons women are leaving the workforce, then addressing them. Companies can start by offering quality, affordable child-care and giving women permission to work flexibly in ways best-suited for them and their need for work-life integration.
Who was your mentor and what are you now doing to send the elevator back down?
More than two decades ago, I met my mentor at an agency and followed her to Publicis. She guided my personal and professional development and taught me: “80% of the time an employee rises to the occasion — they just need the occasion.” I’ve taken that to heart and I’m passionate about providing emerging talent occasions to shine.
What is your golden rule at work?
I’ve always been an optimist, but 2020 put my sunny disposition to the test. In my holiday note to the agency, I shared that my family highlights a silver lining each night before bed. At work and home, my golden rule is to find a silver lining every day, and on the days when you can’t find one, to create one — however small.
How have you coped with the unique challenges of the past 12 months?
The best coping mechanism has been spending more time with my family — they are the most significant silver lining of the past 12 months.
At the agency, we also instituted an internal “respect the purple” initiative, which encourages employees to regularly block “out of the office” time for themselves on their Outlook calendars; this shows up as a purple block of time.
What are the first things you plan to do when the pandemic ends?
I became president of Razorfish Health at the pandemic’s peak, and I’m looking forward to meeting colleagues I’ve only seen on Zoom and “elbow bumping” with others I haven’t seen in ages. And while I never thought I’d say I miss O’Hare, I do miss traveling and can’t wait to take my family to visit places the kids have only seen on Netflix.
From the August 01, 2021 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
