During the early stages of her career as a CPA, Tara worked with only a few women – and just a handful of them were in leadership roles. Despite the lack of female mentors, or the chance to observe first-hand the inspirational success of a woman in a male dominated services profession, Tara did not feel that she was singled out from her colleagues in any meaningful way. In fact, at one point she found herself to be the only woman in a full-time position with a young child. During tax season when she occasionally brought her baby to the office on Sundays, she did so, knowing that it would not reflect poorly on her.
A key observation
Even without the presence of other supporting women in the workplace, Tara never saw gender as a focal point for her professional progress and although she clearly was in a very different situation than her male colleagues, she suffered no significant negative impact, and she did not experience feeling overlooked or left out at all.
Words of advice
Tara has strong words for women at the beginning of their careers. Her advice is true for both personal and professional growth: speak up. Find your voice and be your own cheerleader. Demonstrate your unique abilities and do not give in to the “Imposter Syndrome” by questioning your own worth and value. By the way, don’t wait for your efforts to be acknowledged by someone else. While men seem to be particularly adept at speaking up for themselves, typically women are much less comfortable when they are in this spot. They anticipate that the credit for their efforts will come from others – but that probably doesn’t happen vey often.
Be confident and be your own best advocate!
