Many women have overcome barriers in their careers. As the younger generation enters the workforce, some women have not faced challenging obstacles in the workplace before. Nonetheless, they still want to understand how to deal with the situation when the time comes. I have interviewed several women who can help this generation figure out how to overcome some of these barriers in the workplace.
Our marketing team has prepared a segment that displays a couple of questions answered by several successful women in different industries to help the next generation understand how to overcome some of these obstacles in the workplace.
Our team interviewed The Green Home Coach, Marla Esser Cloos about some obstacles she may have faced during her career in the Trade Skills Industry.
Q: What has been the most significant barrier in your career?
Earning respect and trust of the opposite sex. Just listening to others who have been through engineering school or made it to at least the Vice President level or anything along those lines... can tell you that the most challenging part about the job is earning respect and trust from their male coworkers. It was hard-earned for a lot of people when they did finally receive the respect and gained the trust from their coworkers.
Q:How have you built confidence and/or resiliency over the course of your career?
Everyday. Some days I feel like a failure and then other days I feel confident. Recognizing that it is okay to fail is a very good trait to have. Sometimes you will have to fail to be able to overcome certain things. Eventually after you have been knocked down a couple of time you begin to build that resiliency. So to be able to build that confidence you have to go through certain failures to be able to get somethings.
Q:How can women support other women in their organizations?
Mentoring and coaching. Doing things together that are bonding experiences is HUGE! Communicating with others in a not-so-structured environment lets a person know that you are willing to listen and give feedback from a different perspective, and sometimes that is all it takes.
This month our team wants to take time some to celebrate Women's History Month by providing knowledge from successful women throughout different industries. These women may have experienced things in their careers that the other women may not know how to overcome.
