Recently, sorting through a box of high school mementos, I found notes for my 12th grade debate: be it resolved that women earn the same as men.  

My 17-year-old self would never have guessed that almost 30 years later, my work and career would focus on creating a world where women have equal opportunities in the workplace. 

Finding that report reminded me of the advice I received from one of my first mentors: look for work that you’re passionate about, work for an organization that you are proud to be part of and with people you respect and can learn from. 

As a mentor, what would I say to that young woman? 

I would tell her that she was embarking on a journey that would be driven by her passion to make change in the world.

I would tell her to never be afraid to ask for help or for a new challenge.  That having the confidence to take risks would lead to career opportunities in government, consulting and nonprofit sectors. That she would grow stronger from facing her challenges head on.

I would tell her that the greatest satisfaction she’d experience in life and work would come from the times when she was true to herself and the things that mattered most to her at that very moment.    

And finally, I’d tell her that she would have the great fortune of building a support system of friends, family and mentors who would offer the encouragement and wise counsel that she needed to achieve her dreams.

Tags: business, Catalyst, challenge, confidence, equal opportunities, equity, gender, leaders, leadership, mentors, network, policy, women

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 8:30 am and is filed under Leadership, Mentoring. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.