I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S BEEN MORE THAN
40 YEARS SINCE WE FIRST HEARD THAT FEMALE EMPOWERMENT WAR CRY?
IT'S TRUE.
IN THE PAST FOUR DECADES WE'VE COME A LONG WAY
BABY.
YET, WOMEN STILL FACE HURDLES TO SUCCEED IN THE
WORKPLACE AND THERE ARE THINGS THEY AND THEIR COMPANIES CAN DO
BETTER.
SO, SINCE SEPTEMBER IS FEMALE EMPOWERMENT MONTH, WE'VE
GOT TWO GREAT LADY PROFESSIONALS IN THE STUDIO TODAY.
BETTY THOMPSON AND TAMARA SUMMERS FROM
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON.
GOOD MORNING!
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
GOOD MORNING OLGA.
REMEMBER THAT SONG.
ABSOLUTELY.
GREAT SONG.
BETTY, LET ME START WITH YOU.
TELL OUR VIEWERS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON.
GREAT.
AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE.
IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC AND IT'S--
ABSOLUTELY.
--VERY NEAR AND DEAR TO OUR HEARTS.
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON IS A CONSULTING FIRM AND WE
ACTUALLY ARE CELEBRATING OUR 100TH ANNIVERSARY.
WOW!
CONGRATS.
THANK YOU.
AND WE ARE ACTUALLY THE COMPANY KNOWN FOR FOUNDING
THE PROFESSION OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTING.
AND WE WORK WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WE WORK WITH
MAJOR CORPORATIONS AND NON PROFITS AND HELP THEM WITH THEIR
TOUGHEST PROBLEMS.
WHETHER IT'S TECHNOLOGY OR ENGINEERING HOW
HOW THEY WANT TO ORGANIZE OR SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT.
WE'VE WORKED WITH THE RED CROSS BACK
IN THE 30'S.
THE NAVY DURING THE WAR EFFORT.
WE WORKED WITH THE NFL AS THEY WERE FORMING.
REALLY?!
ABSOLUTELY.
WE FEEL LIKE OUT 100 YEARS IS REALLY PART OF AMERICAN
HISTORY.
WE HAVE 23,000 EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE US AS WELL
AS ACROSS THE WORLD.
PRETTY BIG.
AND WE'RE JUST REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO
YOU ABOUT THE THINGS WE'RE DOING FOR WOMEN AT BOOZ ALLEN.
AND TAMARA, YOU ARE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER WOMAN.
YOU ALSO HAVE TWO CHILDREN, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT
IT, A TEENAGER AND A 4 YEAR OLD.
THAT'S RIGHT.
YOU'RE VERY BUSY.
TELL ME SOME OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS THAT YOU
FACE WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER.
ABSOLUTELY.
SO, THE FIRST MISCONCEPTION IS ACTUALLY A YEAR
INTO MY CAREER.
I WAS WORKING IN OUR RECRUITING SERVICES TEAM AN
OPPORTUNITY CAME TO ME TO JOIN THE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TEAM
WHERE I'VE BEEN FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS, AND I ALMOST DECLINED IT.
I ALMOST DECLINED IT BECAUSE-- WHY?
--BECAUSE I DIDN'T SEE MYSELF AS QUALIFIED FOR THE ROLE.
YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE FULLY PREPARED.
I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS FULLY PREPARED OR MET ALL OF THE JOB
DESCRIPTIONS.
SO, THAT WAS REALLY THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION
AGAIN, ONE YEAR INTO MY CAREER THAT I ALMOST DECLINED THIS
AMAZING OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS
QUALIFIED.
AND BETTY HAVE YOU HEARD THIS BEFORE?
ABSOLUTELY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NUMBER OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
WOMEN IN THE WORK PLACE AND TAMMY TOUCHED ON ONE.
THERE ARE STUDIES THAT SHOW MEN ONLY NEED
TO FEEL 20% QUALIFIED TO TAKE ON A NEW ROLE.
AND WOMEN?
WHERE ARE AS WOMEN 80%.
80%? TO FEEL THAT CONFIDENCE.
ABSOLUTELY.
OH MY GOSH.
WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE.
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I MEAN, YOU AND I WERE TALKING EARLIER ABOUT
YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE IN TACKLING THINGS.
AND I DIDN'T HAVE EXPERIENCE YET, I TOOK ON THE JOB.
EXACTLY.
SO, TAMARA LET'S GO BACK TO YOU.
TELL ME WHAT WAS THE CATALYST THAT HELPED YOU SEE THAT, YOU
KNOW, HEY I CAN DO THIS.
THAT'S NOT TRUE.
IT WAS ACTUALLY THROUGH MENTORING.
MENTORING, REACHING OUT TO MY NETWORK, YOU KNOW
CONSULTING WITH LEADERS LIKE BETTY AND OTHERS.
THAT REALLY HELPED ELIMINATE TO ME WHAT MY
BLIND SPOTS WERE AND REALLY GAVE ME THAT YOU KNOW, SENSE OF
CONFIDENCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU HAVE A
VOICE.
YOU NEED TO LEVERAGE YOUR POSITION OF INFLUENCE AMONGST
OTHERS SO IT WAS REALLY THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND SEEKING THAT
SORT OF GUIDANCE THAT REALLY HELPED FOR ME.
AND THAT'S GREAT THAT YOU HAD A MENTOR BECAUSE I DID TOO.
BETTY WHAT ARE SOME OTHER MISCONCEPTIONS THAT MAYBE WOMEN
FACE ALSO IN THE WORKPLACE?
YOU KNOW WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT WOMEN NOT ONLY WILL THEY
NOT SEE THEMSELVES AS QUALIFIED BUT THEY ALSO ARE VERY RELUCTANT
TO ASK FOR HELP.
WE DO IT ALL INSIDE OUR OWN HEAD AND TRY TO
FIGURE IT ALL OUT.
AND WE JUST DON'T ASK FOR THE HELP THAT
PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY EAGER TO PROVIDE FOR US.
THAT'S RIGHT.
THERE ALSO-- IT'S KIND OF A SIGN OF WEAKNESS.
EXACTLY.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
NO, I THINK YOU WANT TO INDEPENDENT,
YOU WANT TO MAKE AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SO MUCH THAT WE'RE DOING
ON OUR OWN ANY WAY SO THAT'S ONE OF THE MISCONCEPTIONS.
ANOTHER IS THAT WORKING HARD IS ENOUGH.
AND KEEP MY HEAD DOWN AND SOMEBODY IS GOING TO TAP ME ON
THE SHOULDER AND SAY YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB LET ME PROMOTE
YOU.
NETWORKING, MENTORING, CONNECTING WITH OTHERS THAT
VISIBILITY THAT YOU NEED IN THE ORGANIZATION TAKING THE TIME TO
MAKE YOURSELF KNOWN.
BECAUSE WOMEN THINK THEY ARE GOING TO
GET CREDIT FOR STUFF JUST BY DOING THE HARD WORK.
AND IT TAKES MORE THAN THAT.
IT DOES.
NOW, THESE ARE ALL CHALLENGES, NO DOUBT, FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE
AND YOU DON'T LEARN THEM OVER NIGHT.
LIFE CAN TEACH THEM TO YOU.
LET'S BE HONEST.
THAT'S RIGHT.
HOW WAS BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS THEM?
WELL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON DIVERSITY FOR MANY
YEARS, OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF INITIATIVES
BECAUSE WE ARE A PEOPLE BUSINESS AND ALL WE HAVE ARE THE PEOPLE
THAT COME IN AND WE NEED THEM TO BE THEIR ABSOLUTE BEST AND WE
NEED THERE TO BRING DYNAMIC AND DIVERSE THINKING AND THAT
REQUIRES A DIVERSE AND TALENTED WORKFORCE SO WE HAVE FOCUSED ON
DIVERSITY FOR AT LEAST THE LAST 20 YEARS AND IN THE LAST 5 YEARS
WE CREATED THE WOMEN'S AGENDA WHICH TAMMY IS THE LEAD FOR US
ON THAT.
AND IT FOCUSES ON ADDRESSING FOR WOMEN THESE
MISCONCEPTIONS AND HELPING THEM CONNECTING THEM WITH OTHER
LEADERS, FINDING MENTORS FOR THEM.
FINDING SPONSORS FOR THEM.
CREATING A SENSE OF CONFIDENCE IN THEM.
ONE OF THE OTHER MISCONCEPTIONS OR ACTUALLY
REALITY IS SOMETIMES WOMEN AREN'T HEARD IN A MEETING WHERE
THEY ARE THE ONLY WOMAN AND SO WE HELP THEM WITH GETTING THEIR
VOICE OUT THERE IN THE RIGHT WAY SO THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY BE
HEARD.
AND I'M GOING TO PIGGY BACK ON WHAT BETTY SAID, I READ
HERE THAT YOU ARE NOW THE PROGRAM MANAGER OF THE ENTIRE
WOMEN'S AGENDA INITIATIVE.
WHOO!
BIG JOB.
IT IS.
TELL ME ABOUT IT.
IT'S A FULFILLING JOB.
OUR WOMEN'S AGENDA REALLY FOCUSES ON
PROVIDING THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP WOMEN EXCEL, DEVELOP AND
ADVANCE IN THEIR CAREERS AND AS A PART OF THAT THERE'S A
COMPONENT SPECIFICALLY FOR WOMEN THAT ADDRESSES SOME OF THE
MISCONCEPTIONS AND PERCEPTIONS THAT WOMEN HAVE IN THEIR
CAREERS.
OUR WOMEN'S FORUM IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, OUR EMPLOYEE
RESOURCE GROUP THAT PROVIDES THE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR
WOMEN, EXPOSURE TO SENIOR LEADERS, AND WE KNOW AT BOOZE
ALLEN IT'S IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO SEE OTHER WOMEN LIKE THEM IN
THEIR CAREERS.
AND SO, WE HAVE THIS NOTION OF WOMEN LIKE ME.
AND IT'S REALLY FOR WOMEN TO BE ABLE TO LOOK UP TO ANOTHER WOMAN
AND REALLY LEARN FROM HER CAREER JOURNEY AND SEE, I HAVE
SOMETHING TO ASPIRE TO IN MY OWN CAREER.
SO, IT'S REALLY THAT INSPIRATION, YOU KNOW, MEN BEING
A PART OF OUR WOMEN'S AGENDA IS IMPORTANT.
MEN SERVING AS ADVOCATES, AS CHAMPIONS, AS
SPONSORS OF WOMEN.
QUICKLY IF WE MAY.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF COMMUNITY
SERVICE INITIATIVES BEING DONE, CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT?
ABSOLUTELY.
DURING OUR 100TH ANNIVERSARY WE HAVE A CENTENNIAL
CHALLENGE, WHICH IS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES AT THE AGGREGATE LEVEL
OF THE FIRM TO CONTRIBUTE A 100,000 HOURS OF COMMUNITY
SERVICE.
WOW.
AND WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY TO ACHIEVING THAT GOAL BECAUSE WE
ARE VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
VERY WELL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU.
GREAT HAVING YOU.
PLEASE COME BACK.
ABSOLUTELY.
AND NEXT TIME YOU DO, I'LL WEAR A RED DRESS WITH YOU.
THERE YOU GO.
THAT'S THE POWER COLOR.
(LAUGHS) GOOD LUCK TO YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND DON'T FORGET TO JOIN US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AND TO FIND
OUT ABOUT MORE BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, JUST GO TO OUR
WEBSITE, THAT'S THEBALANCINGACT.COM
AND REMEMBER I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR.
RIGHT?