As women in a male dominated industry we face the challenge of overcoming the perception that our gender is a deficiency. Recognizing that this misconception not only comes from outside influences, but more commonly (and infuriatingly) from our own internal ‘Imposter Syndrome’ dialog, our leader, Thiru Thangarathinam, has devoted a considerable amount of time and resources to ensure that the women of MST Solutions see past the constraints of gender and embrace ourselves as powerful, smart and capable membersof the workforce.
Thiru has shared his connections with some incredibly confident and savvy women by arranging space for us to delve into their brilliant minds and learn from what has helped them overcome their perceived short-comings in today’s workplace. Our latest session was with none other than uber-witty, insanely intelligent, and wonderfully dynamic Secretary of State, Michele Reagan.
Talking with Michele was like taking a breath of fresh air. For someone in her position to not only want to devote an hour out of her crazy busy day, but to be so candid and relatable was truly inspiring. Michele shared with us her experience of being in a field where women fight for every ounce of respect they earn while men are respected, sometimes automatically, simply because they are men, and how she rose above this by adapting her mindset to have an understanding that there are different standards for men and women. She explained that this doesn’t have to result in a challenge, we can choose to use it to our advantage. She spoke about setting goals, and then vehemently protecting those goals by not swaying from the path you have taken the time to set out for yourself.
We all left our discussion with Michele feeling renewed and empowered to take on the challenge of changing how women are perceived in the workforce. Speaking for all the women of MST (don’t worry, they said I could!) we are so grateful to Michele for her wisdom.
Janelle Eberling
Salesforce Consultant
