Thank you all. Um So I'm going to shift over a little bit and apologies for my background here in my room. I am planning my wedding and it's a little bit hectic. Um So uh hopefully, sorry, I'm just a little bit uncoordinated here.Can everyone still see the powerpoint? Hopefully? Ok, thank you all. Um for that. Ok, great. So the topic that I'm going to discuss today is um really centered around how female leaders can provide a supportive and encouraging environment for, for other women that are in male dominated industries.

So, first off, I'm Courtney Burkhart. I'm the vice president of Technology Services for the I May and Oceania region uh for Millennia, Wilhelmson. Um Millennia Wilhelmson is a traditional shipping and logistics company. So you can think about it as um a very male dominated industry even though we do have over 40% of women. But for hundreds of years, the primary culture has been very male dominated the prior organization I was with um I was in telecom uh similar situation. Um There was over 30% women in that organization, but um it has been primarily a male dominated industry for a very long time. So the purpose of today is I hope to share some of my experiences and where I feel like um uh some actions we can take as, as women leaders and some that I'm taking first off, I was um as I was preparing for this presentation, I had a discussion with a male colleague actually.

Um and when I was uh running through what I wanted to present, he asked me a very poignant question, which was this question I have up on the screen, which is, you know, really what can change the world more rapidly. And it was actually in context to this topic. So I wanted to kind of start with that question and we're going to revisit it after the end of the presentation. Uh because I feel like in some areas, we do have um made some real gains, but we still have um to take action. Uh And the way we are going to do that is through women leaders. Um And companies are very much at risk of losing the the leaders they need right now, which is, is women and that's even more prevalent in male dominated industries. So I want us to think about this. I don't have the right answer here. So feel free to give feedback in the chat, looking forward to seeing what, what all of you here, uh Think about that. Um So for me, um you know, what are we facing um mckenzie does, uh I know there's been a lot of statistics in this event about women and things like that. But mckenzie does this uh women in the workplace reports.

It is a very, let's say us centric reports, but there was some interesting findings. I have a couple of graphs here. I'm not gonna talk to these in detail. But um it does show while we ha that report showed that while we were making, um uh uh we were making positive impact in various industries, not just male dominated, there's still uh we need to make a pretty big shift if we want to um kind of equal, equal the the the playing field, uh especially in senior management roles.

And then when you look at male dominated, it's even more because more men promote men and then we still are trying falling behind um from a gender perspective. But a couple of things I wanted to point out that I found was very interesting, which was one of my f my first points of, of the previous slide was they found that during the pandemic um actually, women leaders outperformed men in the areas of uh empathy and supporting their team, which you see here.

Um And really cared about the well being of um their employees more than men did. Um And likely, you know, that is due to the strengths that we have inherently as women. Um And the strengths that um actually were not being recognized as much during the pandemic, which caused women to burn out at faster rates, not only from a work perspective, but also a personal life perspective. So I found that extremely interesting. Um And they weren't being recognized um really um consistently across various industries. So it's a very interesting report, but I think it really shows that actually the leaders we do need right now are, are women leaders. Um But uh and compared to not saying that men don't have empathy and things like that, but uh it really came out strong and that was something different that we had seen before in those um in those prior reports. Um You know, I also was doing some research because I wanted to see what other articles, what other studies and, and then what other statistics there were to see if um there was some common themes as to what I have experienced working in male dominated um cultures. Um And I found it very, very interesting that a lot of women have experienced very similar things that I have experienced. Um And there's been a very recent articles and uh around this uh as in 2021 2022 really talking about this topic.

So I, I kind of digged in a little bit deep on this and, you know, um trying to fit in. Um like we do sometimes is not gonna really address the issues. So what are the issues we're facing. Um And this is not a laundry list. I have say, I can say I've experienced all of these in, in, in my 22 companies in some ways. Um My current company I think is very, more um willing and open to talk about this. But um I think there's the negative beliefs on women's leadership abilities, um uh being too emotional, um being too motherly figure and or secretarial figure. Um And that's very, very prevalent in some male dominated industries and that causes a lot more stress on women. We have to feel like we prove ourselves. Um You also have the sexual harassment around it that's also higher in male dominated industries. Um And then the way that women have coped what they found with this is that even within university degrees. Um and I'll get into a little bit my experiences in all of this um shortly, but we find that, um you know, we tend to isolate ourselves from other women. Um And I'll, I'll explain my experience and, and why I think we do that and we should not be doing that.

Um And then I think that we also try to become one of the boys or try to become a man um and adjust ourselves um to be able to, to fit in. I think it's very natural. We're, we're human when we're the only one that's different. We really, we wanna fit in and that's, that's, that's normal. And I think that that's something that, um, we should stop doing. Uh, and I'll get into kind of the way my own epiphany with, with that, um, specific topic. And then of course, you have, um, you know, various levels of women that try to, that leave because of sexual harassment. And it's more prevalent rather than female dominant native organizations. So we have an issue here. Uh, um, and I think that in male dominated industries and culture, um there, there is a huge opportunity for job growth and I think the job growth will be uh with women entering in those industries. Um And that women can do a lot of the same, same roles um from that perspective, not only from the business side, but also, you know, sitting on the technology side. Um So being in technology which is very male dominated and then a male dominated workplace culture, um it does make it um pretty, pretty uh steep hill, we have to climb uh from that perspective. But um what was my experience? I really didn't want to get theoretical here.

I really wanted to kind of be uh vulnerable a little bit about my experiences with this topic. And I um I have some quotes here from some articles um from other women that really resonated with me and, and not only in, in it or, or technology, but in other industries um that are more male dominated. I think when I look back. Um, this photo of me right here. I was 24 and I was very happy as you can see, I finished um my degree in computer science. Um and, you know, this wasn't too, too long ago. Um, even though I am almost have full gray hair um at this moment. But, um, yeah, so I think that when you talk about the university level, it, what was when I reflected uh preparing for this presentation? I thought, you know, if I knew what I was gonna experience, um over the last 12 years, would I go through it again? And I think the answer to that question honestly is, I really don't know because when I was in my university um degree program, I was one of very few women. I was one of, I think one of the very few women that actually had blonde hair.

Um and I really had my male classmates and they, they had different interests than me, let's say. So it was really hard for me to fit in and, and find a way to, to bond and, and to find um camaraderie and to find a, you know, even a study group because I was, I was different. And then on top of that, the dean of my university, um really thought that I should go a different direction. So he was not even supporting me really entering in, into finishing an engineering degree. And when we talk about getting women into university degrees and they face that.

I think that that's a problem. Um, and it starts there and in order for us to change, that is to really put good women role models in front of these young women to encourage them. And I think that there's a lot of um sessions in this event that I talked about this, so I won't go into it. But it's really, um, I, I found out like there, my personality is I tend to be more direct and I tend to be, you know, I'm gonna prove you wrong. So that's what I did. And then I entered the workforce um which was very male dominated. I was back in the US at the time and um I experienced a lot um from having to prove myself and being interrupted, people talking over me, men just dismissing um any of any level of competence being told. Ok, this meeting is too technical for Courtney. Um And I was the only woman in that meeting. Um a lot of stuff happened, but I did have my first boss was a woman. Um And she had been working for 20 years and in, in male dominated world and industry and I really didn't know what I was facing very young in my career. And she really mentored me and she helped me deal with the politics. She helped me find my voice.

I had always been vocal. But when you have that type of impact in, in, in your workforce, you tend to kind of be quiet and you, then you tend to try to act like a guy and that's what I did. Um, I started adjusting myself. Um, I tried to dress more manly. Um, I have had, um, over the past many females that I've talked with, many women say that they just, um, they decided to stop wearing makeup just to try to fit in better. And I find that very sad. I never did that, but I did start to adjusting my looks sometimes. Um because for me, uh I tend to be more feminine and I like makeup. I like girly things. Um And then that's a form of self care for me. Um And so I really was trying to navigate this at a very young age. Um and it was very difficult um and very emotionally draining and I don't think men have the same experience and I think the turning point for me, I moved um to Sweden and I moved to Scandinavia and there's a lot of great things about being in Scandinavia. Um Part of that is, uh you know, the very egalitarian society and I started adjusting myself even more. Um my personality traits, I started being more quiet, less, less direct and things because I wanted to fit in also culturally.

And here is this whole thing about fitting in that I, I say so. Um Yeah, so I think that early, early in my thirties, I just said I, I'm changing too much uh from my core values and who I am. I, I gotta stop this. Um I gotta figure out how I can navigate this environment, navigate being a woman in tech. Um Also advancing my career with also respecting the different cultures. And that's when I really started to not accept the comments towards me that I started addressing a different narrative and saying that just because I may be more emotional or I may be more direct. Um Or I may be more feminine does not mean that I'm not competent. And that's why I really kind of just said I would rather be called um some other words, you know, by, by my male colleagues than um really not be myself. Uh And, and that's where I get to the point where we need to stop fitting in. So I've had a lot of experiences with this. I'm really interested to see what your experiences are if you've had similar or if you agree with what I've said or not said. Um But it's been, it's been difficult, at least my experiences, it's been difficult. However, we have an opportunity so moving forward.

Um Now that I have um gotten to, to the level that I, that I am as a woman and a woman in tech and a woman in, in a very traditional male dominated organization, I was talking with my male colleague, then I was about preparing for this presentation. And I said, you know, these are really kind of, I really want to get to some, some action items that people can really take. And this is what I'm doing. And I was kind of bouncing ideas off of him and he sat there and looked at me and he said, you know, Courtney, I don't even think about this and then I don't know, he's like, I don't think about this, you know, and what he was meaning by is like how women feel in the room or what women face.

And he realized that because things and he also said it applied to him because he tended to be more introverted personality doesn't speak up much. And he felt like, wow, these are things that I actually need to do to speak up. Um just as also a man. So we talk about women empowerment and we talk about what actions we can take. But for me, what I've learned is if I would not have had my first female boss being my mentor and really protecting me and, and grooming me and really talking to me about these things and the hard topics and really supporting me. I, I would not be where I am today. So for me, the women that are in my team, if I can get women in my team, um which I've been fortunate I have been able to do that is really taking them under your wing and mentoring them and ensuring your experiences what you've learned and making sure that they understand either what they face or um can start changing the narrative.

Because as we remember what I presented earlier is that women, women did perform better in metrics of uh empathy and the strengths that we have as just being women. And now we need to change that to not being made fun of for those things, but that's actually a strength and, and not accepting those comments anymore. It's extremely difficult. Um And it's extremely difficult to do with upper management if you have that and you're in a, a lower position in the organization. Uh The second is leading by example. Um I remember, you know, finding your voice and all of that, I feel like women leaders have a responsibility now to change and we need to stop competing with each other. I've had some experiences, you know, it can be cut throat when you have a few roles you're competing for them. Um And, and maybe they want a woman for the role. Um And, you know, that can get um quite political. So we need to also stop doing that because if one of us makes it, that creates the pipeline for everyone else and we need to stop fitting in.

Um and, and really be ourselves, if that means that you want to wear makeup or not wear makeup, it's up to you, but very simple example. Um but, you know, just stop trying to fit in because we're just acknowledging that behavior and really saying, you know, it's, it's not OK to make these comments. Um And really addressing, addressing it either privately or, or in um in a public forum if needed. And then for career development, um you know, have, if, when you, for me, what I'm doing is the women that are coming into my team, I am protecting them in the sense and helping them not navigate this environment when I see that there is behavior that's unacceptable. I can uh be that voice for them until they find their voice. Um And really um getting that career developed and what I mean by that is, you know, we, we can get women in but the hurdle is getting them to that next manager level and up and sometimes that's due to life changes, um having a child and things like that and we need to support women in those demands in their life and what's expected of them and make sure that the women um have the training and support, they need to then be able to uh be ready for that position and have an equal opportunity to, to actually get that position.

So these are the actions that I'm taking, interested to, to hear if you agree or think um there's any others that you feel or that you are doing yourself. Um very open to hear feedback on that. Um And, and really just want to inspire you. Um All just, just that we need to just be ourselves. And if we, if one of us can to one woman under our wing and get her to the next level, then I think that we will be able to get the answer to the question that I asked in the beginning of my presentation. And that was what actually can change the world more rapidly. Um And for me, uh if we do, if we really do this grassroots, one thing at a time, I think this is will be what actually changes the world. Because if we know that we, we have more diversity um in male dominated industries that there will be better performance all around better solutions uh for the world. And I think we actually will be able to make real change. Um That is quite uh a bit a large task we have and I feel like as women leaders, we are, we are responsible for creating that good work environment for women uh around the world to be able to enter these industries.

So we don't, so they don't have to experience the same things that um let's say I have experienced. So I have a couple minutes left and I hope that uh I'm gonna switch back to the Q and A now that I can't see it and see if there's any questions that anyone has so. Ok. Tech support. Ok, I see. My presentation wasn't, wasn't shared. Oh, I apologize for that. I um uh maybe I can share somehow with the moderators. Yes, I can. Um, let me see and let me stop, let me stop and then reshare this is weird. Ok. Now it's not even giving me the opportunity one second. Uh, I apologize for this. Let me do if I do my Yeah, I apologize for this. I'm not sure what's going on. It's probably my mistake actually. Um But for some reason, the window on the presentation is not even showing up anymore, but maybe I can hopefully, uh send the slides to the moderator, um or upload somewhere that uh people can get access to. Uh I really apologize for that. All right. And I think that uh at least you heard me. That is good. Uh uh So, um I apologize for that. So I will get this updated and then um hopefully share somehow, um my slides because there were some good points on there.

I see a question that says, do you think there's a certain critical mass of women that can be reached to change the pressure to? Yeah, I think that is very good, good question. And I don't have any statistics. My personal opinion is, I think in male dominated industry, we need to get to, to at least a 50% close to 50. But I think even before that what needs to happen is like the organization I am has over 40% women. Um And is that we need to actually start challenging the cultural norm, the seo the male, the male style and we need to, to start doing it 1 L at a time. Um uh At least that's my experience and that's what I'm doing. Um And just not accepting the behavior and then that's starting to change the dynamic And then like uh with my male colleagues, I say, don't, do you understand that as a woman, it's very hard to sit in these meetings like this and they don't even realize it. So I also think it's um kind of also having those dialogues. So really apologize for the slides. Um That's probably my error. I will see if I can get them out. Uh I'll reach out to the, the moderator so feel free to uh I have my linkedin um on, on linkedin. My uh my linkedin, please connect, looking forward to having more feedback and di and dialogue. I would really enjoy that. So, yes, a leader at a time. Yes.

Yes. Uh OK. So we have female university. They uh in job interviews. Yeah, I think it depends on, on, on uh that's a good question. I think it depends on how they've been treated unfairly, whether it's side comments. I mean, I going back to my university experience um with that dean, he thought just because of the way I looked. Um I shouldn't be a uh an engineer basically. Um And that's a problem that we have. Um And it depends on how it is. I think what's I would encourage that student. And when I've had these dialogues with students before is re I think before you go on an interview, really understanding what are your morals and values. And if someone makes a comment to just not say, I really don't accept that a comment or that comment does offend me. Is this what you really meant? Because this is how I am interpreting it a lot of the times. If you just say it something like that, then they realize, oh, that's not what I meant. Uh You know, this is, this is how I meant if they gave a position to a man versus a woman, um that, that's a little bit harder to prove. But I think that more, more importantly is to, to ask the question. I, I don't know if that really fully answered your question. Uh Sam, but um on what the unfair is. Yeah. Great God. Yes. Looking forward to very much talking to you about that. Yeah.

Yeah, this is a good one about the Scandinavia. Um I say from a society perspective, um Scandinavia is uh is more equal, let's say um by the law and everything like that and women leaders are um are more accepted. But when you work in, in, in traditional Scandinavian industries that have been very male dominated. You still have some of that boys club and I've experienced it in my career and then also being foreign that can also add a different layer to it. Um And just because there's a boys club, sometimes, you know, it is Scandinavia, you have women in that boys club, but there is that, that you you face. Um So there is still things we need to do. I think the the hot women are making advancements in Scandinavia, but there is still a lot of, a lot of room for improvement even here uh as compared to other, other areas of the world. So um I think that it uh applies, applies here as well. Yes. Good questions. Good questions. Seven. All right. Well, I think I'm over time um at this point, but if anyone has any more questions, uh please reach out to me on linkedin or on the chat here, I'll be online. Uh the rest of today, at least here just in between meetings. Um So feel free to reach out to me and give your thoughts and then I can see how I can uh ensure my slides are shared. So, thank you all. Thank you.