Elevate To Exec
The facts are clear and indisputable — on average, women make 77.5 cents for every dollar a man makes, and four in ten companies have no women in senior management. EvenFacebook — home to one of tech’s most famous women,Sheryl Sandberg — has no women on its board. Gen Y women are less likely to speak up in the workplace, and though many feel that they are underpaid, they ask for a raise less frequently than their male counterparts.
According to the results of a recent Women in Finance survey, more than half (52%) of women are dissatisfied with their career in one way or another; however less than a third of the women surveyed reported having a mentor or role model to support their careers.
By virtue of scarcity in numbers, women are missing out—and whether it manifests in the little things (finding your way to the ladies room) or the big things (finding your way to the boardroom), there are more stumbling blocks on the way to the top for women than for men.
Few know this lesson better than Caroline Ghosn, Co-Founder and CEO of The Levo League, the only technology start up dedicated to accelerating career development of young professional women
As women, “[w]e don’t structurally have access to traditional vertical mentors,” says Ghosn. “Many women at the top tiers of the business world are, for the most part, bereft of the traditional mentorship, networking, and lateral support opportunities available to men.”
Ghosn thinks she’s found the key to reducing that deficit: helping other career women. And so, armed with the spirit of “there’s plenty of room at the top,” and alongside Co-Founder Amanda Pouchot, the duo launched The Levo League in March 2012.
GoGirlFinance sat down with Caroline to get the scoop.
Levo League Offers Networking, Jobs for Young Women
There are plenty of places on the Web to network, job-hunt and look for career advice. Levo League’s pitch is that there aren’t many of those places that attract young professional women, and it wants to fix that.
If you’re creating a career platform for aspiring Gen-Y women, it’s smart to line up star businesswomen as angel investors. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Gilt Groupe’s Susan Lyne, and serial entrepreneur Gina Bianchini invested slivers of the $1.25 million that Levo League has raised to get off the ground, but so what that their stakes are tiny? The two young entrepreneurs behind the new site know how to ask for help and how to get attention as well.
Office Hours with Susan Lyne Recap
On other people:
- “Single biggest asset you will have through your careers are your peer relationships…People that I have started out with have come back into my life over the years.”
- “Long term career allies are your peers sitting next to you.”
- ‘Help your peers & make them feel you will pay this forward & they’ll be credited.”
- Lyne saved Jack from dying in the 1st ep of Lost “8 million American women were gonna turn the television off…you have to put yourself in the place of the viewer.”
- “I love one on one conversations…I like to understand what drives people. I’ve always been a critical reader.”
On getting started:
-“If I was starting I would prefer to be at a startup…They’re always understaffed. Understaffed organizations create opportunity.”
On being well rounded and true to yourself:
-“Your resume should only be one piece of what you bring…you’ve got to have self knowledge of what you’re really good at”
- “I would urge all of you to do is not to focus just on your experiences, but what you think you’re good at.”
On iPads: “People shop more on their iPads during the weekend.”
How getting fired can be a blessing:
- “What if this is an opportunity? What do I wanna do as opposed to reacting to offers?”
- “Being fired helped me to self-direct instead of react, and led to my first CEO job.”
- “Surviving being fired is one of the defining moments for me.”
On flexibility and finding a career:
-“The ability to make changes and start something new doesn’t end when your 30, you can do it when you’re 60.”
- “I found something that I was good at and that I loved doing. It sounds like a simple idea.”
- “I could move industry to industry. Bring the talents that were mine alone and make an impact there.”
- “What’s the white space there?
- “I found something I like and I’m going to jump.”
On being the boss:
-“Big difference between being a part of the leadership team and having the final say. You have to own the decision making.”
- You won’t always make the right decision but you need to stand by it so it gives people direction to move in.
- “Susan, I don’t buy a dog and bark for it.” Rupert Murdoch to Susan when she launched Premiere Magazine.
@reshmasaujani’s quote from @aw_bush & @raffisapire’s video, Get Moving, Young Grads!
