Greetings AvPORTS!
The advancement and empowerment of women in the workplace is personal. I was raised by a single mother who showed me the struggles women encounter on a daily basis. Growing up in Mexico, she fought the explicit gender biases – women there were expected to either be caretakers of children and/or the household. She rebelled against the societal norms of that time by enrolling in college and becoming a dentist. She eventually migrated to the US where she went back to college to get additional credit to validate her dentistry degree and became the second Hispanic person in Florida to pass the Board of Dentistry Exam and the only Hispanic dentist in Miami at that time. Despite her accomplishments and certifications, people refused to believe she was a dentist – not a dental assistant or an office aide – all because she was Hispanic and a woman. Her pertinacity is admirable and as a trailblazer, she not only raised me as a single mother, but also had to endure hardship when she lost her dental office in an earthquake and rebuilt our lives from scratch. She made sacrifices so I could have a good education and more opportunities. She taught me to be resilient in the face of adversity.
Throughout my life, I have worked for the advancement and empowerment of women and minorities. I recognize today we talk a lot about diversity, but much less about inclusion, where people are listened to and feel their contributions are valued. With inclusivity in mind, my executive team and I supported our VP of Human Resources Kimberly Maddox to create the first female affinity group at AvPORTS, so women’s voices at our company can amplify their voices to my executive team and together we can change the culture of AvPORTS to be more inclusive of women and recruit, retain and develop women for leadership and functional positions at this company. We also recognize the extra challenges working mothers face, so my team and I are focused on finding solutions that allow women to contribute to their role as mothers in raising a family while maintaining their career and professional advancement.
Even though over the past year and half the number of female staff in our company has increased, the struggle is not over. My executive team and I are committed to compassionate leadership and developing a more inclusive culture and a diverse management team. Developing a more inclusive culture requires the participation of both women and men. We men need to be allies and recognize and challenge our inherent unconscious biases. Because our society and industry are changing beyond unimaginable ways, the long-term success of our company depends on our ability to embrace a more diverse and inclusive leadership team and workforce.
We just celebrated 100 years of women’s suffrage, but we must all recognize that the struggle is not over and we have a lot of work to do in Corporate America. As my fourteen-year-old daughter enters the workplace over the next decade, I dream she does not have to encounter the same gender biases my mother and women today face – a world, where women are valued by their diverse viewpoints, qualifications, and contributions they bring into the workplace and are given equal voices and opportunities as men in our society. It is our differences, not our similarities, that make us stronger!