The face of the office technology dealer sector has changed dramatically in the past 30 years. Women occupy leadership positions at a greater degree than any time in its history, which includes the days of typewriters, adding machines and other tools of the bygone office era. The question thus becomes, will the dealer space continue to evolve from a representation standpoint and make equal strides by 2050?
Some skeptics ponder the dealer’s very existence in 30 years, but that’s a different story. As we consider the strides made by women to occupy the highest chairs within their operations, we asked our State of the Industry panel of women executives to assess the obstacles women currently endure, from a lack of representation in technology fields to securing roles in positions traditionally dominated by men.
Advancement is not an issue for women per se, notes Christie Wakefield, the director of marketing/technology for Pacific Office Automation of Beaverton, Oregon. It’s a lack of presence in male-dominated fields including technology, science and engineering, among others, that is more of a detriment.
“We need to work on attracting women to these industries from an entry-level position, which starts with access to technology education programs from an early age,” she said. “Our story isn’t portrayed how it should be. We impact how businesses function and transform into ever-changing work environments. That’s an exciting industry for anyone to be in and we need to share a better story.”
Self-Imposed Standards
Lauren Hanna cringes at the term work/life balance. The vice president of sales for Cleveland-based Blue Technologies doesn’t see any one formula as being the key to “properly” juggling all of life’s aspects—career, work, and extracurricular involvement. The balance concept too often leads to a feeling of guilt that not enough attention is being given to every aspect—home life or career suffers because too much attention is being directed in one direction.
Grooming young women into IT fields is a substantial challenge. While non-male ranks have increased significantly in the last 10 years, Hanna believes there’s still much work to be done in exposing them to technology opportunities at an earlier age. Fortunately, she notes the growth of coding camps and other technology-centric programs for children are helping to introduce young women to vocational possibilities.
“At Blue, we really try to look at multiple roles for women candidates for IT and technology in general, not just administrative positions,” she said. “It’s a better environment for women than it was 20 years ago; it’s evolved so much, but we can go a lot further if we make it easier for women to envision themselves in technology roles. It’s tough because technology has always had a masculine tone to it. I’m not sure how we change that, but I think exposure and getting people to interface with different roles can make a difference.”
Even with decades of experience in a leadership role, women still are subjected to what Dawn Abbuhl calls “silent discrimination,” which manifests itself in different ways. The president of Repeat Business Systems (RBS) in Albany, New York, remembers the time when business associates would seek out her husband, who has never had any day-to-day operational oversight of the company, to discuss business. That’s more overt discrimination; the silent variety can result in lost bids, the inability to secure meetings and not being taken seriously. It’s difficult to quantify lost opportunities when motives are not readily apparent, but it represents a challenge for women, regardless.
As a licensed psychologist, Abbuhl is more acutely cognizant of the relationship dynamics between men and women, and recognizes inclusivity as a key to opening more doors for interactions with key players in all facets of business. She’s taken steps, including a consultant, to ensure that her organization is making every effort to attract a diverse workforce, from sex to race to gender, that is welcoming. It’s reflected in RBS’ job postings and social media outreach.
“It’s a message you need to send out over and over,” Abbuhl said. “Every communication with the outside world needs to stress that your company is a welcoming organization. We’re a better company for it because it helps to develop the best ideas. It makes us a more vibrant company to have that diversity of thinking and experiences.”
Confidence Building
The quest for women to recognize their leadership potential and the capacity to advance in the business world ultimately begins at home. It’s about potential-setting by parents at an early age that can enable young women and men to see a path forward to a prosperous career not necessarily motivated by money, but happiness and personal fulfillment. Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions and production print for Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) of Minnetonka, Minnesota, believes this is a process already in progress, with women including Hanna, Chelsey Bode, the Usherwood sisters and others making huge strides in generational successions at family-owned dealers.
“They’re running their companies, so I think it’s starting to work,” she said. “These women deserve a seat at the table. I think it’s a matter of it becoming more mainstream, and hopefully, in five years, this won’t be a topic of conversation.
“I mentor a program at a local high school, and they’re always saying they’re not outgoing enough, strong enough or whatever. I ask them, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen to them if they use their voice? What bad could come of it? We need to get to a point where these girls have the confidence and courage to use their voices. They need to know they can and will be heard.”
Fostering independence is another element that really needs to be addressed at a young age. Pamela Feld, the CEO of Triumph Technology Group in Tustin, California, was fortunate in having a mother who boasted a fearless spirit in trying new things and tackling challenges independently. While she may not have reflected on it during her formative years, having that line of thinking—the will to follow any path she chose without having any societal restrictions imposed on her during a less-than-progressive era—motivated her career aspirations.
“I wanted to be able to direct my own destiny and not have anyone else responsible for me,” she said. “I wanted to be as independent as my mom and support myself, be self-sufficient. From my earliest age, I was always doing something entrepreneurial or different. I wasn’t looking to take over someone else’s leadership role. I wanted to create my own path forward. And for me, that started at an early age.”
