Women’s History Month discussion looks at women in the workplace

Staff from throughout Christiana Care Health System attended a special presentation and discussion in observance of Women's History Month, hosted by Christiana Care’s Multicultural Heritage Committee.

May 8, 2015

Women make up 47 percent of the workforce, yet only 4.6 percent of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are women. Judy McHugh calls those statistics “dismal” and challenged Christiana Care employees to identify the greatest obstacles women face on their career path.

McHugh is senior vice president of the executive coaching firm Leader’s Edge/Leaders by Design in Philadelphia. She pointed to surveys that highlight them differences between men and women in how they seek advancement.

For example, if there are 10 requirements for a better position and a woman has only nine, women are unlikely to apply. That’s a stark contrast to their male colleagues.

“If men see that they have half the qualifications, they go ahead and apply,” McHugh said. “Ladies, you have to go for it.”

Christiana Care colleagues engaged in a rich discussion about women’s opportunities and obstacles in the workplace.

The March 24 event at the John H. Ammon Medical Education Center was hosted by Christiana Care’s Multicultural Heritage Committee in observance of Women’s History Month.

“We hope everyone who has an interest will come to these events because there is always an opportunity to learn,” said Dana Beckton, director, Diversity and Inclusion, at Christiana Care’s Learning Institute’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Cultural Competency and Equity.

McHugh asked what employees see as the greatest impediment for women on the job. Answering through the Train by Cell audience poll system, 40 percent of respondents said stereotyping.

“That’s the kind of thinking in which a woman would not be offered a promotion that requires travel because everyone assumes she won’t leave her family,” McHugh said. “Who says that because I have a family I don’t want to travel?”

She encouraged women who want to get ahead to create their own authentic style rather than emulate men. She also urged them to focus on doing stellar work to attract the attention of a sponsor, a decision maker who will advocate for them.

“There’s a lot of research out there that people like to help other people,” she said. “It’s OK to be ambitious. The only way to change something is to do it.”

Jacqui Crawford, MSN, RN, assistant nurse manager in the operating room at Christiana Hospital, said the discussion helped her to better define challenges women face in achieving success in the workplace.

“We as women have a lot of work to do in pushing away stereotypes and pushing forward in our careers,” Crawford said.