Photograph by Quentin-Keller


The Speech I never gave..

A while ago I attended an award ceremony for graduates of a university. I was there because I was using my company’s platform to sponsor the best graduating female engineering student for that university; this was the third year we had sponsored this award.

 As I sat at the table with fellow corporate and individual sponsors for various awards, one of the lecturers leaned in, enquiring if we could also sponsor the “Best Graduating Student. ” Apparently for this year the best graduating student for engineering was male; however, the Best Female Graduating Student was receiving more awards from sponsors than this overall best student. A colleague that came with me looked straight at this lecturer and said, “Jane is the driver of this award within our organization; you will need to convince her”.

While the lecturer tried to make a case for the Best Graduating Student award, I mumbled something along the lines of, “…We can consider that next year; for this ceremony, we are focused on the Best Female Engineering Student”. When I got home I sat down and reflected on the events of the day and pondered on the essence of the award. Are we being biased by focusing on the female students? Should we change and sponsor both male and female best students? The more I thought about it, the reason I pushed for this award within my organization all came back to me.

The speech I never gave to this lecturer and the table of sponsors was the fact that I was rooting for Gifty (yes that was her name), because I could see my younger self in her. It was important we encouraged her as the journey she was about to embark on would require every ounce of motivation and support she could muster. As I spoke to her after the event, she shared her ambitions about going to study for a Masters in Engineering before launching her career in the field. I saw the passion and drive in her eyes and I wanted to ensure no one took that away from her.

Yes, Gifty’s journey to grow her career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) industry required a fight.   Charles Blow , an American Journalist  for the New York Times, once said,

“It requires that you fight on two fronts; trying to reduce the size of the hill and climbing the hill”. 

This is how I have always felt about women who try to grow their  careers in the STEM fields. I am very passionate about having more girls study STEM courses and more women grow their careers and remain in the STEM fields. I have come to acknowledge that it is a constant battle to have this. With all the challenges, they must face, it feels like climbing a hill. It needs to be recognized that we need to reduce the hill for women who in the past century have started to branch into these fields where the rules of engagement were created with male folks in mind.

The Women Mater Africa report by Mckinsey notes that in Africa, women account for 47 percent of non-management professional positions. At the middle management level, this figure falls to 40 percent and, at senior management level to 29 percent. From start to end, this amounts to “leakage” of 18 percentage points. I guess for the STEM industries the leakage will be more. I do not have the answers on how to reduce this hill, stop the leakage and get more women in; however, I have decided to support all those I see climbing the hill, and for Gifty, this award was my way of rooting for her. I was fortunate that my company promotes diversity and this case was one the organization promoted.

I have nothing against awarding best students (including the males) but I wanted Gifty to be encouraged so that along the journey, if she decides to marry and have kids, this award will remind her that she always had it in her. Pregnancy might slow her down but it does not stop her from being smart. I wanted her to be encouraged to make this journey, where she might start off on the same pay grade with her male colleagues but discover somewhere in the middle the pay gap starts to increase at a great pace, and there will be people who suggest it all must do with her negotiation ability.

A study by Mckinsey & Company and Lean In , suggests that women who negotiate are disproportionately penalized for it. They are 30 percent more likely than men who negotiate to receive feedback that they are “intimidating,” “too aggressive,” or “bossy” and 67 percent more likely than women who don’t negotiate to receive the same negative feedback. Moreover, despite lobbying for promotions at similar rates, women on average are less likely to be promoted than men.

Honoring Gifty with the award was my way of passing the baton to her, encouraging her not to let the hill stop her. Should she start bearing kids mid-career, I wanted her to recognize that her climb might slow down all because of a couple of maternity leaves. She might have to work twice, sometimes thrice as hard to keep up the pace, showing up to work willing to give her top notch performance, with no one caring that she spent most nights awake breastfeeding an infant or toilet training a toddler. My advice to her, “your career is a marathon and not a race so don’t beat yourself up”.

This was the speech i wished i gave to the lecturer and to all those who thought Gifty might have been over patronized for her achievement. She was about to embark on a journey for which some recognize that for every Lucy Quist (first female managing director for a telecommunication company in sub-Saharan Africa), there are many just like her who gave up along the way because the hill might have seemed too steep and there were no cheerleaders to keep them moving. I should reiterate, I do not have all the answers to how our industry can attract more females but I do know that diversity in such male dominated fields brings perspective, it brings a different way of looking and solving challenges and old problems in the industry. Research shows that companies with a greater share of women on their boards of directors and executive committees tend to perform better financially (Catalyst, 2004, The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity; McKinsey & Company, 2007, Women Matter: Gender Diversity, a Corporate Performance Driver).

Writing this piece reminded me why the award was so important. I wrote this piece as a reminder that for many females in the work place that the challenge is no longer access but equality; to be given equal treatment when it comes to opportunities, promotions, hiring, pay increase, and line management positions. The great thing about sharing this speech here is that I get to share it with a larger audience. We get to start the conversation on how to retain women within STEM industries. I am hopeful that readers will go back to their workplace and start having these discussions. I want to be hopeful—I want it for my daughter so she can attain and aspire to be the truest form of herself and gender would not be the limitation.

Photograph by London Scout

Jane Egerton-Idehen is a telecommunication executive with over 13 years’ experience in the Nigerian, Liberian and Ghanaian telecommunications markets.

Jane has a strong passion for promoting girls in STEM and ensuring women in STEM industries remain and grow their careers in that industry. She curates her thoughts around her career journey, experiences and passion in life. Join our conversation on our Facebook page @WomenNCareer and Check out video blog Women and Career on YouTube

It can be a Lonely ride to the top!

photographed by Ryan McGuire

That was how I felt a couple of years ago when I first got assigned to a senior management role and became a line manager for the first time in a new country. I was one of the very few female management staff heading one of the main business areas in my organization. In my region specifically, I was the only female in such a role. Don’t get me wrong, it was a position I worked towards and aspired to for years. When I finally got there, I realized there were unexpected challenges I faced as a female in such a role, professionally and personally and I struggled with how I could address them.

It became clear that sometimes while organizations are willing to promote us based on our achievements from our last role, they seldom remember to support us for new roles that will push our boundaries. Quoting the Peter principle, "managers rise to the level of their incompetence." My take on it is, “We are promoted to our next level of incompetence.”

To some extent, I had to deal with the constant succession of crisis and minor annoyances that threatened my mission of being an effective leader due to the fact I am a young female leading a male dominated team in my organization. My ability to solve these problems and take advantage of current opportunities would immensely prepare me for future leadership roles. One of the main challenges was managing my young family with the continuously demanding professional life.

As a female on my first senior executive role, my first shock was the event where I had to cancel an executive trip to Singapore with a major client because my nanny had decided to leave her job two days before my planned trip. I have had to find alternative care for my children before, but not under this much pressure. I reached out to my colleagues and friends. My colleagues found it strange; none of them had been in similar situations because like you guess, they have stay-at-home wives who handle such situations. It was a messy situation because it was my first time living in a new country with my kids (it was an expatriate role) so we did not have any close friends to reach out to. My close friends were all living outside the country and they cloud only brainstorm on the entire situation with me. The common practice for expat jobs is that one spouse or partner stays home or takes a less challenging job in the same country. Here I was, my husband and I both high flyers, living in different countries (we had worked out a plan where my husband would fly down most weekends). In this case, he could not take the week off to watch our kids, so I ended up sending a colleague on the mission and stayed home to sort out my personal challenge.

I noticed some of the challenges I was experiencing looked simple, but had far reaching implications on my job. The lack of a defined process to access the informal mentors I sought to support me made it a tricky situation for Human resources to support. I had reached out to human resources, your guess is as good as mine; if you're not in the structured management program or mentoring program such requests fall into the grey areas. I was fortunate to attend a Women’s Leadership Program offered by Harvard Business School later that year. It looked like the issues were gender related. It was during this executive session that the coach advised me to be the solution I seek. I was advised to seek out other females that might have followed similar career paths inside and outside my organization and to learn from them. On my return from this trip, I started my cold calling to female executives that had similar paths. I also observed that many other women growing their careers, making tough, unorthodox and challenging choices needed the support as well.

I then started a “Women and Career ” session in my organization. Once every quarter, a senior female executive in my organization would lead a video conference, to support participants with career advice, by sharing their experiences or discussing relevant career topics. Presenters were open to questions after each session, and these sessions would usually have participants dial in from over five different countries within the region. Participants could ask very practical questions and we saw our presenters being vulnerable as they shared their career stories. Informal mentoring relations started to emerge from these sessions. As these sessions grew and the demand for these sessions became unbelievable, we opened the sessions to external participants and presenters.

They say be careful what you wish for because you might just get it. I have always been career driven, working hard to grow my career but never realized during the journey, the very simple things can become an overwhelming challenge along the way. I say it is lonely, because you experience some challenges that sound very strange to some friends when you start chatting with them. I recall the incident where I had been on the road every two weeks for a three-month period, and when I finally settled back to my normal routine at home, I noticed my daughter would run down the hallway every night to sleep with the nanny. My room was next to my daughter’s. Every night I would read her a bedtime story, pray with her and kiss her good night but whenever she woke up, I would hear her tiny steps dashing to the nanny’s room all the way down the hallway. My room was just next to hers. I tried chatting with her about it, making a case why she should head to mummy first. This method kind of worked with my older son but with my four-year-old daughter, it didn’t work.

I started reaching out, seeking women that had experienced similar situations. I recall pouring my heart out to a very senior executive who had also pursued a similar career path but is now with grown kids. Her advice was priceless and never left me.

 “You need to treat her the way you treat the most important clients you have , ’’ She said, “carve out time for her, quality time and keep trying to win her over no matter how long it takes.” I think it took me almost nine months to come to the point of sharing the story without the guilt of the experience haunting me. I recall the moment my goal of winning her back started to yield results was the first night my daughter ran to my room because she had a nightmare. I smiled as tears welled up my eyes. It was an indescribable feeling, better than closing a hundred-million-dollar deal. I kept saying to myself that night, “She chose me!” Yes! Since that day I have treated her as my top client. No matter how tired I am, my nightly routine with her stands. I cancelled my cycling on Saturdays to take her weekly ballet sessions. I now dress or braid her hair to bond with her (though I am barely good at it). We bond over her toys and dress ups. I seek ways to volunteer in her class. When we can, we catch a movie together, though at the last one I was so tired I slept off during parts of the show. This has been the biggest deal I have closed so far! 

In conclusion, I have learnt to re-prioritize my goals on my career journey, acknowledging that my path is different from that of my mother and women in the past who sought a balanced life and were good at all: marriage, family and career. I have learnt from Frances Frei, a professor at Harvard Business School that you should “Dare to be bad.” She talks about "Uncommon Service"—can you dare to be bad at some things so you can be great at other things. In other words, as a woman you can't be a perfect career woman, mother and wife. Some things will slip but you just have to decide on what things should be given the right attention and priority... you can't be good at everything, have the courage to be bad at some things! I found that very profound and liberating and have applied that as a woman in my career. 

photographed by Ryan McGuire

 Jane Egerton-Idehen is a telecommunication executive with over 13 years’ experience in the Nigerian, Liberian and Ghanaian telecommunications markets.

Jane has a strong passion for promoting girls in STEM and ensuring women in STEM industries remain and grow their careers in that industry. She curates her thoughts around her career journey, experiences and passion in life. Join our conversation on our Facebook page @WomenNCareer and Check out video blog Women and Career on YouTube

Dear career enthusiasts; when to say NO to your boss!

photographed by Ryan McGuire

Have you ever said no to your boss? Earlier on in my career I had to do so, not in a direct, hair pulling, door banging kind of way, but in a politely declining your thoughts on this matter and going with my guts way!

I had been reading many leadership materials, and while I say that with the knowledge not everyone is into reading similar materials. (I have examples of great leaders that did not have to read this much and yet did amazing stuff!). However, I noticed a common thread kept re-occurring in most of these articles;

the term “self-Awareness”. Outstanding leaders are known to possess self-awareness. The ability to understand what drives them, their values, their strengths, and vulnerabilities, "what makes them tick”. This is one of the great hallmarks of leadership. This is what drives the ability to say no, even when it is targeted to a more senior authority. 

I was about to make a decision my boss would oppose (disclaimer here: don’t follow suite). This was not a moral or ethical dilemma, this was more to do with “ego”.... When peoples’ egos get bruised...... because of a clash with your inner core values or passion. I was on a mission to save the world, doing something for a greater good, way beyond my official duties in my organization. The interesting thing is that it was well aligned with my organization’s goal to drive diversity and inclusion; something I was passionate about. There I was, expressing myself the way I know best, being authentic, sharing of myself. Yes, I had started a mentoring session for younger colleagues seeking to grow their careers. This is an action some bosses might find irritable to the point of intimidation. I was pairing them with employees in different product units and they had to at the end of each tenure present to the entire team and their `coach, what they had learnt. They were free to propose ways we could improve on existing issues they found. They learnt new things, got acclimatized to the organization, were engaged and productive. The organization was beginning to experience such young talent and the Human Resources team was very interested in taking over these sessions, structuring and running them. 

The truth was that I was also learning from them. My new role required a high level exposure to our different product portfolios. I would not have been able to read up all the product information in the short time required. This was a quick way for me to also get a good knowledge of our entire product portfolio.

My boss probably saw this as my pet project, he wanted all eyes on the immediate goal before us with no distractions. Maybe for someone with a different approach to mentoring, this was new for him. This was informal, not the structured organization top-down driven approach. Also, we all see our work environment differently, while some people may try to use the work as a platform to merge their passions, especially where both ideals align. Others might just see it differently and seek other avenues to express their passion outside work. Being a boss myself I get it, you don’t always have to share the same deep interests with your team or subordinates even if it is one of your organization’s goals.

Learning through sharing was something that has always been my way of acquiring knowledge. I recall in my undergraduate days in university, studying Engineering; I would read the entire syllabus during vacations and in my bid to ensure I understood the concepts and tackled all the possible complex questions, I would hold discussion classes with fellow colleagues when school was in session. We would discuss and breakdown these topics, one at a time. It was fun and a very easy way for me to learn, and by my fourth year, I was standing in front of a hundred-men (yes! there were only ten women in my class) to discuss and teach these topics. That was my own way of learning and I was fortunate to realize that early on; I learn by sharing and teaching. In sharing information, I force myself to seek to understand all the extremities of the topic at hand. I needed to thoroughly prepare before these sessions, considering all the likely questions, and yes! I have had some days where I had to go back on some concepts I wrongly taught, apologize for the error and continue.

I got reflective about the entire engagement with my boss, asking myself; What could go wrong if i did continue these sessions? From my calculation, worst case I get sacked (somehow too farfetched and dramatic) or sidelined by my manager etc. So I did a mental calculation of how much I had saved up (not as much as I hoped for). How many years of school fees that could fetch me? Apparently, that was my biggest fear if I walked away. I was more worried on the impact on my kids and the disappointment to my husband (who would have to support me on another job search and probably wonder why I never thought through the entire decision before walking away from my job, trying to save the world!)

You could argue that my priorities and passion were different from my boss; which drives home our discussion on self-awareness, your ability to understand what drives you and motivates you. Your understanding of your capabilities, yet able to respect the difference that might be for others. We should be aware of what we are willing to die for, walk away from a job for and go the extra mile for. That core in us is to be nurtured, respected and not suppressed. I am a fan of Marcus Buckingham’s theory, that each adult individual possesses a certain number of fixed universal personal-character attributes, our strengths which we should focus on; the alignment creates a harmony when we bring our authentic self to work. Sometimes your line managers might not just be in alignment with that, however if your organizations value or goals are not in conflict, I think you should stand your ground.

After much soul searching, I went ahead with the decision; choosing my core and willing to face the wrath of my superior. My boss with time just got used to my pet project as he would call it. As I write this article, I wonder; maybe we have all been at this point one time or the other, in our marriage, career, partnerships, or life. The dilemma of authority versus passion or authority versus belief, forces us to look in the mirror and acknowledge who we really are. It tests our inner being: what would you do out of passion no matter what others thought about you? Once we are convinced, can we say no to a senior authority? What is it that drives you? What are you passionate about? Are you aware of your strengths?

photographed by Ryan McGuire

 Jane Egerton-Idehen is a telecommunication executive with over 13 years’ experience in the Nigerian, Liberian and Ghanaian telecommunications markets.

Jane has a strong passion for promoting girls in STEM and ensuring women in STEM industries remain and grow their careers in that industry. She curates her thoughts around her career journey, experiences and passion in life. Join our conversation on our Facebook page @WomenNCareer and Check out video blog Women and Career on YouTube

Dare to be bored, what i learnt during my one week break as a Career woman.

photographed by Ryan McGuireFo

On the 9th January 2017 I celebrated my 40th birthday. For days ahead I wondered how I would celebrate this milestone. Unfortunately, my husband was going to be out of town that week for business; so I went on Google and started researching what others had done to celebrate their 40th birthday day.

After hours of searching I finally decided to do something that I wanted to do, something authentic, no apologies. 

In the past my coach has always talked about “Being”, living in the moment and letting the river flow where it will. Somehow I had struggled with that concept, as I am always one to seek control, plan ahead, set goals and manage every situation or outcome possible. Somewhere in my subconscious I had connected “Being” with “being bored”.

I took my birthday week off work, during this week I decided to do something different, try new things, do things I have never done, and in my own way, things that scare me or bore me. I did not want to set any big and mighty goals but to do the simple little things that have always escaped me. 

I have an active lifestyle as a career woman and somehow I have always found it difficult to get bored. So for my birthday I took the entire week off (something I rarely do apart from family vacations). I decided to set no predefined goals, no matter how hard that was and wake up each day with an unclear itinerary.

The entire week I took my kids to school; on day one, I decided to have coffee with the school mums after the morning school run. At some stage I was getting bored as I listened to conversations on where to get the best vegetables, what the teachers were up to etc... Right in the middle of this group my attention was caught by the birds chipping close by and it was refreshing to know that it can be peaceful, just listening to birds. Is this a glimpse of the "mindfulness concept" my coach had always talked about? 

While gifts swamped my house, my husband called to send his love, friends and loved ones called to wish me well, I took off to get myself a blender (my birthday wish for myself, i am all into living healthy!) and make my hair.

Day two worked out pretty much the same but I stayed a little longer at my daughter’s school; she wanted me to watch her swim, and I was glad I did. 

Later that evening while we were all home, I stepped out for thirty minutes and watched the sun set, it was a beautiful experience and reminded me that as kids this was one of the fun activities we cherished. 

As I got bored, I ended up calling friends and catching up with close buddies. This as well was not my usual routine, as mostly during the working week I would be so busy, as I was always chasing a project, a goal, always busy being a high flying career woman, a wife and mum. 

I spoke with a dear friend that was going through such a tough time in her career. She was one of those people I looked up to and was heartbroken to see how demotivated she had become. I offered her some assistance, to research and connect her with possible options for a career change. That made me proud, to go out of my way, my small world, and seek to support those who I loved.

Day three also was one with no clear defined goals, I took each hour as it came. The coffee mums at school had offered to take me to lunch the next day. I thought it was a wonderful gesture, as I was not one to usually hang out with them, as I have always been the busy executive to them. 

After school, my kids requested that they play a bit at the playground before going home, very much unlike the busy career mum I am; I let them play, only leaving when they were ready. They were all chatty on the way home, I could sense that made them happy. Play made them happy!

Watching them play changed my perspective about happiness, they were simply happy to play while i looked on. No need for candies, gifts and all the fancy stuff i would line up to entice them and save time on a normal day; as i was always in a hurry to get back to work. 

Day four, I had lunch with the ladies after the school run. We first spent time chatting over coffee. I was pleasantly surprised with the cake and gifts they showered me with, I couldn’t believe the love all around. I have been so busy chasing my career I had forgotten what simple living felt like. 

That evening I spent some time with myself. Yes! I was on a date with myself, followed by some Salsa dancing. I love Salsa, but it has been years since I last danced. It was beautiful to just be with me, refusing to use my phone at the dinner, but learning to soak up all that was happening around me. Later on I was joined by one of my close friends and we spent the rest of the evening bonding over beautiful Latin music.

Day five was a continuation of my “Yes” to new and uncomfortable stuff. I went for a pedicure with one of the school mums and spent the entire afternoon with myself, reading my bible and listening to gospel music. I was beginning to enjoy being bored.

Day six saw me at my daughters' ballet practice, which has been a part of my routine for some time. However, while I waited for my daughter I decided to tint my eye brows and eye lashes. This was new for me; I was a little bit scared trying it out, in the end it turned out I couldn’t recognize the difference in my look. Getting my eye brows tinted sounded so vain, here was i, giving myself permission to be vain! I spent the rest of the day babysitting my friends" kids, she was out of town and my kids love to hang out with them. I even had time to do some laundry (doing laundry is never the usual for me.) 

Day seven was “boring“ as well. Now boring was beginning to sound like fun to me. I invited my golf buddy to church and he loved it. I can't remember the last time i reached out for a social meeting outside my business cycles. I went shopping for salmon, watched soccer (something that bored me). Frankly most of the time during the match I just anticipated the end of it. I was getting comfortable doing uncomfortable things, no matter how small they were, it was okay for me.

That was how I celebrated my forty years on this planet, learning how to get bored. Yes! I had a “boring” birthday, one that opened me up to the possibility of just “being” and knowing that it is okay to sometimes allow things to happen on their own. As driven, goal oriented career people, lets know it’s just fine to live a bit as we grow our careers.

photographed by Ryan McGuireFo

Jane Egerton-Idehen is a telecommunication executive with over 13 years’ experience in the Nigerian, Liberian and Ghanaian telecommunications markets.

Jane has a strong passion for promoting girls in STEM and ensuring women in STEM industries remain and grow their careers in that industry. She curates her thoughts around her career journey, experiences and passion in life. Join our conversation on our Facebook page @WomenNCareer and Check out video blog Women and Career on YouTube