I’ve had many moments where I’ve been able to say I’m proud to work at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Proud because of the work we do every day as journalists and the impact we have as an institution.
I had one of those moments recently when business reporter Kelly Yamanouchi wrote an AJC exclusive series on women in the workplace. As part of the series, Kelly invited a range of female executives to participate in a roundtable discussion at the AJC.
The series was spurred by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s call to action in her book, “Lean In,” that ignited a national dialogue about women in executive ranks. Kelly reported that American universities graduate more women than men, and women comprise just under half the U.S. workforce. Yet women remain largely missing from the top echelons of corporate America. She reported that fewer than 25 of Fortune 500 corporations are headed by women, and no Fortune 500 company in Georgia is headed by a female CEO.
With metro Atlanta as a major business hub and Georgia home to 15 Fortune 500 companies, Kelly wanted to tap into this conversation and provide a platform through the AJC for an exchange of ideas.
The series explored the challenges women face as they ascend the corporate ladder. It also looked at the controversial topic of how women executives treat each other — and why men should care about the discussion in the workplace.
“As with a lot of issues in metro Atlanta, women leaders’ approaches are shaped in part by the many places they come from,” Kelly said when asked what she learned from the series. “There isn’t just one way of thinking about women in leadership, their challenges and successes, and I think that’s probably a good thing.”
The round-table discussion at the AJC was a moment I won’t forget. The discussion was so genuine and free flowing that it surprised onlookers. Some might have expected a sterile conversation by women about working in a “man’s world.” Yet the conversation left even the men in the room wishing they’d brought their daughters to work that day to view the thoughtful discussion. It was powerful and empowering. I still recall some of the phrases of wisdom I heard that day: “Value authenticity. Be willing to take risks. Structure dictates function. Go where you see what’s possible. You won’t always be the shiny penny.”
The subject of women in leadership has hit the stage front and center in a number of places, not just AJC headlines. Just a few days ago, billionaire Warren Buffett said in an editorial he wrote for Fortune magazine that he was optimistic about America’s economic future because the nation has begun to unleash the potential of women.
In Atlanta, various entities have taken on the topic for discussion. On Saturday, the League of Women Voters of DeKalb County held a women’s leadership forum that featured several accomplished women in business, politics and community sharing tips and perspectives on how to develop key leadership skills.
“It’s important for women to work collaboratively across the intergenerational aisle,” League President Belinda Pedroso said in a statement.
Coming up Thursday at Georgia Public Broadcasting, the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Women’s Leadership (www.unitedwayatlanta.org/womensleadershipcouncil.html) will have a live studio conversation featuring some of Atlanta’s most dynamic women in business and the community. They will share their insights and strategies for “Leading a Life of Purpose.”
And on May 13, hundreds of women will participate in the Little Pink Book’s “Celebrating Rising Women Owners” panel luncheon at the InterContinental Hotel Buckhead, an event that the AJC will sponsor. The event is part of Little Pink Book’s (www.LittlePinkBook.com) three-part series of business women in the executive ranks.
These and other events across metro Atlanta that will target and feature women in leadership are among the things that make the area so rich with opportunity. While Georgia still has a ways to go on having women at the head of Fortune 500 companies, I think it’s fair to say that women are excelling in the area’s workforce and not relegated to the sidelines. Is there more work to do? Of course.
Sandberg writes in “Lean In,” that the “shift to a more equal world will happen person by person. We move closer to the larger goals of true equality with each woman who leans in.”
Watch for Kelly Yamanouchi’s continuing coverage of women in the workplace in the AJC business sections. In the next couple of weeks, she sits down with Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of Atlanta-based CARE USA, for an insightful Q&A. You won’t want to miss that.
