Women multinational leaders in Latin America share success tips
Growing up, girls are often asked to help around the house, while boys are encouraged to sell lemonade or mow lawns in the neighborhood to make money. That difference influences their negotiating skills and helps explain why women tend to earn less than men in similar jobs.
Those were among the observations shared at World City’s Global Connections event on Sept. 24, when a panel of top female executives addressed the changing role of women at multinationals, especially in the Americas.
Panelists advised working women to follow their passion, sharpen their skills, seek out high-level mentors and sponsors, and make sure their hard work is recognized and rewarded.
“Invest in your education and don’t be afraid, when you realize what your passion is, to take time off and get additional education,” added attendee Carmen Taylor, managing director for sales and marketing at American Airlines Cargo’s Mexico Caribbean and Latin American region.
A $100 million lawsuit illustrates the challenges women sometimes face – when they’re seen as weak. It happened years ago when executive recruiter Lorena Keough was in her early 30s managing sales of x-ray materials and imaging products for Kodak in the greater Caribbean. She decided to end a contract with an underperforming distributor in Puerto Rico. Keough said the man saw her as a “little chick,” sued Kodak for $100 million but then, offered to drop the suit if Kodak fired her.
Kodak’s legal department wanted to settle for $1 million, but Keough mustered support within the company and fought. After months of depositions and wrangling, the distributor offered to settle for $1 million. Kodak’s legal team said yes, but Keough pushed to pay only his legal fees. She whittled down his bill to $91,000, and Kodak settled.
“He did underestimate me,” said Keough, now a managing director for Diversified Search Odgers Berndtson in Miami. Her advice to women at the Sept. 24 event: Be confident.
“Women are a bit late in recognizing their accomplishments. They tend to focus on their weaknesses,“ Keough said, encouraging them to look more at their successes – as men tend to do.
Participants asked how women’s career challenges differ in Latin America and the United States, and panelists said the problem in Latin America was not “macho” discrimination at work. Instead, women in Latin America face strong cultural pressure to stay at home and raise the children.
Many women in mid-level posts in Latin America plan to drop out of the workforce after becoming moms, “so you don’t see the desire in them” for senior jobs more common in the United States, said Marta Clark, vice president for software maker Adobe Systems for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Yet balancing family life and work remains a challenge for women everywhere. Clark said her husband stays home with the family in South Florida, so she can travel frequently. But men who work from home and pick up the kids at school still get “weird” looks from moms doing the same – even in Miami, said MasterCard’s Malvina Longoria, whose work-from-home husband handles many family chores.
“I’m not sure in the United States, we’re actually over these issues” of gender roles and gender equality, said Longoria, vice president and managing counsel for MasterCard Latin America.
Panelists said the work-life juggle is easier with today’s technology. Keogh recalled the hassles and delays years ago when she worked from home after putting her daughter to bed: slow, dial-up Internet connections and early software that sometimes required half an hour to download documents.
But instant connectivity can impinge on family life, requiring executives to set limits, they said.
“I do recommend turning off the Blackberry” at dinner or family time, Keough said. And if someone sends an email at 1 a.m. and then calls at 8 a.m. requesting an answer: “You have to say, “I haven’t read my e-mails yet,” and that’s okay… If you hide who you are and what your circumstances are, that’s exhausting.”
To encourage women in leadership, panelists pointed to varied programs both inside their companies and outside: mentoring, sponsorship, flexible schedules and women’s executive groups, many with local chapters in Miami and Latin American nations.
They also urged women to beef up their negotiating skills, so that they’re still grateful for promotions and friendly with others but also, push for salary raises and perks and more confidently close on sales deals. Clark said she was recently promoted and practices what she preaches: “I’m still negotiating.”
Global Connections is one of six event series that WorldCity organizes to bring together executives on international business topics. The series is sponsored by Florida International University’s School of Business and real estate company Waterford at Blue Lagoon. The next event is set for Oct. 29.