SSTI Highlights Experiences, Accomplishments of Women Leaders

From the earliest days of technology-based economic development in the 1980s, and through its formitive years in the 1990s, women leaders have played an integral role in the development of the field. As Women's History Month draws to a close, this week's special issue of the Digest pays tribute to those women and takes a closer look at the opportunities and challenges that face women in TBED today.

Her Perspective: Reflections on Leadership from Five Successful Women in TBED

To call them trailblazers is quite fitting. They have broken barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields and led some of the most progressive initiatives designed to boost our nation's competitiveness. But beyond the "wild west" analogy, these five women are top-notch innovators, who for the past 25 years have helped shape technology-based economic development in states and regions across the country through hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and a passion for leadership.

• Abi Barrow is the Founding Director of the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center;
• Catherine Renault is the Principal of Innovation Policyworks LLC and formerly the Director of the Maine Office of Innovation and Science Advisor to the Governor;
• Susan Shows is Senior Vice President for the Georgia Research Alliance;
• Jane Smith Patterson was most recently Director of e-NC, a publicly funded initiative to increase broadband access to all residents of North Carolina; and,
• Sheri Stickley is President & CEO of the Oklahoma Bioscience Association.

With Sheryl Sandberg's modern day feminist manifesto, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, as the backdrop, SSTI invited these five influential women who have been involved in the tech-based economic development field since its formative decade (1980-1990) to provide their perspective on some of the key — and controversial — issues raised in the book and to talk about the challenges involved in rising to the top.

Their responses surprised and intrigued us.

Highlighted below are some of the most thought-provoking and interesting points discussed by our panel. The candor with which they acknowledged the limitations and compromises involved in navigating their career paths was impressive and much appreciated. Our hope is to start a conversation among the tech-based economic development community that encourages an openness related to gender issues, share some worthy advice, and celebrate impressive accomplishments from great leaders in the field.

Reaction to the Book — Has the Revolution Stalled?
It's been nearly 50 years since some of the major milestones in the women's movement were reached, such as affirmative action policy covering discrimination based on gender for educational and employment opportunities and the founding of the National Organization for Women. Yet, the same issues still arise decades later, especially those related to workforce equality: the stereotype threat that prevents girls from exploring technical careers, an alarmingly low number of women advancing to leadership roles, and the difficultly for women to return to high-level positions after taking extended career breaks, to name a few.

Our panel described the book as "a good collection of anecdotes with very little new observations" and thought the biggest surprise was not in the content, but rather in the public reaction to the book that has increased awareness of these longstanding issues. "Having been a part of the equal rights movement," Jane added, "I see we continue to fight old battles."

Advancing to the top in one's career takes a great deal of effort and sacrifice for many women and men alike. "I thought she made it seem simpler than it is," said Jane. She added that having a lot of help, including hiring an executive assistant to the family and having a supportive spouse, was instrumental in much of what she was able to accomplish in state government.

Expanding on this topic, Sheri brought up an interesting point on whether or not it is the women who are holding themselves back in rising to leadership roles, as described by Sandberg.

"One of the issues I've seen in the criticism of the book is centered around the fact that she (Sandberg) had an extraordinary level of resources that most women don't have, and that she focuses a lot on what women are doing to hold themselves back and not as much on the structural issues." Sheri clarifies her point by adding, "The less resources you have, the more likely you are subject to being inhibited by the structure."

Susan agreed that the self-help aspect of the book did not offer much in the way of new advice, but thought the book presented the topic well, especially to a new generation of women struggling to balance family and career.

The topics discussed in the book may not be novel but certainly the message is worth repeating. And, perhaps, having a new voice present the information differently is just as important for inspiring the next generation of leaders.

Path to Leadership
Cathy and Jane knew early in their lives that they were going to shake things up. At just four years old, Jane blew a hole in the floor of her childhood home after a scientific experiment had gone awry. Cathy said she has always embraced risk and felt comfortable in a leadership role. "My career path never felt like a bunch of big decisions. If it doesn't scare the daylights out of me it's not worth doing in the first place," she said.

None of the women woke up one day and decided they wanted to work in tech-based economic development. However, they all demonstrated the flexibility and perseverance needed to advance in an up-and-coming field. Cathy discussed how the path to leadership is not the same for everyone and believes the women who have succeeded have done so by being themselves, having a unique style and bringing a different perspective to the workplace.

Agreeing with this point, Abi didn't actively seek a leadership role either and thought her career path closely resembled Sandberg's argument that the days of joining an organization or corporation and staying there to climb the ladder are gone. Instead, Sandberg says, it's more like a jungle gym, which offers creative exploration and many ways of getting to the top. "You don't just move straight up a ladder, you do move from side to side, so in some ways you progress by stealth and suddenly you are there doing the job and you become the leader," Abi added.

Luck and fortunate timing also played into the opportunities for career advancement in all of the panelists' stories. Abi quoted the Chinese proverb "luck always favors the prepared" to which Jane replied "chance favors the prepared mind." But at the same time, these women did not ascend to the top entirely by themselves, or by luck alone. Support from wonderful spouses and mentors played a key role. Jane added, "I am eternally grateful to my husband who moved with me at a time when no one was moving with their wives anywhere." In the book, Sandberg felt a partner's role is so important that she devoted an entire chapter to the topic.

Even with the right partner and the tenacity to advance, some of the women on the panel voiced concern about the narrow job requirements for leadership roles within the technology-based economic development field. The panelists believe more paths to leadership opportunities would open up if organizations gave more weight to the leadership skill sets that are necessary to do the job, rather than focusing heavily on scientific or entrepreneurial expertise.

Barriers, Setbacks and Solutions
The road to success is not always easy and all of the panelists identified obstacles that many women face in the workforce, including a lack of resources, cultural perceptions toward women, and insufficient acknowledgment of their contributions. Like Sandberg, they discussed both general trends and personal experiences to shine a light on these barriers.

Despite Sandberg's encouragement to "lean in" and address internal barriers, Sheri noted that the issue of underrepresentation in male-dominated fields did not have to do with a lack of ambition. Rather, she said, "I think for some women, it's just a struggle to figure out how to channel (ambition) productively."

A few of the panelists disagreed on whether women have to work harder to receive as much recognition as their male counterparts. However, Jane mentioned her frustration when ideas she brought forth in meetings went unheeded until a male counterpart made a similar suggestion. For Sheri, Sandberg's statistical evidence indicating that women can lower their chances of being hired if they explain why they are qualified for a position or mention previous successes resonated with her because she had witnessed this at times throughout her career.

Despite these hurdles, most of the panelists look to the field of TBED as an area in which women are able to thrive, particularly because of its cooperative nature. Abi felt that women did well in the field of tech transfer and TBED, partly because many have strong technical backgrounds combined with exceptional collaborative skills. Others on the panel believe there are more women in TBED than in traditional economic development because it is more collaborative than competitive.

In her frequent contact with entrepreneurs, Susan does not see much of a gender bias among men who take advice from women, pointing out that younger men perhaps grew up "more on par with their girl counterparts."

Certainly, though, gender bias still does exist. Cathy observed a specific barrier in getting more women to become TBED leaders. Often, she said, agencies look for serial entrepreneurs or Silicon Valley veterans. Unfortunately, this excludes many women simply because there is not much venture capital going to women-owned companies. "It is sort of a subtle way to be cut out," she said. "I don't know if people are doing it on purpose or not, but it has that effect."

Looking toward the future, the panelists mentioned both traditional and new ways to help minimize these barriers for their peers. Jane pointed to the rise in crowdsourcing as an opportunity for women investors to get involved in the venture capital space in science and tech-based economies. "When men and women work in a gender balanced workplace they behave better, listen to each other, contribute and recognize the contributions of people in the group," Susan said. "And at the end of the day better ideas and decisions come forth."

It is the young women who are naive to the existing barriers that suffer the most when they encounter them, according to the panel. As echoed in the book, genuine mentorship can benefit both people involved. Jane eloquently summarized the benefits of mentorship by saying, "I think that it is wonderful when you are in a position to really reach out and help young women get over the barrier that may arise and let them realize that they can conquer that and go on to the next level that they can achieve."

Love What You Do and Other Words of Wisdom
So where do we go from here? Many on the panel expressed disappointment and frustration in the overall lack of advice and direction. At the same time, they offered guidance of their own for both men and women seeking to follow in their footsteps.

In today's generation, Jane sees more women who desire a career and want shared sacrifice with their partner, and for Susan, the part in the book that resonated with her is the phrase "Done is better than perfect."

The type of education you have is less important than having some certainty that you can make a difference — although education was debated among the panel. Some of the women favored having a law degree, stating that it provides flexibility for varying types of work. Other panelists favored scientific and engineering studies. A political science degree with an MBA was mentioned as useful when working with entrepreneurs and small businesses. But having the right set of skills is perhaps more important than one's educational attainment. Statistical and analytical skills, good discerning and communication skills and critical thinking skills all were thought to be crucial to succeeding in this field. "I think for women coming up now, the trick is having the flexibility to find whatever that new thing is going to be for them ten years from now, twenty years from now," Cathy added.

All panelists agreed celebrating choices and offering encouragement and support to help women achieve their goals is critical. The Kauffman Foundation recently announced a partnership with Sandberg's nonprofit organization, Lean In, which works specifically to offer women this type of support and to cultivate more balanced teams and more female leaders and entrepreneurs. The organization also encourages women to create and join small peer groups to keep the conversation going.

So while the trail has been cleared, many challenges still exist along the pathway to leadership. Sandberg's notion that more female leadership will lead to fairer treatment for all women is wisely stated. A dramatic influx of women in Washington during the past election cycle ushers in hope for policy changes and cultural attitude shifts, but more importantly, the message from the panel is to follow your passions, say "yes" to new experiences, and always be looking for the next big thing.

Recognizing Women Who Shaped Tech-Based Economic Development

Tech-based economic development, a field devoted to community-building, collaboration and shared prosperity, often wrestles with issues of inclusion, both in the startup community it serves and within its own ranks. From the beginning, however, women leaders have been among TBED's most innovative and effective advocates.

This week, SSTI spotlights 18 women who have been among the field's most vital champions. These women have played a central role in drawing attention to the need for strategic planning, best practices and active engagement with the innovation community.

Opting Out? Women Grads at Highly Selective Universities

Women who obtained their undergraduate education at the nation's most elite universities — measured by admissions selectivity — were more likely to opt out of the full-time workforce compared to women grads from less elite institutions, according to a recent working paper from the Vanderbilt Law School. The study also found, perhaps surprisingly, women adding an MBA from any institution to their CV after getting any bachelor's degree from one of the country's highly selective universities were 30 percent less likely to participate in the full-time workforce than their female counterparts who attended less selective schools for their undergraduate education.

Using a dataset of 100,000+ college graduates, Vanderbilt professor of law & economics Joni Hersch's MBA-related findings held in her analysis when controlling for a number of variables: selectivity of their MBA institution, number and age of children, spousal characteristics, current/prior occupation and family background.

Overall, Hersch found, for women between the ages of 23 and 54, the employment rate for all women graduates of the most selective universities was 78 percent. This compares to 84 percent for female alumni from less selective institutions. The spread between the two groups grows when one isolates those women who were married and with children 18 years or younger: only 59 percent of this group of women graduates of the most selective universities were employed full time, compared to 73 percent of the women from less selective schools.

Having children made a significant difference for all of the regressions but perhaps none greater than for MBAs. Only 35 percent of the child-rearing women with MBAs and an elite undergraduate education were employed full time in the workforce compared to 85 percent of women MBA-holders who did not have children.

Policy conclusions may be drawn from the findings, Hersch contends. "Labor market exits among highly educated mothers are often interpreted as a response to inflexible workplaces that make combining family and career incompatible. But if inflexible workplaces are a primary cause of lesser labor markets of mothers, labor market activity should not differ by college selectivity, or may even favor elite graduates." There must be other reasons contributing to "opting out," Hersch concludes.

The full working paper, "Opting Out among Women with Elite Education," is available for free download at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2221482.

Women Leaders in TBED by the Numbers

For this special edition of useful stats, the SSTI staff examined some traits of the women leaders profiled in this issue of the Digest. Using a brief survey, the SSTI collected data on the careers of 17 women who have played leadership roles in technology-based economic development agencies and organizations. Many questions we posed relate to the themes covered in Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead and the topics discussed by our panel of women leaders in TBED. Below, we highlight a few key numbers that shed some light on what it takes to rise to the top of the field.

Twenty-three years — average years of work experience in the field of TBED by the 17 respondents.

Thirty — the cumulative number of undergraduate and graduate degrees earned by the respondents. In the face of significant social and institutional roadblocks for women to achieve advanced degrees, 41 percent of our respondents were able to achieve advanced degrees including four PhDs. Fields of study for advanced degrees varied widely from the arts to the hard sciences. This does not include the numerous advanced degree certificates and honorary degrees they have garnered.

Seven — the number of women who identified themselves as a former entrepreneur. Approximately 50 percent of these ventures were traditional for-profit startups. However, many of the respondents identified themselves as startup entrepreneurs because of their work as leaders of new nonprofit organizations.

95 percent — the share of respondents who have worked in at least three sectors of the tech-based economy. One key point discussed during the panel was the difficulty of women moving between sectors (e.g., academia, government, nonprofit, for-profit). However, due to their skills and achievements in the field, these women have been able to move successfully into the private sector from public service and back again, gaining useful experience and credentials. During their illustrious careers, these women leaders in TBED have been heads of state development agencies, leaders of highly successful regional organizations, tech-based entrepreneurs, on numerous boards of directors, gubernatorial advisors and much more.