This year, COMPLY launched Modern COMPLYance Women an initiative designed to bring together female COMPLYance professionals from across the compliance landscape.
The goal? To foster connection and collaboration among peers.
Today, we sit down with three of our own female leaders – who have broken glass ceilings and made their mark in their own respective fields – to discuss the importance of mentorship, diversity and advice to help others achieve success
From your perspective, how important is mentorship in empowering those just starting out to achieve success in their respective field? What else can female leaders do to support female professionals advancing in their career?
Gayle Nixon, COMPLY™ Chief Marketing Officer: Mentorship is crucial in personal growth and career development for those just starting out. Connecting with mentors who offer guidance and wisdom provides valuable support and inspiration. Mentors act as trusted confidants, helping mentees navigate challenges, make informed decisions and set achievable goals to gain success. Mentors instill confidence, resilience and a sense of purpose through meaningful relationships, empowering women to overcome obstacles and reach their full potential.
Female leadership mentorship programs are an opportunity to connect with positive role models who embody qualities they aspire to develop significantly in the workplace. Mentors act as living examples, demonstrating integrity, responsibility and perseverance. By sharing personal experiences and lessons learned, mentors inspire mentees to believe in themselves, build confidence and strive for greatness. This interaction helps young female leaders build character, develop critical life skills and make informed choices, leading to positive life transformations. Lastly, mentors must teach mentees how to be mentally tough in this day and age.
What strategies can firms or organizations implement to create a more diverse environment, which allows every employee to advance in their career?
Danielle Schlar, COMPLY Chief People Officer: One of the things we discuss all the time is this concept of “you can’t be what you don’t see.” When you have diverse leaders in your organization, especially at the C-Suite level, you are showing the entire organization that you can achieve success regardless of the color of your skin, your gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. Employees want to see people “around the table” that look like them. The best advice I can give is to ensure you have a team of leaders that represents, from a diversity standpoint, what you want the rest of your organization to look like.
What advice do you offer to female professionals looking to break into what may seem like a male-dominated field? What advice were you offered that stuck with you throughout your career?
Helen Johnson, COMPLY Chief Technology Officer: To always be your authentic self and to play to your strength. Why try to be something that you are not? Why try to play someone else’s game? I want to be treated as Helen not as a woman, not as an Asian, not as an immigrant, not as a mom. I’m just Helen. So I try to treat everyone the same. I judge them based on what they do and say, not by who and what they are.
When I was just starting, I had a mentor who gave me the advice that it’s ok for the men to underestimate me as they won’t see me as a threat, that gives me the greater advantage to surprise them with what I can do and accomplish.
Follow Modern COMPLYance Women on LinkedIn to learn more! Plus, keep an eye out for upcoming virtual and in-person events!