By Kelly Lavin and Natalie Corridan-Gregg
May 22, 2009
On Wednesday morning, 48 employees, customers, and partners gathered for a networking breakfast and panel discussion hosted by the EMC Women’s Leadership Forum on issues raised by The Working Mother Experience book. The book, published by EMC, contains real stories written by 96 EMC women (and one man) from around the world that provide candid perspectives on being working mothers in a fast-paced business environment.
EMC SVP ML Krakauer thanked the crowd for gathering at such an early hour to attend the event. She acknowledged EVP Frank Hauck and the WLF for putting the event together and stressed the importance of projects like The Working Mother Experience to the vitality of companies. Attendees from many different companies, men and women alike, mixed effortlessly during the breakfast portion. They introduced themselves and immediately exchanged stories about their experiences as working parents. EMC’s Marisol Arroyave presented a brief background on how The Working Mother Experience book came to be, how the project was launched, and the importance of the book to EMC’s culture.
Several dads joined in the discussion about work-life balance.
Attendees viewed a video montage of the book launch event in Hopkinton on April 3, and then the panelists took the stage. EMC employees Wendy Bertino, EMC Commercial Pre-Sales; Jean Weintraub, NY/NJ Sr. Practice Manager; Kathie Lyons, VP, Global Services; and Cathy Herbert, Director Partner Systems Engineering Organization, participated as panelists. Principal Product Manager and WLF advisor Natalie Corridan-Gregg served as moderator.
Each of the women related personal stories and exchanged advice. Popular topics of discussion were work-life balance, the help and hindrance of technology on family life, and the importance of having a good support system, both at work and at home. Panelists and attendees spoke about shared feelings of self doubt, guilt, pride, and joy in their experiences as working parents.
One panelist’s EMC team (mostly men) came to support her participation as a panelist. They talked about how proud they were of her accomplishments and “effortless” juggling of career and family.
The conversation in the room might have started with the WME book, but it was quickly a discussion of the balance of parenting (not specific to women) and career. About halfway through the event, it was clear that there was little difference in gender when it came to the struggles of working parents. The men were so engaged that the moderator had a difficult time winding down the conversation so the attendees could move on to the next scheduled EMC World 2009 event.
Key thoughts from the panel discussion included:
“The hardest part about being a working mom is probably getting over the preconceived notion that all women stay home after having children. I’ve always been a working mom and have had a positive experience. There are four people in the room here now that came to support me, and to me that’s very important.”
—Jean Weintraub
“I have a great support system at EMC, as well as family close by that I can rely on. I feel very lucky to have such great support in my choice to be a working mother.”
—Kathie Lyons
“If it is important to you, you can make it work.”
—Cathy Herbert
“My family knows at the end of the quarter things may be tough for a little while. I will have to take phone calls during dinner and answer e-mails during soccer games. Technology is a double-edged sword that can be overwhelming, yet helps us balance our work and family lives.”
—Wendy Bertino
“The women at EMC won’t accept second best, but setting achievable goals and understanding you can do a good job is important.”
—Natalie Corridan-Gregg
Many had to miss the event due to other commitments and classes that were running concurrently. The support that was shown throughout the day and requests for more of these types of sessions was a message received loud and clear.
Kate from customer Johns Hopkins said it best. “By having this event at EMC World, EMC is acknowledging the role of women in technology. They are putting their money where their mouth is around valuing employees and greater diversity. EMC is a company that gets it, and I want to do more business with that kind of a company.”
Moderator Natalie Corridan-Gregg (far left) with panelists (l. to r.) Wendy Bertino, Jean Weintraub, Kathie Lyons, and Cathy Herbert.
Some of the Women’s Leadership Forum event participants and panelists with EVP Frank Hauck.
