Mapping Out Women’s Career Progression

On November 5, I had the pleasure of attending the latest in a series of really terrific and insightful events the Women in Management Club is sponsoring this semester. “Women and Career Progression” featured a panel of five women speakers from Thomson Reuters describing the obstacles they’ve encountered and the choices they’ve made carving out careers in a sector still dominated by men.

Sharon Oster, the Frederic D. Wolfe Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship and director of the Program on Social Enterprise, Innovation, and Impact at Yale SOM, served as moderator, asking the kind of probing questions that women—whether they’re entry-level, mid-level, or senior employees—grapple with.

Some examples: Is cultivating an interest in football a good way to bond with your male colleagues? Why is exhibiting anger in the workplace a dangerous proposition for women? Do women need to conform to a male ideal of leadership or can we cultivate a style all our own?

The Thomson Reuters panelists included Carla Jones, senior vice president in the office of the CEO; Kellie Goldstein, CFO for the Middle East, Africa, and Russia; Yelena Ree, senior manager, treasury and capital investments; and SOM alumna Megan Richer ’12, a management associate.

The panelists reassured students that despite the still lagging numbers of women on corporate boards and in c-suites, it’s a good time to be a woman in business.

“This is geared toward letting students know that there are plenty of opportunities out there for them, and that they are not alone in dealing with the questions and issues that many women face in the workplace,” said Katlyn Regan ’13, Professional Development Committee co-leader of the Women in Management Club.

Karen Guzman is a Senior Communications Writer for Yale SOM's Office of Communications.