International Women’s Day and its impact on seven IBMers
Women have long been a part of the fabric of IBM, a company that’s been creating meaningful roles for women since the 1930s.
In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day — Sunday, March 8th, 2020 — we asked seven women who work in design at IBM to reflect on and share their experiences, inspiration, and advice.
Find more about IBM’s history of attracting, retaining, and investing in talented women by visiting IBM Career’s Women@IBM.
Lara Hanlon — New York, New York
Senior Designer, IBM Cognitive Applications
To me, International Women’s Day is a moment to pause and acknowledge ourselves, our colleagues (of all genders), and the work we need to do together to create a society of equal opportunity.
Q. How long have you been an IBMer? What work are you most proud of?A. July 2020 will mark my sixth year at IBM! I started out as a product designer with IBM Security, moved into an educational role focused on scaling the adoption of Enterprise Design Thinking throughout the company, and now I’m based in New York City where my team and I support the evolution of IBM.com through IBM’s design system and language.
It’s been a fascinating journey but my proudest moment, without doubt, was in 2017 when I assumed a new role as Designer in Residence, with a particular focus on leading culture and practice for IBM Studios Dublin. I was responsible for understanding the needs of studio residents, ensuring they had the right design resources and communication channels, and connecting the value that our design teams brought to the IBM organization with local and global business leaders. I learned so much about the behaviors and motivations of people. I also learned about the business and how to advocate for design within a corporate environment. It was a privileged position and a pivotal experience in my career.
Q. What women have inspired you in your career and life?
A. Throughout my career, I’ve reported to many managers but only one of those managers was a woman. Liz Holz, previously an IBMer, but currently Partner and Design Director at Microsoft. She inspired me to speak up, have confidence in my point of view, and always poke holes in the status quo.
Looking at the design industry, Kim MacKenzie Doyle is an incredible tour de force. She is the founder and driver behind Why Design — an initiative that addresses gender imbalance in Ireland and Europe, by opening up conversations with young women and students.
From a lifelong learning perspective, author Susan Cain taught me many things about myself. Her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking was eye-opening.
Q. How can men get involved?
A. If more men could educate themselves on the statistics, I think we would find ourselves in a much better place. Gender inequality is not about opinions or grand ideas, it’s about facts and the reality of a situation. Perhaps this starts with a simple conversation with friends, acquaintances, or even colleagues to understand how women experience the world and the workplace.
Aside from exercising empathy and interest, there are many resources freely available that highlight the statistics and what is needed to overcome common challenges. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Inequality.org — a project of the Institute for Policy Studies that track inequality-related news and stats
- Kerning The Gap — a community aimed at getting more women into leadership roles within the design industry
- McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report in collaboration with LeanIn.org
Miranda Kiang — Austin, Texas
UX Designer/Researcher, CIO Design
To me, International Women’s Day means taking time out to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of women around the world. Women work continuously to make amazing strides every day, and this is a day to shine a light on those accomplishments.
Q. How can women better empower one another?
A. Women should continue to support each other’s endeavors, as well as share their achievements with colleagues, the community, friends, and family. We should feel proud to share our accomplishments. In this world, we’re all equal, and we should not be afraid to outwardly pursue our goals and interests.
Q. In one sentence, what advice would you give to young women starting out in a career in design?
A. Channel your users’ needs and be prepared to push and advocate for the best design possible.
Barb Lavalette — Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Content Designer/Assistant Editor-In-Chief, CIO Design
To me, International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the hard-working women who came before us, and support the continued work and goals of the amazing women doing incredible things today.
Q. How can women better empower one another?
A. Let’s create a culture where women’s empowerment is normalized. It can be small things we incorporate every day, like creating connections, offering feedback, cheering on successes, and giving credit where it’s due. It can be large things, like leading a gender equity lunch-and-learn, hosting women or non-binary speakers to talk about their experiences, and creating a mentoring program for women.
Q. What women have inspired you in your career and your life?
A. I was first inspired by singer-activist Kathleen Hanna when I was a teenager. Her take-no-crap, hard-working persona helped mold me into the person I wanted to grow into personally and professionally.
Q. What advice would you give to young women beginning a career in design?
A. To quote Kathleen Hanna, “It takes falling down a bunch of times before you start running.” You’re going to make mistakes and have hiccups in your career; don’t let that slow you down.
Alisha Moore — Austin, Texas
Design Strategy Lead, Enterprise Transformation Design
To me, International Women’s Day is a symbolic act that commemorates the movement for women’s rights, but the actual cause extends far beyond just the one day. When you consider what women all over the world share, the thing that stands out to me is the fight for equality. This means equal pay, equal decision-making power, and equal opportunity to shape the world around us.
Q. How long have you been an IBMer? What work are you most proud of?
A. I’ve been at IBM for four years. I’m really proud of my work as a Cohort Coach (CoCo) for IBM’s Patterns Design Program. I remember starting at IBM and not knowing a thing! As time passed, I was happy to be the person to provide an encouraging word and let the cohort know that it was going to be okay. Never underestimate the power of having another person believe in you, especially when you’re just getting started. They see things you couldn’t possibly have the experience to see yourself, and that’s a great gift.
Q. What women have inspired you in your career and your life?
A. I’ve always been inspired by the women and men in my family who work in different fields, defiant of any gender roles. I was never told that I couldn’t play with certain toys or do a particular activity because I was a girl. My dad is an engineer, and it never prevented him from doing the laundry, helping with homework, teaching me how to ride a bike, making biscuits, or being the primary caregiver when I was sick. So, I did not grow up with a notion of gender disparity or the idea that there are things women (or men) cannot do.
Q. How can women better empower one another?
A. I love the Shine Theory. It basically states that you shine when the ladies who surround you shine. The theory’s foundation is mutual support and it promotes women lifting other women up, instead of tearing each other down. Success isn’t finite. It’s not a substance that can be built or used up. Another woman’s success doesn’t counteract your own. Success is limitless and contagious, and something to be celebrated — regardless of whether or not it’s your own.
Fabiola Ochoa Valdez — Guadalajara, Mexico
Design Strategist, IBM Systems
To me, International Women’s Day means being thankful for all the women that fought and keep fighting for gender equality. It’s a day to reflect on all the wonderful things that women all over the world have achieved for our community and to ask ourselves how we (men and women, together) can build innovative ways to advance gender equality.
Q. How long have you been an IBMer? What work are you most proud of?
A. I’ve been an IBMer for five years. I started working as a Manufacturing Engineer for Power Systems in Guadalajara, but ended up doing what I’m most passionate about: design.
I’m very proud of being able to help transform people’s mindset into one that is based on empathy to build better experiences for other human beings. A colleague and I have built a strong design community at our site — full of inspired, multidisciplinary people that are truly engaged in design thinking.
Q. How can men get involved to be better supporters of their women colleagues?
A. A good way to become an ally is to show — not only awareness — but active efforts to address gender inequities at work and in society. Observing, listening, and showing respect should be the most important ingredients in fostering social justice around gender.
Q. What advice would you give to young women beginning a career in design?
A. I once read a quote from Erich Fromm that made total sense to me when I started my career as a designer: “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” So, it’s OK to not know how to start or where to go. As long as you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, then you’re on the right track.
Azin Sahabi — New York, New York
UX Designer, CIO Design
To me, International Women’s Day is a day to raise awareness about the women who are not as lucky as me to be living in a very nice city, working their dream job, and earning enough for themselves. It is a reminder that we still have a long, long way to go to get anywhere close to equality for all.
Q. What women have inspired you in your career and your life?
A. Forough Farrokhzad. If you look her up online (e.g., on Wikipedia), you will see that she was an influential Iranian poet and film director.
I am inspired by Forough’s work and life not just because she was an influential artist and modern icon, but also because she was true to herself even in an era when a woman’s voice was not welcome. Forough was deeply aware and proud of her feelings and open about her insecurities. Her words are so simple and fluid, yet they reach within you at the deepest levels and expose you to an undiscovered world of emotions.
Q. How can women better empower one another?
A. I think about this a lot. In general men have (or used to have) a lot more role models from childhood to adulthood. In most fields, there are many men who serve as mentors and sponsors. Women have fewer such resources.
So, when we, as women, become more mature, successful, or experienced in life and the workplace, it’s important that we fill that role for others. We should share the story of our struggles and insecurities and have open conversations about how to overcome them and move forward.
Q. What advice would you give to young women beginning a career in design?
A. When in doubt, many women I know, tend to keep quiet. Overcome your fear of being wrong and imperfect.
Kristin Wisnewski — New York, New York
Vice President, CIO Design
To me, International Women’s Day is about celebrating the progress women have made and, at the same time, acknowledging the gaps we still need to close. Many women — whose shoulders we stand on — have championed workplace equality, which we continue to strive for today.
Q. What women have inspired you in your career in life?
A. For me, it’s my mom. When I was in elementary school, she worked part-time as a florist, and I saw her take on more part-time jobs and make sacrifices to help support me and my two sisters. Eventually, she went back to school, earned her MBA, and transitioned to a successful career in the corporate world, and I’ve sought to mirror the hard work and dedication I saw in her.
Q. How can men get involved?
A. I’ve been fortunate to have strong advocates and allies as my leaders and peers here at IBM, especially with IBM Chief Information Officer Fletcher Previn, who has supported and empowered me and many other women in my organization.
As an advisory board member of the Women in IT Summit in New York this month, I’ve thought about allyship* a lot recently, and the importance of ensuring we continue to invite men to be part of the conversation. As I help plan this women-focused event, it’s remained important that we include a smart, diverse group of people who all bring different insights to help achieve the same goal: equity in the workplace for everyone.
Q. What advice would you give to young women beginning a career in design?
A. Be bold, take chances, and embrace leaps of faith. Design, and all the roles it offers and forms it takes, is a wonderfully challenging career that can take you places you’d never imagine.
*Allyship — according to this 2018 article from Forbes — is:
a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people.
not self-defined — work and efforts must be recognized by those you are seeking to ally with.
an opportunity to grow and learn about ourselves, whilst building confidence in others.
Chelsea Calhoun is a Content Designer for CIO Design at IBM based in New York, NY. The above article is personal and does not necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.
