The International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021 theme is “Choose to Challenge”. From the IWD website:
A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change.
So let's all choose to challenge. How will you help forge a gender equal world?
Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.
Today, we would like to celebrate just a few of the amazing women we have the pleasure of working with every day. Their contributions make W. L. Gore & Associates a great place to work and help bring world class products to people across the globe.
Role at Gore:
Product Specialist in Gore’s Fabric Division
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
She would be shocked and disappointed, questioning what went wrong on our dream to be in the NBA (the WNBA was not around when I was 10).
Favorite hobbies/activities:
Running, walking my dogs, golf, tennis, volleyball, outdoor time on trails
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
Be authentic and true to yourself now, your meaningful relationships are yet to come, and wasting time trying to be someone you are not to fit a mold is draining and stressful.
Who is your female role model and why?
Besides my own mother, I will say my Division I college basketball coach, Sue Troyan. She exemplifies what it means to be compassionate and competitive, always putting her players’ needs first and caring about us as individuals beyond what we did on the basketball court. When I played, she was in the middle of raising 3 young children and her husband was a Division I softball coach. The message she sent with balancing a home with two traveling/working parents left a strong impression on me. The message of women do not have to sacrifice their career to be at home raising children. Adapt expectations and be a ridiculously efficient and organized person, and it can all work out. She has opened her home to people in need and is always looking to improve in her journey by seeking to understand differences and work to diversify her basketball program. She holds a motherly place in my heart.
Role at Gore:
Application Engineer for Outdoor GORE-TEX Garments, developing new products and textiles for the top Outdoor brands in the industry
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
Love this question – amazed by my GPA in mechanical engineering and shocked that so much of what I do is influencing and working with many different people. I was a very quiet and shy girl growing up.
Favorite hobbies/activities:
Getting outside to run, walk, ski, golf, beach, sunsets/sunrises, and shopping (which makes me enjoy what I do creating amazing fabrics that turn into outdoor garments that I can buy at retail in amazing colors). Travel is another favorite activity and Gore has offered me many opportunities to go places I would have never been (Vancouver, China, Munich, Scotland, Italy).
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
Relax and be yourself. I was too worried about what others thought and lacked the confidence to speak up. Why did it take me so long to figure out that it doesn’t really matter if you do what you are good at and have the best intentions? Surround yourself with friends and co-workers that make you feel good about yourself and accept you for who you are.
Who is your female role model and why?
Not one. Many female coworkers and leaders throughout my career that helped me on so many levels and made me into the career and family woman I am today (Michele Rocker, Carole Ann Wilkinson, Diane Davidson, Sheryl Silverman, Sara Ellis…..to name a few). They taught me that I could have an amazing career and raise a family.
Role at Gore:
Enterprise Communications, External Affairs
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
So, you spend most of your time in meetings?
Favorite hobbies/activities:
Reading thrillers and traveling the world.
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
No regrets. Just do it. You only live once.
Who is your female role model and why?
Margaret Thatcher, ‘this lady is not for turning’
Role at Gore:
As the Global Retail Activation Specialist, I am responsible for defining a globally relevant program and framework for in-store visibility of the GORE-TEX brand.
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
With complete confusion. I thought you wanted to be a librarian!
Favorite hobbies/activities:
Gardening, kayaking, playing guitar, and reading.
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
I promise you will enjoy a happier life when you make physical activity a daily priority.
Who is your female role model and why?
I have several awesome female role models but one woman who has been a constant throughout my life. My mother, Faye, was wise, tough, independent. I trusted her experience and honesty in all matters from career to relationships. She was a woman of substance.
Role at Gore:
Account Marketing Specialist working with the best brands and retailers in the outdoor industry.
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
My ten-year-old self did not have the confidence to envision what I do now. She would have never imagined the amount of countries I have been afforded to travel to through my work and how remarkable it is to work with such diverse and exceptional people.
Favorite hobbies/activities:
I LOVE the ocean and spending time at the beach, walking my beloved beagle and cooking (especially homemade pasta). I am a maker (jewelry, textiles, things for my home) and especially like to share what I make with family and friends.
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
I would tell my sixteen-year-old snarky self, “You don’t know what you don’t know so keep learning from and listening to those who do!”
Who is your female role model and why?
My female role model is my Mother. She gave me the confidence to always go forward, to try new things and to believe in myself. She taught me the importance of working and being self-sufficient. She taught me how to cook, and the art of how food is love, so feed your family.
Role at Gore:
Digital Product Owner
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
She would most likely think it is crazy how many hours I spent in front of a computer screen/ on the phone each day and tell me to go out and play more.
At the same time, I think she would also feel proud and be impressed.
This is what my perfect day looks like:
We wake up early in the morning in the mountains in South Tyrol (Italy) and head off for some mountain sports activities together with friends (e.g. Mountain Biking/ Skiing/ Hiking etc.). After having reached the peak of the mountain, we enjoy some delicious Italian food on the outside of a mountain hut. We descend back to where we started in the morning, refresh ourselves in the pool and have a great party together in the evening.
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
If you can dream it, you can do it!
Be brave, be courageous, dream your life and live your dream.
Who is your female role model and why?
Oh, there are many. One of them is Lea-Sophie Cramer (German founder, entrepreneur, business angel and Forbes top 30-under-30 and 40-under-40). She supports other female founders and entrepreneurs and advocates for more women in top management but also founding businesses that support sustainability. She is a role model for her courage, thinking big and outside of the box whilst also trying to pre-serve this world for the later generations to come.
What is your wish for the generation to come?
I hope, dream and fight for young women entering their professional/ business life to not being stopped by the “glass ceiling” any longer and not having to stand up for what should be considered as common sense.
Role at Gore:
North American Field Sales Associate
How would your 10-year-old self react to what you do now?
I guess I would be surprised! I grew up in a small town in Ohio and always wanted to move to the big city. Ended up in New York City where I landed a sales position at a brokerage house before starting my career with Gore.
Favorite hobbies/activities:
I love doing anything in the outdoors!
Something you would tell your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time:
I would tell myself to go big! Dreams do become reality and I’m a good example of that as a small-town girl. I would also say always treat others with respect and most of all have a big heart.
Who is your female role model and why?
My mother was a huge role model. Kind, generous with her charitable giving and always encouraged me to do whatever made me happy.
Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.