This past March we celebrated International Women's Day with a special episode of Empower Hour hosted by Women in RPA with this year’s theme of #ChooseToChallenge. In this session with @Bindi Basan, David Lerma and Nikki Waters and our very own Co-Founder @Xina Seaton, the panel shared their experiences and drilled down to what they choose to challenge in the workplace. The biggest take away from the panel was to speak up for yourself and others and to call out inequalities when you see them in the workplace.
Our favorite quotes from the panel:
Bindi Basan on being brave and standing strong as a leader
One thing I really choose to challenge is the perception that you can't have strong women leaders. I've met some incredible leaders in my journey. And every single day, my team challenge me to bring creativity to the table and choose to think differently.
One thing I have also seen in my career is that if I am brave and have the courage to speak the truth and challenge things, I can change the dynamic of the room. By speaking up it can allow the communication channel for other women to open up as well.
David Lerma on imposter syndrome impacting men too
I think everyone experiences imposter syndrome, which really is really self-doubt, it. It's not just a woman centric issue, it also applies to men as well. I think various times in my career I've suffered from some way, shape or form of imposter syndrome where I've doubted myself and actually it may have cost me other opportunities that I very well deserved but I just didn't really think I was ready for it at the time.
In my experience, as a man and being raised as a man, it stressed that you need to always be confident and be strong and never show weakness.
Nikki North on seeing your success in a male dominated environment
RPA has helped me to grow in my confidence. And this confidence has given me the ability to go speak at conferences and events. And there have been many times I’d think, " I'm the only woman here" and I would look out in the audience and just see a sea of male faces.
Sometimes I'd doubt myself and think, ‘I was just in the right place at the right time. I was just lucky’. But I've reflected on that over the years and thought, back in the early days, there was 10 or 15 people on that team and only two people have gone on to be heads of RPA. So it's about, yes, I was lucky to get my opportunity in RPA but I took the opportunity.
A big thank you to our panelists for sharing their insights and we look forward to our next Empower Hour hosted by Women in RPA.
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