Soaking up the sunshine, fresh air, and gorgeous scenery as I drove along a coastal freeway in my shiny new convertible felt exactly where I was supposed to be professionally. Having checked all the academic boxes with an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Wharton, I was the CEO of The Tyra Banks Co., feeling on top of the world.
It’s been said that “Life is what happens when you are making other plans.” Well, life hit me smack in the face. Hard. My sister, the primary caretaker of our parents, was diagnosed with cancer. A single parent, she died five weeks later in the prime of her life, leaving behind a grief-stricken 13-year-old.
Thus began my entry into the “panini sandwich” stage of life. I was toasted to a crisp on both sides, and oozing out the middle. Overnight, I had become both an auntie-mom and my elderly parents’ primary caregiver. My shoulders were heavy. In order to have the bandwidth to stabilize my grief-stricken family, I got off the career freeway and drove onto the frontage road.
To say I was not expecting these hurdles right as my career was reaching new heights is an understatement. So, I did the only thing I knew to do. Putting my years of problem-solving skills to use, I pivoted to a brand-new chapter in my career in an initiative to financially empower women.
Reflecting back on those “panini” years, as a woman, I wish I’d known from day one of my professional life about the magnitude to which a solid grasp of your personal finances serves as a superpower when life hits you in the head. The calm, confidence and clarity that comes from financial well-being is priceless. This is what I want up-and-coming female leaders to know, and this is the focus of my work today.
Seattle is a town known for its rich history of creating innovative new businesses and being a great place for professional women to thrive. What can leaders in Seattle do to maintain this stellar reputation?
First, they can embrace the nascent, powerful trend of employers providing personal finance education as part of their overall benefits package. We field many such requests from forward-thinking companies, ranging from those in the Fortune 500 to those with 500 employees. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “ It’s Time to Prioritize Employees’ Financial Health ” explains why and how workplace financial education is a win-win for both companies and employees. And it’s extra beneficial to women of all ages given that we still bear the brunt of the work-life stress that arises from juggling child care and eldercare.
The second thing business leaders can do is reinvigorate DEI in the corporate board room. Study after study shows that diverse groups of leaders make better business decisions than homogenous ones. Unfortunately, DEI fatigue is starting to set in. To counter this trend, highly qualified women interested in corporate board service must be included in the search pool when seeking new board members.
Leaders across the state have a unique opportunity to maintain and enhance our reputation for being an exceptional place for women to work at all phases of their professional lives. I’m excited to see what the future holds as companies reassess the intersection of culture, work, women, and leadership.
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