随着卡米拉·哈里斯（Kamela Harris）上周就任美国首位女副总统，珍妮特·耶伦（Janet Yellen）被确认为首位女财政部长，众所周知的玻璃天花板已经破裂。它还没有被粉碎——但作为女性，我们正在大步前进，把它打倒。每个女性都瞄准了玻璃天花板，为更多女性的效仿铺平了道路。

根据Catalyst的数据，到2020年底，标准普尔500指数公司中只有6%的首席执行官是女性。然而，到2021年，这一数字将跃升至8.2%。一些新加入CEO俱乐部的女性是：

• 简·弗雷泽将成为首位JDB电子领导大型银行的女性。下个月，她将成为花旗集团（Citigroup, Inc.）的首席执行长。
• Karen S. Lynch将于2021年2月1日成为CVS Health的首席执行官

在规模较小但发展迅速的公司里，女性也在不断发展。31岁的惠特尼•沃尔夫•赫德（Whitney Wolf Herd）就是这样一位女性，她将成为上市公司中最年轻的女性首席执行官。赫德将在未来几个月内带领她创立的公司Bumble进行首次公开募股，Bumble是一款流行的女性约会应用程序，估计估值约为80亿美元。更让她取得成就的是，她不仅是最年轻的首席执行官，还建立了一个由73%女性组成的董事会。

毫无疑问，推动自己在C-Suite中排名上升并担任首席执行官的头衔需要力量和毅力。“她的议程”（Her Agenda）是一个致力于通过人脉、灵感和资源来支持女性的组织，该组织采访了51位“有影响力的”女性，并列出了20条建议。我鼓励你回顾一下整个列表，但这里是我的前五个：

• Work Hard – Amanda Edwards – U.S. Senate Candidate. “There is no substitute for hard work and preparation. You have to prepare. You have to work hard. You’re going to face adversity. You have to be resilient. It’s not going to be an easy journey. Make sure you’re ready for it. Have a clear goal in mind, don’t just get out there. Then, create a plan and execute it.”
• Develop Your Skills – Deena Shakir – Partner at Lux Capital. “I realized there is a bit of a misconception among many people that direct experience doing exactly the same role is what leads you into your next role. [But really] it is more about the skills, the network you develop, and the curiosity that you have. Most of the things that you will end up doing in your role you really can’t necessarily train for prior to. You can learn it on the job if you have exposure.”
• Be Part of a Community – Dorothy B. Gilliam – First Black Woman Reporter at the Washington Post. “My message is the importance of being part of a community, being a part of the Black community to the extent that it is possible. From there, one can get so much support, hope, and strength that helps to arm you to return to the battle in your office or in your organization…I think that there is a richness and depth in our culture. Really take advantage of it. You can be in white spaces, but you can also bring with it who you are. If you don’t have your own posse, you better get one.”
• Own Your Voice – Monika Pierce, Head of Inclusion and Diversity at WW. “I think that women need to be aware of owning their voice. It is recognizing that you have the experience, knowledge, confidence, and right to sit at the table you are at. If you are not at the table that you want to be at, you have a right to change courses and navigate getting there. As women, we sometimes become a wallflower as we are unsure if we should voice our opinions or ask for better. Women should find their voice and use it confidently because we have a lot to say and there is a lot to be said.”
• Practice Wellness – Aala Marra, Holistic Health Practitioner and Founder of aalaCare. “The biggest and best thing that I can say about wellness is that you deserve it. Period. Everyone deserves it. If you’re a human, you need wellness and you’re worthy of it. The best advice I could ever give is to open yourself up and give yourself permission to bring wellness into your life, because you deserve it.”

These women are paving the way for others, chipping away at the glass ceiling one promotion, appointment, and election at a time. They are doing it for themselves and for all those women, young and old behind them. They are doing it for you. Think of their sacrifices, hard work, and achievements as an opportunity. Learn from them and then feed off of their energy, enthusiasm, and experience to forge your path, making sure it wide enough for others to follow.

Best,