International Women's Day at ACV

"What does a CEO?look?like?"

On IWD, a reflection on why representation matters & how to get there

When I was 20, I had my first M&A internship at a tech startup. I earned my spot, I performed very well, and I ranked at the top of my internship class. I was proud of myself. My manager at the time did an end of summer review, and asked what I aspire to be in my career. “An executive - maybe even a CEO, one day,” I said. His response was something that I will never forget (and yes, this really happened):

“You are short. You are a person of color. You have a weird name, and you’re a woman. You’ll never be a CEO.”

My 20-year-old world came crashing down. I had lived my first 20 years blindly believing that equality & equity across all lenses of diversity was possible - that it was how the world was working. I grew up believing that no matter who you are, you are judged by the value of your work, and not by what you looked like.

I left my review that day about to burst into tears. I remember crying to my mom on the phone, and she was livid.

“How can he say that to you?”

“But it’s true, mom, isn’t it? Statistically, it’s true.”

And she was silent.

When I think about why representation matters, why days like International Women’s Day matter, this story always comes to the forefront of my mind. Countless studies demonstrate the overwhelmingly positive financial and social impact that diversity has on the workplace. I’ll leave the experts to share their studies (but here’s one by?McKinsey & Lean In?to start.)

Representation matters. Closing the gender wage gap, the gender leadership gap, and the gender wealth gap matter.?Closing these gaps on other lenses of diversity matter a lot, too. As you can see from my story, it’s never as straightforward as addressing singular issues. Intersectionality matters tremendously, and it’s on us to learn more about how to make these improvements in the workplace.

There’s a lot of work to do.

Improving gender equality at work is a fantastic place to start.

Allyship from?everyone, not just women, is the best way to get there.

IWD is not just about women - it’s about all of us, especially allies, committing to a more equal world. As we honor International Women’s Day, I encourage you to not only celebrate the women in your life, but pledge to do your part to foster a more gender equal workplace and world.

I invite you to join me in my IWD Pledge to:

• Celebrate women’s workplace achievements
• Elevate women’s voices in the workplace
• Speak up against gender bias - conscious or unconscious
• Ensure equal distribution of office “housework”
• Act as a role model for women’s leadership and allyship
• Learn from the incredible role models, of all identities, around me everyday.

Happy International Women’s Day - to?everyone?who is committed to a more inclusive world.

To learn more about IWD, check out?https://www.internationalwomensday.com/?and?https://leanin.org/iwd?

Anisha is a Director of Corporate Development & Strategy at ACV, focusing on M&A and growth opportunities. Outside of work, she loves exploring New York City, spending time with family and friends, and continuing her sommelier education. You can connect with Anisha at https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/anishakalyani/