Lessons & Reflections on Women’s History Month 2023

What does it take in today’s world for modern women in the workplace to feel empowered? Considering that collectively, the voices and contributions of women are all too often minimized in professional settings—despite the changing times.

As a woman co-owned company, it’s something we thought quite a lot about this past International Women’s History Month (March 1-31 every year). Particularly because it’s always been our aim to be the kind of agency with a culture that exalts gender equality while creating a safe space for women (and every person across the gender spectrum) to be seen, heard, valued, respected, and protected. Still, we know there’s always room to grow in this regard.

And as we saw the outpour of agency produced content this year focusing on what Women’s History Month means and why it’s important, we naturally could not help but notice the performativeness of it all. Something that prompted us to dig deeper in our celebration, which we wanted to feel more meaningful, reflective, and authentic.

So for us, pondering the question at hand was an important starting point. But it also meant gathering fresh perspectives from folks within our own team, who shared their POVs on what they believe it takes for today’s woman to feel empowered at work.

‘‘Personally I feel empowered through being heard by leadership and collaboration with my peers. It definitely helps that I'm surrounded by other career driven, boss women here at ATF. Collaboration with my peers helps me feel empowered because we're all working towards the same common goal (mostly to improve process and the day to day lives of ourselves and others!)’’

— Sara Robinson, Project Manager

“Being the President and Co-Founder of ATF has been a source of pride and empowerment for me. It’s allowed me to not only pursue my passions, but it has also given me the opportunity to hire and empower other smart and talented women to do the same.”

— Erin Hunt , Chief Creative Officer

‘‘For me, I feel empowered in the workplace when TRUST is given from my superiors. Considering the fact that we are working remotely, it gives me confidence when I know that my company believes in me. As a full-time WFH mom, it’s pretty hard to handle the challenges ahead, and can feel pretty scary because we often worry about the impact of having a family on our careers. But when I feel invested in to grow my skills at work, it makes me feel like my personal and professional success really matters; both now and in the future.’’

— Chin Monta?o, Treasurer & Global Finance Manager

‘‘I feel empowered when I make mistakes (and it's okay). Everyone makes mistakes, but when you are in an environment that encourages experimentation, then mistakes are no longer a negative, but a positive. When you learn from your mistakes, you are truly growing and creating something new.’’

— Zara M. Griesemer , Project Manager

‘‘In our industry (which is male-dominated) as a Woman, I feel empowered when my colleagues make sure that my voice is also being heard, and that I am respected in my role. Also, I believe that an empowered woman should know her worth. This is why I'm happy that my hard work is being recognized, and that I am given opportunities to continuously learn and grow.’’

— Nicole Coronel , Project Coordinator

“For me, feeling empowered at work involves having a seat at the table and knowing that my opinions are valued. When I'm included in important decision-making processes and my perspective is taken into account it demonstrates to me that I'm respected in my role and my contributions to the company are being recognized.”

— Caitlin Aronin , Director of Digital Marketing

‘‘I feel the most empowered in the workplace when I am offered the space to grow in meaningful ways that will follow me wherever I go. But also, to me, nothing feels better than receiving the level of support needed to produce quality work that I feel good about, and that resonates with others. Much of that lies in being poured into professionally in ways that are rare, because it requires companies to apply a certain level of thoughtfulness that is uncommon in a world where bottom line thinking is king.’’

— Naima Abdi , Digital Marketing Specialist

‘‘I’d say I feel empowered when I feel like I have a seat at the table and I'm encouraged to share my ideas and thoughts. I love being a woman in a male dominated industry, it allows us the space to show that we also have certain skill sets. I really like to hear feedback with the ability to make improvements and it’s not often when you will feel that the space is truly available.’’

— Taira Hernandez , Senior Account Executive

It was after taking in the wisdom of these eloquent, and insightful responses that we were reminded of how lucky we are to work with such an incredible and articulate team of people who are so intentional and consistent about actively contributing to make the culture of our company better everyday, in every way, for everyone.

The process of uncovering these insights on women empowerment in the workplace also reaffirmed a lot for us in terms of the culture and ethos we have worked so hard to establish since Above The Fray began nearly 6 years ago in 2017.

As an ecommerce agency co-owned, co-led and co-operated by the women who shared with you above, plus many more, we simply could not be prouder of our team and the collaborative spirit forged through our work together.

Thank you:

Erin Hunt , Chief Creative Officer

Marisol Garcia , Chief Financial Officer

Caitlin Aronin , Director of Digital Marketing

Marsha Naidoo , Chief Ecommerce Evangelist

Taira Hernandez , Senior Account Executive

Hannah Muetzel, Junior Business Analyst

Jeraldine Reyes , Creative Designer

Chin Monta?o, Treasurer & Global Finance Manager

Jenelle Ford , Senior Project Manager

Honeymay Louiese Ignacio - Engineer

Eloise Gasper - Senior Shopify Engineer

Lorenz Navaja-Osabel - Senior Web Designer

Sara Robinson, CSM , Senior Project Manager

Nicole Coronel , Project Coordinator

Naima Abdi , Digital Marketing Specialist

Zara M. Griesemer , Project Manager

April Joy Concepcion - HR Associate

Ella Mae Perales - Project Coordinator

Bea Jouvelle Jornada - QA Engineer

Hazel Joie Caquicla - Senior Engineer

Maria Regina Mateo - AxL Operations Manager

Dannica Hutton , Vice President of Solutions Strategy

We appreciate the brilliance, work ethic, creativity, intellect, solutions, and knowledge you bring here, and everywhere.