Overcoming the Position of Underdog: My Never Stand Still Conversation with Suzanne Ehlers

For Suzanne Ehlers, CEO of the Malala Fund, there was never a doubt that she was going to work on behalf of women and girls. When she was growing up, she participated in Girl Scouts and was constantly curious about the role of women leaders in society—learning from the inspiring role models around her, from her mother to her friends, aunts, and colleagues. She has also always been intrigued by how vast and interconnected the world is, and these passions came together when she became CEO of the Malala Fund in early 2020.

Suzanne became CEO right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and life as we know it turned upside down. She quickly had to learn how to adapt to help the Malala Fund further its vision of equipping women and girls all around the world with education in a very different environment, and it was clear from our conversation that she is embracing this challenge. She sees her role as unique: she’s the CEO charged with running a purposeful organization and ensuring that the co-founder, Malala Yousafzai, is “where she needs to be” to drive the conversation around education.

Suzanne and I spoke about the societal benefits of providing a quality education to women and girls, shifting mindsets, and her leadership philosophy. I wanted to share some key takeaways from our conversation.

When girls have education, the world benefits

Education should be a basic human right for everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Yet, more than 130 million girls around the world lack access to education. “Girls’ education…should be happening regardless if it has ancillary benefits,” Suzanne told me. “Luckily for Malala Fund, we have a lot of people who say, ‘even if it didn’t do the world any good, I would still want to secure education as a basic human right for every girl, everywhere.”

But there are many benefits for society. In addition to helping women and girls take control of their lives, Suzanne discussed the correlation between the environment and girls’ education. An education helps girls become better leaders, and sets them up to skillfully navigate difficult discussions around climate change. It also has economic benefits and contributes to global security. Suzanne said, “If all girls finished secondary education…we’re adding something like $30 trillion to the global economy. If you needed a GDP argument and to get at the economists in the room, we’re leaving this talent on the bench in ways that seem irrational to me.” She added that when women are in decision-making positions, the results are longer lasting. “If being at the core of education as a human right wasn’t enough for you,” she said, “there’s a lot more it yields to the world we’re trying to build.” Suzanne cited Malala as someone who has thrived from receiving an education, and who uses it to create access for others.

Suzanne’s determination to help girls gain access to this basic human right is a prime example of the importance of taking a stand. At PayPal, we’re committed to making the financial system accessible to everyone, and as the private sector lead for the United Nations Generation Equality Forum’s Economic Justice and Rights Action Coalition, we’ve made investments to support the financial inclusion and economic empowerment of women and girls. Improving the financial health of women is essential to building prosperous and resilient communities, and we believe we have a responsibility to help expand the role and participation of women in the financial system and economic growth.

Our mindsets can, and should, change

For many of us, education is something taken for granted. “I was speaking to a group of students recently [who said] how now that we’re back in school after COVID, I sometimes groan in the morning that it’s too early and I wish I didn’t have to go to school,” Suzanne told me. “And I think about the girls in Afghanistan who would go to school seven days a week if they were allowed…That’s a group of girls who are fighting every day to get something that the rest of the world…takes for granted and…groans about an early morning alarm clock.”

The pandemic disrupted education for children and young adults all over the world, causing many to realize for the first time that it isn’t always accessible. “People [were] scrambling to figure out how we were going to keep these kids hungry for education…How we were going to keep them connected…so they could keep up with their lessons. That kind of urgency around education is almost unfamiliar to people and…never really [thought] that it couldn’t be available.” Suzanne said this shifted her thinking about Malala Fund’s work.

When Suzanne took over the reins, the fund had already been around for eight years. Taking over as CEO of a world-renowned organization can be daunting, especially when that organization has been on an upward trajectory. “I think one of the hardest things to do…is shifting from what we call this ‘scarcity mindset’ in nonprofits…You’re always scrabbling things together with Scotch tape,” she explained. “But then all of a sudden, you get to a point where you are better-resourced…And then your mindset has to shift to one of abundance.” While Suzanne admits that it can be hard to break patterns, this mindset shift has helped Malala Fund make a difference during this pressing moment for education.

I agree with Suzanne. In life, and in business, you constantly need to be thinking several steps ahead. We can’t get stuck in our thinking, because that can stall our progress.

Your leadership philosophy must meet the moment

Suzanne had to overcome hurdles to shift the mindset at Malala Fund. I loved the analogy she used to describe the transition: “We’ve always had limes, and today I want lemons, and all of your lime advocates are like, ‘What’s wrong with me? You’ve enjoyed me for years.’ Well, there’s nothing wrong. We just have to switch our citrus choice.” When Suzanne assumed her role, she needed to balance change with respecting what had been done at Malala Fund before. She did this by embracing Malala’s vision of providing quality education to girls everywhere, not taking the organization’s prior success for granted, and investing in her team. “We’ve laid a lot of groundwork to get us here,” she explained. “When all of that starts to gel for people, then you’ve got this new moment to take forward. And that’s…where I think we are in some respects right now.” ?

She became CEO during a time of discord – the pandemic had upended the world, vast inequities were being exposed, and the United States was experiencing a historic reckoning with racial injustice – and she’s learned a lot about leadership and staying connected during this time. She keeps a spreadsheet with the name of each Malala Fund staffer, and spends time each day checking in to see how they’re doing personally. “If I brought care and intention and humility…to the work that I was doing, we could get through anything,” she said. “It’s a lesson I’ve kept with me that there is something to be said for…intentional leadership that begins and ends with the people with whom you work.”

Suzanne’s philosophy resonates with me and the work we’re doing at PayPal. Our employees are our number one stakeholder, and I spend a lot time thinking about how we can help them be financially secure, feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, and inspired by our mission and values. I believe these efforts – from our Worker Financial Wellness Initiative to our internal Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging programming – helped our employees handle the challenges of the pandemic and come to work each day ready to make a difference.

I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Suzanne and I hope you do, too. Listen to our full conversation below and leave me a comment to let me know what other lessons you took away from it.?