A recap on how Co-op embraced Women’s History Month

This year’s International Women’s Day theme was embracing equity. We celebrated by reflecting on what equity means to Co-op employees in a collaborative whiteboard, available to all employees.??

InspiHer also hosted a panel discussion with Chief Experience & Marketing Officer, Samantha Paxson , and Chief Revenue Officer, Matt Kardell, moderated by Corporate Strategy and Business Performance Manager, Courtney Heimberger , to further reflect on how embracing equity makes good business sense. 112 colleagues joined the discussion and asked thought-provoking questions of the panelists.?

How Chief Revenue Officer, Matt Kardell, celebrates and supports women?

Many of us didn’t realize this, but, for the first 10 years of Matt’s career, he always had women bosses. He shared that he was “fortunate to learn the ropes of payments and just being a professional from women. And [he] never really thought anything of it.”?

And because he hadn’t really thought anything of it – successful, career women have always been part of his journey – he is always celebrating the women in his life, regardless of whether it’s Women’s History Month, “day-to-day and without even consciously celebrating it, it's just right. I try to be a smart businessperson, and it’s just smart business. At the end of the day, and I also think of myself as a people person, and it's just being a good person.”?

Following up on that comment of how supporting women is “just smart business,” Matt shed insight into a few higher education stats, including that now 60% of all college students enrolled today are women. He went on to share, “So if you just do the simple math, you can read it and look at it and say, ‘I should really look at women as you know the catalyst to my business.’”?

?Although Matt recognizes the importance of Women’s History Month, he doesn’t necessarily need it to celebrate and support the women in his life – he will always advocate and promote the women around him who are making an impact.?

How Chief Experience and Marketing Officer, Samantha Paxson, aims to propel the women in her life forward??

Many women can relate to the stories shared by Sam during the panel discussion, especially the comment below.??

“I am going to create opportunities for myself and advocate for myself, no matter how uncomfortable I feel. It taught me how to feel comfortable in being uncomfortable and really being brave and advocating for myself.”?

?And because Sam Paxson didn’t always have an advocate throughout her career journey, she enjoys being an advocate to help strong leaders get ahead.??

?“One of the things that I fully believe in is that I celebrate women and intentionally create opportunities for women all year round. As I get ahead, I want to make it easier for those I work with to get ahead faster and win faster than I did.”?

When asked why she thought embracing equity is a good business model, Sam shared, “some traits that people might say are innately female or feminine is really where business is going. For Co-op to behave as a platform business, we need to integrate and connect functional areas to behave in concert with each other. Silos need to converge for us to move?at the speed of modern business. Top down,?hierarchical, command and control type of leadership style will not work. It requires connective, collaborative, empathetic, human-first leadership to behave in?an agile algorithmic way. Women are particularly good at this.”?

So, in honor of this year’s IWD theme, how do Matt and Sam define equity??

Chief Revenue Officer, Matt Kardell: “It’s equal footing, it’s opportunity, it's equal opportunity, and it's based on merit. It's just a merit-based process and you take out all the other factors. To me that's what equity is, you make decisions equitably, always based on merit and also potential. We try to make decisions in CRO, not to put place someone in a job today because they're ready today. They may not be quite ready, but the potential is so critical, and I think sometimes women don't get the benefit of the doubt on potential.”?

Chief Experience & Marketing Officer, Samantha Paxson: “First, equity means being given a shot. It’s hard to get a shot sometimes, just to be in the?consideration set. So, there’s being given the opportunity or creating the opportunity for female leaders. And the second is being paid. It’s being seen, heard and paid. My dream is that I don’t always have to be asking for these attributes and I don't have to be the one always advocating.”?

And that was just one way we celebrated Women’s History Month this month.?

Within the InspiHer allies teams channel, there were many valuable conversations that took place, especially around why this intentional effort is still relevant and needed today, in 2023.?

And, while the conversation within InspiHer was largely focused on why this work remains critical to propel women forward, the other ERGs of Co-op had a more positive, encouraging reflection this month: Black Financial Technology Professionals and Women in Technology ERGs both celebrated various women throughout history and Pride Alliance ERG reflected on the women who have made an impact on their lives or inspired them.?

Although women’s history month has come to a close, Co-op women, their allies, and our executive team will continue to support, promote, and propel the women of Co-op forward. They will intentionally seek opportunities for their women colleagues, to celebrate them or advocate for them, especially the spaces they’re not in today or when they can’t be in the room. They will make sure their colleagues are aware of the value they provide to them, the project, or the organization.??