Total Health | A Woman Owned Business: International Womens Day

'Where is your boss?'

'It's me, I'm the Director.'

'Yeah, but who is your boss, like the CEO or the owner?'

'It's me.'

I remember this conversation so clearly. We were in Denver and a male doctor had an issue with having a Black Nigerian speaker giving a talk, saying we should 'pay more attention to peoples accents because I can't understand anything this woman said.' The speakers' accent was perfectly understandable and more importantly, she was incredibly brilliant.

The doctor was visibly upset that I was the owner and Director and continued to berate me as he did our speaker. 'You're not even an MD. You don't even work at an academic institution. You don't look old enough to own anything. Who supports this financially?' I just calmly answered, trying to put service over ego, and trying to maintain my own integrity.

This wasn't the first time I was in this position and unfortunately wasn't the last. Having a day that celebrates Women means we get a chance to visit the state of Women in the world in ways that highlight the great inequities and disparities that exist. My fear is that just like we highlight inequalities for people of color, these exercises examining the state of Women are more in line with observations than calls-to-action. As a Woman in business and leadership, it is appalling to see the statistics in the US workplace.

A McKinsey Special Report 'Women in the Workplace 2022' summarized, "to make meaningful and sustainable progress toward gender equality, companies should consider focusing on two broad goals: getting more women into leadership and retaining the women leaders they already have. That will require pushing beyond common practices. Companies with better representation of women, especially women of color, are going further." The article went on to highlight real ways that companies with better female representation do better and what key practices drive attracting, developing, and retaining Women at work.

When I founded Total Health, I wanted to prioritize investing in young Women by providing generous pay and benefit packages, being intentional about giving positive feedback and encouragement, allowing flexible work schedules, rewarding effort with bonuses, inviting business mentors and coaches to work 1:1 for personal and professional goals, and I try to always GIVE what I never GOT. I consistently reinforce my leadership affirming that 'I won't be the last person you work for, but my goal is to be the best.'

I work with a mostly female team who has exceeded every expectation and industry benchmark. We have experienced tremendous growth and refinement. People are happy to work here. We all feel valued and supported. We all feel seen. That's what I believe women want. We want to know that we are doing fair work for fair pay and that our contributions mean something. We also want to know that our ability to lead is recognized and not ridiculed. We earned our place--which is actually exactly what I responded finally to that doctor all those years ago, 'Sir, I worked hard in school and in life so that I could build a company that provided medical education with you in mind. I am proud of my work, my company, and my educators--who give tirelessly of themselves to help you treat your patients better, no matter what accent they speak with.'

Women are still dramatically underrepresented in corporate America. The McKinsey report concluded, 'The COVID-19 crisis of 2020 pushed corporate America to reimagine the way we work...this is especially true for women. Women are ambitious and hardworking. They’re more inclusive and empathetic leaders. And they want to work for companies that are prioritizing the cultural changes that are improving work. Companies that rise to the moment will attract and retain the women leaders—which will lead to a better workplace for everyone.'

To read the whole report referenced in my article, please visit Women in the Workplace | McKinsey