Season 270 Episode 9806
S7 E2 - The Invisible Barriers for Professional Women
Tips for the Transition: The Career Roadmap Podcast It’s no secret that professional women have struggled for decades to meet the challenges of the corporate world. We’ve met barriers—jumped over them, glided around them, and sometimes have been stuck behind them. It got me wondering if this will ever change. I’m happy to say some brilliant women are working on it. Join me in my conversation with Valerie Sutton, a remarkable leader in workforce development and the Chief of Workforce Navigation and Transformation at Exponential Changemakers. Valerie’s mission is to empower professional women early in their careers, helping them navigate the ever-evolving workplace, break down barriers, and propel their careers forward. Valerie shares her extraordinary career trajectory, from completely pivoting her profession to becoming a true trailblazer. She’s even taken the bold step of developing a parallel career and eventually becoming an entrepreneur. As a LinkedIn Learning Instructor and a renowned workforce development expert, she has lent her expertise to four prestigious U.S. universities and consulted with numerous others, assisting them in making data-informed decisions to advance their students’ careers. Valerie faced a persistent challenge throughout her journey: being a woman in a male-dominated professional world. Despite working tirelessly and achieving impressive results, she was dishearteningly informed on three pivotal occasions that her success was attributed to her appearance. The underlying message? She met specific societal standards — she is white, maintains an “acceptable” weight, is in her child-bearing years, dresses appropriately, has no apparent disabilities and identifies as cisgender. Today, we’ll delve deep into Valerie’s experiences and shed light on professional women’s often-overlooked struggles and triumphs. Discover how Valerie Sutton and Exponential Changemakers work tirelessly to redefine the landscape for professional women and ensure their careers are booming and devoid of discrimination. Join us.
