Recap: Connatix Women Leaders in Media Panel

As women increasingly rise through the ranks of leadership, female leaders took a deep dive into “having it all” and how the conversation around work-life balance for women has evolved. The panel featured AB InBev’s Ran Wei Baker, Microsoft’s Nicole Morgan, The Daily Beast’s Katie Pillich, PGA TOUR’s Pilar Prassas, and Forbes’ Rebeca Solórzano in a discussion moderated by Connatix President and CRO Jenn Chen. 

Following the panel, attendees continued the conversation over food, drinks, and a set from DJ Samantha Michelle. Read on for some key takeaways from the discussion. 

Advocating in the workplace

One of the central themes to the leaders’ discussion was the concept of advocacy – whether in the context of compensation, promotions, or other opportunities at work. Women are still generally undercompensated compared to men and promoted less frequently to the same positions, despite an increasing understanding of this disparity in common workplace culture. As leaders and managers themselves, many of the panelists described their desire to educate their teams as a whole. 

Prassas described her philosophy as a manager of teaching her direct reports, especially women, to drive conversations about compensation. Though they may be uncomfortable at first, she said the repetitive practice of having those conversations helps younger people in the industry better advocate for themselves for the rest of their careers. 

“The biggest piece of advice is that you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” Baker said. “It can be applied to so much. Teaching more women to advocate for themselves, it’s monumental.”

Creating boundaries with remote work

A newer development that has hit the workforce in recent years is remote work, which can often be a double-edged sword for women who have crucial responsibilities at home and in their careers. Morgan said remote or hybrid work can often create a “24/7” working scenario if no boundaries are set. She emphasized the importance of blocking out personal time, whether it’s bigger commitments or smaller things, like lunch or water breaks. 

“The pandemic gave me things I never had in the 25 years of my career, like school drop-off,” Morgan said. “Those are joys I found that I didn’t want to give back.”

Solórzano echoed this sentiment, saying she blocks time on her calendar to dedicate to her young son and does not make exceptions. “You don’t need to explain why you have time blocked off,” she said.

What does having it all mean?

Toward the end of the conversation, the panelists discussed how work-life balance is far from a straightforward process – they’ve often struggled with balance themselves and with finding out what having it all means to them personally. Baker shared her hesitancy to speak up so that she could fit in more with her workplace culture in the past. Morgan said the same had happened to her, and she had tried to fit in with others before realizing the importance of creating her own unique system that worked for her.

“Mirroring others wasn’t making me happy or successful,” she said. “Decide what’s for you and what’s not. Your chapter will continue.”

Pillich agreed, saying that having it all can mean an opportunity to “challenge yourself in finding the balance that works for you.” Prassas’ interpretation of having it all was being present wherever she is, whether it’s “an email, a meeting, or your best friend at dinner.” 

“It’s not overnight,” Solórzano said. “Patience and persistence will get you to perseverance.”