Nobody starts out in the C-suite. Members of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women community tell you how they navigated corporate America to get to the top

Trailblazers

When you make business a force for good it's incredibly powerful and it's incredibly engaging for a lot of people. [ MUSIC ] My name is Molly Hayward and I'm the co- founder and chief brand officer of Cora. Cora is a modern women's wellness company so we started out in period care we wanted to create Better for you products that were also better for the world. So making products that are healthy and organic and made with natural materials while also helping to provide products to girls in need all over the world so that they can attend school during their periods when a woman buys Cora through our, DTC subscription. It's a one for one giving model. So for every month supply of product that you receive, we provide a month's supply of pads plus reproductive health education to a girl in need in India and when you purchase our products at Target we give 10 % of our net profits to Zhan Africa in Kenya Which helps to provide pads and health education to girls there. I love the saying, look at what you were doing when you were ten years old, and you'll know what you should do for the rest of your life. And when I was ten years old, Running around my fourth grade classroom getting kids to sign petitions to help save the baby chicks that we were raising in our class. Or I was asking everybody to donate, you know, twenty five cents of their lunch money to UNICEF. So, I always had this real really strong sense of sort of responsibility to help wherever I could. Several years ago, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a girl who told me that she would stay home from school during her period because she couldn't afford menstrual pads. And really that was the inspiration for Korra. As a woman who has never not had the products that she needed to manage her period, it was almost impossible for me to imagine going through my day. Going to school going to work without those products? Really my first thought was, my gosh, how can I help this one girl stay in school during her period. And then my next thought was there are probably millions of girls like this girl all over the world. And there are probably millions of women like me who would have this same reaction. If they could help this girl in this small way, and help to make sure that she could get the education that we all know is so vital to her ability to break out of the cycle of poverty and pursue her dreams and ambitions. That they would. That was incredibly powerful moment for me, I mean, truly life changing. And I felt like even though I knew that pursuing the idea was going to require a lot of resource that at that time I didn't have, and I knew I'd have to go out and find it. It was like I couldn't not do it. There are many points in this sort of journey of starting Cora where I really got to the end of the rope at every round. There are the naysayers. They're the people who think that you've built the model wrong or you should be doing it this way. We believed in what we had built. And then in the next round, people were saying, It's so brilliant that you did it this way. Even though fundraising is Can be challenging. Every no was sort of just the motivation to keep going and it felt like if it's a no then that wasn't the right person but there were enough yeses and people who believed in us. We've now raised over $ 35 million to date. Every time I go back to Kenya, every time I go back to India, that inspiration is just renewed. That feeling happens again. And it's very visceral and it's very real and seeing just the, strength and tenacity of these girls is it is just incredibly moving and really makes you know any of the hard work that we do. Number one seemed small in comparison, and number two feel completely worth it. [ MUSIC ]

Fortune introduces the newest season of Trailblazers.

Cora’s Molly Hayward: Out to improve the world since age 10

The female-focused wellness company does a lot of good.

For a long time, ambition has been kind of a dirty word for women and girls and certainly in the political realm I think girls and women have historically and things are changing now, but historically have had a tendency to not want to declare that they want to do something until they feel like they have all the skills they need to do it. [ MUSIC ] My name is Dan Moses. I'm the founder and president of Ignite. Ignite is a movement of young women who are ready and eager to become the next generation of political leaders, and what we're doing is we train young women really young women I mean young women as young as high school or college or grad school and we're training them to realise their political ambition, to understand how they politically engage in ultimately their run for office. Most people, when they think about elected office, they think about the top 536 seats, right? Congress, and the president. In fact, there are close to 520, 000 seats, elected seats, across the country. Most of those seats are at the local level. Women are only 25 % of the 520, 000 total seats. And so even after 2018 where everyone I was so excited because it was the first year of the woman we'd had in 26 years. We didn't really get that much farther. I started ignite about a decade ago because it was clear to me that if we wanted to change the trajectory, we really needed to start younger and get women when they were at an age And developmental stage and thinking about who they were and what they wanted to do with their lives. Running for office is kind of a tricky thing. It's not a common job. Most people don't do it. Most people don't know how to do it. We teach them the skills on how to do it and how to raise money. How do you figure out how many votes you need? How do you reach your voters who are your natural Constituencies. How do you articulate your personal call to service, why do you wanna run? What is it about your life that makes it so that you wanna run, and why does that uniquely qualify you to run? It's really hard to start a nonprofit when you have zero dollars, zero. [ LAUGH ] Zero, and it's not like startup, where you're starting a for- profit where, not that women have much luck pitching to VCs. But there is no or there was then no such sort of VC, social investment philanthropy groups. So, I really had to like bootstrap it the whole way. That was really hard. [ LAUGH ]. Like so hard that I just don't know what the hell I was thinking hard. I mean, I got it's over, but I don't. A lot of a lot of organizations go under and by the way, we started at the height of the recession. So that was really hard. But I figured if we could make it then, then piece of cake. In order to have really good policy, you need to actually have a democracy that is made up of the folks that represent all parts of your society, right? That our democracy is predicated on having different perspectives of all kinds of different people. And so when you have a democracy that has 80 % Older white men making all the decisions, you're just not going to get the best decisions simply because they only have a kind of single perspective on all these issues. There's nothing like seeing, you know, an AOC or an Ayana Presley or a sharees. David's to make you think things are possible. It feels like there's this potential for a generational shift in leadership that people are overtly talking . about for the first time. I just think. [ MUSIC ] Right now this is the moment to be pushing as hard as we possibly can to get this done. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Ignite’s Anne Moses: Fighting to get more women into political office

Women hold only about 25% local political seats.

Ignite’s Anne Moses: get more women into political office

The minute you think about fashion, but you go beyond just the consumer side of fashion or the design side of fashion, we're talking about supply chain and operations and financing of it. It tends to be very gendered industry against women. My name is unki Peebles, I'm the co founder and CEO of z lingo. You know how fashion is such a huge industry. everybody wears clothes. It's 5 % of global GDP $ 3. 8 trillion. If you include all the fabrics and trims and everything that goes into clubs, Yet it's somehow the most undigitized industry in the world. That's exploitative everything that they say that's bad about fashion is true by the way. So are we filling up landfills? Are we consuming too much? Is it all not sustainable and responsibly made? It's all true 70 % of the landfills in the world are filled up with fast fashion. And you add to all of this that there's no visibility, no sense of whether the products we think our sustainable are truly sustainable. It's basically a very large, very confused, highly undigitized, completely non transparent industry. So that's where the lingo comes in. We put in technology across the entire supply chain, right from the farmer to the mills, to the fabric makers, to the factories to the brands, so they can transparently transact with one another and then we provide technology tools for them to make their business better. It's incredibly hard to be a woman in tech in developing countries. There have been situations where I have stepped out of meetings with traders or large associations and led by a co founder or CEO or somebody else. Have the conversation Because they were a [ UNKNOWN ] and we needed to get the deal done. I think the first thing that's super important is to be undeniably good at your work on every technicality at everything so that people don't point a finger at it and say she's a woman and hence she doesn't get this. I know it's very it's very unfair because a man might be given more chances. The other thing is that I think it's totally okay to have male allies and male mentors and friends who help you in your path and career and in your journey because Sometimes that's the only help you can have. So you should raise your hand and ask for opportunities, ask for mentorship, ask for help, sees it, and really make the most of it. I think it's unusual or at least it's not Happened a lot before where an Asian company has aspired to solve a global problem at this scale as a new age startup led by a woman that's trying to do this. It's a little unusual. There are a lot of challenges that come along the way, making sure that there is trust in the brand that people don't think of this as an Asian company. Only that there is a there is a global problem to solve. There is high quality in the in the kind of products we deliver. There is a lot of trust to be built in the system. I think some of those are challenges but also that's the opportunity taking this big polluting industry digitizing it making it fair and transparent. We we hope to leave the world A lot better than we found it. And we can see that impact every single day when we work with merchants. When I'm at a conference like this, and I meet women and they come in and say, this is an inspirational story, all I think to myself is this is a huge responsibility and I cannot let them down. It scares me a little bit, the amount of responsibility that comes along with being one of the first Women to do something like this, but it's also a huge honor and I hope I don't let anyone down. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Zilingo’s Ankiti Bose: Building a successful startup as a woman in India

She faces obstacles as a woman business leader there.

Zilingo’s Ankiti Bose Builds a successful startup in India

I constantly had you know things that would be challenges but you can never let it get you down. You have to prove it wrong and come out stronger on the other side. [ MUSIC ] I'm Maria Molland I'm CEO of Thinx. I decided to interview with this company because of what it did and it was a woman founded business. It was a platform, rasing up girls and women in society. And so I was really excited about the fact that I'll be joining a business that seemed so focused on making women's life better. But when I found shortly there after in final round of interviews is that one of the board members told me directly, That they were concerned around my having a young child and my ability to do the job. I think I paused. I was pretty blown away to be honest, and I kind of collected my thoughts as to how to best respond to it in the moment. I was travelling at the time, in this interviewing process from Tennessee to New York and I was bringing my daughter with me. I was proving time and time again that I was willing to do lots to ensure that I Can do this job and [ INAUDIBLE ] really excited about it, and you kind of start thinking maybe they're right to some extent, right? Can I do this, right? Cuz it was my first CEO job, but there was another part of me that thought I have to prove them wrong, right? And I need to make sure that they know that I am completely committed, that I'm able to do this job better than anybody else. And that I will hit it out of the park. [ MUSIC ] I also realized it was this opportunity to ensure that I could create policies. It would make it easier for working parents to be able to have a career and a family life. So a lot of the benefits that we've now put together actually now really oriented towards Making sure you can cover the cost of a nanny and a daycare. We have childcare stipends. We have more flexible leave policies. We have longer parental leave policies. Those things, I think will help. It certainly helps me think about how to manage it all, or try to manage it all. I'm hoping it helps other people at the company, and sets an example to other companies. Means as to what we need to do to help working parents. [ MUSIC ] It is hard, right. I completely admit that. There are times when I leave my child Monday mornings and she's really upset because she spent the whole weekend with me it's difficult you have a somebody that really gnaws at you for a few hours afterwards. But I love my job so much, and I also love what we do. We're really helping women and girls, and not only the ones that can't afford their underwear, we have a very big give back component for more of the marginalized girls and women out there that I'm so proud of. And that makes me feel like my daughter Gets older too, she's going to hopefully be proud of me and realize that it perhaps was a sacrifice, but it's something that I did for me, of course. I enjoy it as well but also for her and for the world at large. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Thinx CEO on the Importance of Good Benefits for Working Parents

Leadership

Maria Mulland says creating these policies is a key part of her job.

One of the things I say often is we need to take our clients as personally as they do. They are counting on us to help them, most of the time to help them with their families' goals and dreams. [ MUSIC ] When my dad died unexpectedly, I was 27 and then the three youngest kids were freshman, sophomore and junior in college. My mum and dad have the traditional duties in how she paid the bills he did the investing. So I saw up close and personal what happens when you don't plan enough for the future. My mum had no. No idea what to do. Historically, I was not actually that interested in the career and financial services to be honest with you. I started as a lawyer and doing healthcare. And then when that happens like, well, when she gets closer to retirement it's like, we've got to put a plan together here in order for you to figure out when you can retire, how much you can spend for month, etc ., and helping around along the way. She didn't know who she can count on The investment advisor, it's like you have no idea who to trust. And it's funny because when we were kids, not old enough, but we all got taken down to the local bank and got a little pass book. And so all of us were told to save money and all of us had summer jobs and working, but it was about saving money not investing for your future. And there's a big difference. [ MUSIC ] That challenge has informed a lot about how I approach things and also my approach to helping other people in terms of their finances. So I listen to 20 hours of customer calls every month. As I'm driving to and from work. And so to hear, like people like my mom. What they're going through, the most memorable call I had. Young sounding voice says he's calling because he's on longterm disability. I'm like what's this all about? Turns out he has osteoporosis, and he's in his 40s. He said on the call, I'm counting on you to get my two daughter to college I'm investing in this solution in order for you to get my girls to college, they're 11 and 12, it's like, this is real, it makes a difference how we approach our jobs in and how we help people. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Fidelity's Kathy Murphy: Her Dad's Death Changed Her Career Path

Careers

She never planned to wind up in financial services.

So why don't you start by telling us your name and your title? Sure, I'm Salle Yoo. I'm the general counsel of Uber Technologies. How do you feel being a woman has influenced your career path? [ MUSIC ] I guess I really haven't thought about it that way, because I am a woman and so I've lived the path that I've been given. I think that I've never made choices because I'm a woman. I've been cognizant of certain challenges that are presented, because I'm a woman. And that I have to operate differently in certain circumstances. I've also been extremely fortunate. I've had a ton of mentorship from other women. I think that women naturally have a community of support, of expertise, and advice. I look at my career and then the career of my husband. And yes, he gets a lot of feedback from his mentors as well. But really, I think that the community of support and the willingness to help each other really exists with women, and that it's been quite meaningful for me. In my career. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I think that there are several things that I face that are fairly common to all women. One of the reasons why I wanted to pursue partnership at the law firm was that the American Bar Association published a study that showed that within ten years Minority women at the largest 200 law firms in the US. The chance that they were still at that firm was statistically zero. And that was meaningful to me because that meant that minority women were not making it into partnership. So that was one thing that kind of propelled me through my career. I wanted to make partner not only for myself but so that I could figure out how How to do it so I can teach other women how to kind of crack that puzzle. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Uber’s top lawyer explains how she's overcome them all.

Minority Women Still Have Big Hurdles in the Workplace

Yeah. Very nice meeting you. Perhaps I'll [ CROSSTALK ] Very nice to meet you. So we're good to go. Great. My name is Susan Schwab. I am the former U. S. Trade Representative. Great job. I now teach at the University of Maryland, I'm a professor there, used to be the Dean. And I'm on a number of corporate boards and a number of non- profit boards. How do you feel that being a woman has influenced your career path? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] When I became the US Trade Representative, I was the third woman. Not the first, not the second, I was the third. It was a ho hum experience for everybody. And that was good, just the way it should be. Frequently in negotiating sessions I'd be the only female in the room, and what that ends up meaning, they remember me long after they've forgotten all of the other white guys on my side of the table. Sort of interesting, I still have people coming up to me 30 years later who were in negotiations Negotiations. I remember you. That's because I was the only female on our side. To an extent, the trade policy field has been a good one for women. It's not a field that has a very specific path. You can come into the field as a lawyer, as a foreign policy expert, as an economist. There isn't a well honed old boys network. And to the extent that there is in the trade policy field, it really helped me. So Am I sure can I answer your question? [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

The third woman in our Trailblazers series is Susan Schwab, who served as the U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush.

Ambassador Susan Schwab: Being the Only Woman in the Room Made Me Memorable

Politics

We're women, we're scientists, so we don't have a lot of business experience. And we're pitching a company about emotions, and often we're pitching to older male investors. So that makes it really hard. [ MUSIC ] Definitely quite challenging, actually. [ MUSIC ] I'm Rana el Kaliouby I'm co- founder and CEO of Affectiva. Affectiva is an AI company, on a mission to humanize technology. We built technology that can understand all things human. Your facial expressions, your emotions, your voice intonations, your activities, your behaviours all in the service of making technology more human really. [ MUSIC ] When we spun Affectiva out of MIT I took on the role of Chief Technology Officer and we hired a seasoned executive to run the company as the CEO. Part of me felt that I wanted To really be the CEO, but I didn't have the kind of guts to do it. Early 2016, we were reevaluating our market opportunities and I had a particular view on how we should approach the market. I was starting to see trends around kind of conversational interfaces and smarter devices, and I knew that we had a role within that ecosystem of technology. And so I went to our then CEO and I said, hey We need to be co- CEOs and he was like, why should I ever do that? [ LAUGH ] So I wrote down a list of like here are the responsibilities of the CEO. And as I started to do that I realized that I was actually doing a lot of them right? I was already the face of the company. I already kinda ran the technology team at [ UNKNOWN ] And so the more we talked about it the more I became convinced that I should But then I'm ready, that I really should take this on. And so we debated back and forth and, [ LAUGH ] the conversation more from let's be co- CEO to, you know what? I actually wanna be the CEO. I think he saw that, he saw that I was extremely passionate. He'd also been my mentor over the years, so I learned a lot from him and at some point he said, you know what? You're ready let's take this to the board together. I remember I was on a train from back from New York to Boston when he called me and said, do you know what, I thought about this, you should become CEO. I almost said, no, no, no, no, no, I was joking. [ LAUGH ] I almost reneges on the whole thing. I was that scared, but I persisted and it's been two and half years, and it's been a great experience Definitely challenging and stressful, but very fulfilling. And the company's in a much better place. [ MUSIC ]

How Affectiva Founder Rana el Kaliouby Became CEO

At first she didn't "have the guts to do it."

Everybody assumes that we have full rights in this country but we don't. You can still be fired from your job, evicted from your home or denied access to services like health care because LGBT. The laws of the land do not support it in every state. I'm Lisa Sherman and I'm the President and CEO of the Ad Council. The Ad Council is the country's organization that produces all of the pro social marketing activities and campaigns, tagging on the most important and pressing social issues of the day. [ MUSIC ] I think the biggest challenge I had was being in the closet for the first 17 years of my career. And never feeling comfortable that I could be my full self at work, but I was gonna be committing career suicide. I hid for a long time, I pretended, I had mastered the black art of pronoun puppetry. I would substitute him, he, and we for her and she. Whenever I would talk about my weekends, I had a picture of my best friend Bob on my credenza. I really I think separated myself from my colleagues because I wasn't able to socialize with them as much. It got to the point where I had been out in every other part of my life And it started to take its toll on me, and so I knew that I at some point would have to leave, which I ultimately made the decision to leave. But I promised myself that on my last day, that I would go and see the CEO, who I known my entire career and tell him why I was leaving. He listened, and it was for me The relief of having this huge secret out in the open was incredible and I decided that I would never, at that point, never be in corporate closet or any closet ever again. And I will tell you what became very clear very fast Was how much energy it took to hide all of those years. When I got to my new job I was so happy and I was probably more productive and more creative because, I had no secrets! It was amazing. [ MUSIC ] First forward, probably two months I get a call from another closeted gay executive, and he said to me Lisa did you come out to Ray on your last day? And I say I did, why do you ask? And he said well, we were having a meeting to talk about benefits in domestic partnerships, benefits in particular. And Ray was sitting at the back of the room very quietly. And then he got up and walked to the front of the room. And he said, Lisa Sherman, on her last day, came to my office to say goodbye, told me that you were blocking this policy. And I'm not sure I believed her. But sitting in here, listen to you talk It's clear that she was right and you are gonna figure out how to get domestic partnership benefits implemented across this company as soon as possible. And I will tell you that within six months domestic partnership benefits were reality to every employee at the company. In some ways for me. You know, well, I felt quite guilty while I was there, for not having the courage to come out. In that moment, I sort of assuaged some of my guilt, because I understood that that one conversation had such an incredible impact. And I think the lesson for me was, you know, You just have to speak your truth, and one conversation can make a huge difference. And it's just important to have these conversations. [ MUSIC ]

Lisa Sherman: "You Just Need to Speak Your Truth"

The Ad Council President and CEO on coming out at work.

Thank you. [ INAUDIBLE ] My name is Sarah Kate Ellis and I'm the CEO and president of GLAAD. How has being a woman influenced your career path? [ MUSIC ] I think being a woman has made me work harder. Smarter and for me it's been a real advantage. I love being a woman. It's a weird thing to say. But I guess I like the comradery of other women executives. We have this little club that we call the GSDs, Get **** Done. Cuz I always say women get **** done. Cuz we have no choice. We've gotta manage kids, we've gotta manage a household, we 've gotta manage. A business. You know, you get it done. You don't mess around and you focus on it and you move things forward. And I think that's an advantage of being a woman, I think there are advantages to being a woman, and I think that's one of them. We can do multiple things at multiple times. The biggest obstacle I think I've faced in my career has probably been myself. My own head getting in my own way. Thinking That I could be less than, because I was a woman, or that I was gay. When I started my career, I never was out because I thought it could really hurt my career. So I was very, very quiet about my private life. And it wasn't until I actually came out, that I felt that my career really flourished. Because then I was being authentic and true, and that showed in the work that I was doing. We're always solving some sort of problem. It doesn't matter what business you're in. And I think that if you bring your authentic self there, you can really have real conversations with people to understand how to move the bar forward. You take your struggle and turn it into a Triumph or you turn it into an asset. I do feel a tremendous amount of strength being a woman. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

CEO and president of GLAAD Sarah Kate Ellis explains how being a woman helped her career.

GLAAD CEO: 'I Think Being A Woman Has Made Me Work Harder'

 Pleasure meeting you. What do you-- want me to look directly at you? OK, great. My name is Kay Koplovitz, and I am the co-founder and chairman of Springboard Enterprises and the Springboard Fund. How do you feel being a woman has influenced your career path? In my career, I faced many situations where women were not accepted. At Augusta National Golf Club, where I had a contract, women were not allowed to go to the second floor club. That sounds simple, but you're excluded from the club of people who are running something that's important in television coverage. You just find your way around things. I was never thinking that it was going to be a barrier for me. I was going to find a way around it, because I knew, to be successful, I would have to. And so I never really looked at it as a barrier, I just looked at it as something I-- you know, a challenge. I think it was very natural for me to expect myself to be successful in business. I at one time produced television for WTMJ in Milwaukee. And I realized that people thought that I had perhaps reached the pinnacle of my career, because they had never had women producers. And they just didn't quite understand that wasn't it for me. That I didn't want to be the manager of the TV station. That I didn't want to be the President of the Milwaukee Journal that owned the TV station. I wanted to be the president of NBC. You know, you have to draw the picture for yourself of what you believe you want to really do and not let other people define you. It's one success after another that really gives you confidence, I think. 

Here's What the First Female Network President Has to Say About Gender Barriers

Kay Koplovitz founded USA Networks in 1977.

a pleasure meeting you and I. What do you want me to look directly at? You okay. My name is Kay Koplovitz and I am the co founder and chairman of A Springboard Enterprises and the Springboard Fund. How do you feel? Being a woman has influenced your group in my career? I faced many situations where women were not accepted. At Augusta National Golf Club, where I had a contract, women were not allowed to go to the second floor club. That sounds simple, but you're excluded from the club of people who are running something that's important and television coverage. You just find your way around things. I was never thinking that it was going to be a barrier for me. I was going to find a way around it because I knew to be successful. I would have to, and so I never really looked at it as a barrier. I just looked at. It is something I, you know, a challenge. I think it was very natural for me to expect myself to be successful in business. I at one time produced television for W G. M. J in Milwaukee, and I realized that people thought that I had perhaps reached the pinnacle of my career because they had never had women producers, and they just didn't quite understand that. Wasn't it for me that I didn't want to be the manager of the TV station, but I didn't want to be the president. The Milwaukee Journal, that old the TV station. I wanted to be the president of NBC. You know, you have to draw the picture for yourself of what you believe you want to really do and not let other people define you. It's one success that for another, that really gives you confidence, I think.

Okay. Why don't you tell us your name please? I'm Muriel Bowser. I'm th Mayor of Washington, D. C. How do you feel being a woman has influenced your career? If you had asked me that you know a few years back I would That tell you that I didn't think it was a big factor. Still I think that Washingtonians want a great mayor. A female mayor, or a male mayor. They want somebody who's gonna be honest, and somebody who's gonna reflect their values. Now, if you ask me about the impact on campaigns, and who women are treated differently, that's a long conversation. But there are some differences. But I approach them the same way, I do my job and I deliver for the people of D. C. and that's how they're gonna judge me. The biggest obstacles are people who will try to put you in a box or try to discourage you for From moving ahead, and so, I think that a lot of people, if you are under 40, if you select a non traditional path, pure woman, you know, you always have people who doubt and who will try to discourage you. It's specially clear when, you know, you maybe one women and a failure of men And so it becomes easy to see differences, and that became very clear to me. I don't know that I would say I'd change anything about what I did or how I approach my work, but I am aware. The obstacle for me has been putting that kind of what I call the static or the noise to the side, focusing on what What I think is best. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Discusses What It's Like Being a Woman in Politics

So, you ready to go? Yes. Excellent. I'm Michelle Johnson and I'm the Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy. And my rank in the Air Force is lieutenant general. How do you feel being a woman has influenced your career path? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] I didn't really think of it that way. I don't wake up every morning saying I'm a woman. That's a lot different, right? I just am. This is who I am. For women in the 70s the doors were starting to open, but they weren't completely open yet so we didn't really know what was possible to try to make possible. It was a bit of a shock to be in the second coed class at a service academy. And to be suddenly to feel like the other. Probably the crucible of going through that when I was 18- 22 years old. Helped kind of fortify me for other times for other reasons. Having the resilience to say I can get through this and I can't be distracted by being treated as other. Especially in flying, one of the forgiving things is the airplane doesn't care, doesn't care what you look like or sound like or where you came from, but if you allow the other People's reaction to change and went south. That could be distracting and it cab undermine any performance on the very thing you want to do well at. People often say women have to work harder and try harder. I think it's just sometimes overcoming other people's expectations. My own father was in tears when I got my pilot wings. He said, I could never imagine my daughter wearing jet pilot wings. I said, but Dad, you said we could do anything. And he said, I just couldn't imagine it. So I think that's, it's part of not, of only having a, maybe mothers in certain roles or sisters in certain roles has made it difficult for some people to even picture someone in different packaging doing The work we do. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson explains.

How This Woman Went from Being the 'Other' to Being a Trailblazer

Thank you. Have to do it all. Alright, Okay. Hello. Anna Maria Chavez I'm the Chief Executive Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. How do you feel being a woman has influenced your career path? [ MUSIC ] You know I think being a woman, being a mother has really influenced the way that I look at things. I had two amazing women who mentored me. My grandmother, who taught me at a very early age the importance of education, because she was never able to receive an education. And my mother, who was one of the first. Women to run for public office in southern Arizona. As an adult, when I transferred my skills to the law, I had seen her take on so many things, even without a law degree. So as a lawyer I thought, well I have this education, I should be able to do so much more for society. As a young woman growing up in southern Arizona, Where there wasn't a lot of resources. When I think back and people ask me, so did you have obstacles, did you have barriers? I will be honest. I had a lot of adults who kicked down a lot of barriers for me. That's why I'm so grateful and honored to be the head of the Girl Scouts, because I give girls hope everyday. It was the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts, Houston Texas. I was looking out in the audience. And had brought to Houston, the young woman who I introduced to Girl Scouts. She was a positive force in her school. She did everything she could to help her Girl Scout sisters. Irene is a bright girl who has, unfortunately, faced some challenges. And at the end of the year, the Girl Scout year, I learned that through all of this Irene, since the age of nine, had been homeless. A couple of years later she was travelling all over the country speaking on behalf of youth and she had become the national spokesperson for kids like her. Her life had been changed. Girl Scouts and I'm on stage. And it hit me, I was being a role model. How powerful is that? There are going to be other women that are gonna follow you. They're gonna have it a little bit easier because you broke Through that barrier for them. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

She tells us how in our new series “Trailblazers”.

Trailblazers

Cora’s Molly Hayward: Out to improve the world since age 10

Latest episode

Fortune introduces the newest season of Trailblazers.

Episodes (18 episodes)

Cora’s Molly Hayward: Out to improve the world since age 10

Ignite’s Anne Moses: Fighting to get more women into political office

Zilingo’s Ankiti Bose: Building a successful startup as a woman in India

Thinx CEO on the Importance of Good Benefits for Working Parents

Fidelity's Kathy Murphy: Her Dad's Death Changed Her Career Path

Minority Women Still Have Big Hurdles in the Workplace

Ambassador Susan Schwab: Being the Only Woman in the Room Made Me Memorable

How Affectiva Founder Rana el Kaliouby Became CEO

Lisa Sherman: "You Just Need to Speak Your Truth"

GLAAD CEO: 'I Think Being A Woman Has Made Me Work Harder'

Here's What the First Female Network President Has to Say About Gender Barriers

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Discusses What It's Like Being a Woman in Politics

How This Woman Went from Being the 'Other' to Being a Trailblazer

The Girl Scouts CEO Is Kicking Down Barriers for Young Girls