Women’s History Month highlights the contributions of women in society, recognizing their achievements and encouraging forward progress towards eradicating inequality and bias. To celebrate the vital role of women in leadership, the Quantcast Women’s Network hosted a web event, “Finding Your Voice: Being an Extraordinary Woman Leader,” which brought together women executives from across various industries. These accomplished leaders shared their stories and advice about finding their paths, leaning on support systems, balancing work and family, and where you’ll find each of them on a Saturday morning. 

We were honored to be joined by: 

We dove into a variety of topics and I’d love to pass on some of the insightful advice we received from these inspiring leaders. 

Dana Estes on how to bring your authentic self at work: 

“You have to know who you are and be realistic about your strengths and areas for improvement. When I was younger I’d say ‘I’m perfect.’ That wasn’t helpful. To get where you want to be requires a deep appreciation for the strengths you do bring, an understanding of your weaknesses, and an appreciation for how to leverage the diverse capabilities of those around you to create an unstoppable force. No one is great at everything. Truly extraordinary people are great at a few things. Keep your ultimate professional goals in mind, and know and define what you need to do to achieve those goals. Set the path up for yourself, find the people who will help you get there, solicit their input and feedback, and work hard. Don’t try for perfection. Bring your best self forward every day.”

Dipti Borkar on finding her path to being a founder:

“It takes time to recognize your strengths, and then to get confident in those strengths. It takes opportunity, luck and the right support from the right people. I’ve always been ambitious. I had aspirations of being a CEO since I graduated from school; but, it doesn’t happen right away. You have to work hard, find the right opportunities, grab a chair even when there isn’t one and sit at the table. Early in my career, I didn’t take those opportunities, and then I realized I had to help myself. It takes grit, hard work, and being in the right place at the right time. It’s a journey and takes constant reflection into what your strengths are and where you want to go.”

Gerri Foley on balancing family and work:

“You have to focus on balancing what’s in front of you at the time. I was a single mom for a period of time as my kids were growing up. I had to take a break from full time-work for a couple of years to go back to school for my graduate degree while working part-time. I relocated so I was near family who could be there for my children when I couldn’t be. It was stressful, but I loved school, I loved the work, and I wanted to be a role model for my girls. I wanted them to see that I could balance work and being a mom. You have to rely on who you can trust with your kids and embrace that support.”

Jacqueline Ford on knowing your value and marketing yourself:

“You have to know what your superpowers are. Because you have them. And if you don’t know what they are yet, figure them out. If you need to have someone that you trust at work or at home help you discover them, you should do that. Figure out what you bring to the table. Then, figure out what the existing problems are in your field, and your unique solutions to them. If you can bring those two things together, then practice the best way to communicate them, you can walk in and sell your product or service. You have to be able to say ‘Here’s what I’m good at and here’s what I can do for you.’” 

Watch the full event below.

Interested in Learning More?

To celebrate Women’s History Month, earlier this month we hosted a panel called “Strong Women Leaders at Quantcast.” Learn more about the Quantcast women that are major influencers in our business and industry here. You can read what our VP of Product, Somer Simpson, says is the key to success for women in tech and how Quantcast women took on the #ChooseToChallenge call to action for International Women’s Day.

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