Miranda Lam

1. What would you like future generations of women to know about their voice/leadership/gender equality?

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How many words am I allowed on this topic?!  There is so much to say and we have many reasons to be optimistic for the future, even though there remains much work to be done.  If space permits, I’ll limit myself to two observations to future generations of women: (1) You HAVE a voice and don’t be afraid to use it.  I feel like too often we wait to be invited to speak, but sometimes, whether the invitation is coming or not, it’s worth barging into the party.  (2) Put your hand up.  It’s empirically shown that when it comes to advancement or those “stretch opportunities” that lead to greater responsibility and leadership roles, women won’t apply or put their hands up unless they believe they have met the vast majority of the criteria for the job, while men will volunteer even if they have satisfied only a select few.  It is true that rejection is a part of life, but we shouldn’t be the first to reject ourselves.  The sooner we start putting our hands up and encouraging others to put their hands up more, the faster we will move down the road to gender equality.

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2. Can you share any past experiences where you successfully negotiated aspects such as salary and increased responsibility?

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Highlight your proof and your potential. Proof is the evidence you can do it – that successful transaction, the culmination of a study, the conclusion of a project that was well received; proof can be personal (i.e. what you have achieved, inside and outside the organization and how those skills apply), as well as objective data from the market (on salary or peer projects).  Potential is what you have capacity to be or to do, even if you haven’t done it before.   I recently read a troubling study that concluded advancement and salary decisions for BIPOC members of a workplace are often based on proof while for others, it is based on potential.  This proof v potential dichotomy risks perpetuating a workplace where only certain individuals have a greater opportunity to advance, relative to BIPOC members, particularly when to begin with, opportunities that can lead to “proof” are less available for BIPOC individuals.  So I urge all of us, no matter what seat you sit in (senior leader or the employee) to break the bias: if you are a senior leader making salary and advancement decisions, take a pause when evaluating a candidate and consider whether the test you are applying is one based in proof or potential.  If you are someone hoping to secure an increase in salary and/or responsibility, be armed with proof (and don’t discount your achievements!) and also be ready to highlight your potential.

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3. At work, what approaches have you seen as being successful to promote inclusion and belonging?

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I believe the seed that grows an inclusive tree starts with sharing stories.  When we all start talking about who we are, where we came from, what we celebrate, and what challenges we have encountered, we start to see our similarities and not our differences.  We also start to see how we can all star in the same movie but have a different story, and that’s where empathy begins – for all of us, however we identify, whatever we believe and whoever we love.