Underscore: Women in Education

In this special edition of Underscore, Intellum brought together three phenomenal leaders in organizational education. This session celebrated Women’s History Month and is a powerful reminder of the impact that women can have in shaping the future of this industry. 
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Our panelists, Jaclyn Anku from Gusto, Silvie Liao from Contentful, and our very own Tia Samuel began by detailing their career journeys. They went on to share challenges they’ve encountered and strategies they’ve used to overcome them.

Here’s what else we discussed: 

• The key challenges faced by women in organizational education and what strategies they’ve used to overcome
• How to ensure women's contributions are recognized throughout the planning, production, and delivery stages of an education program
• One thing they would tell their younger selves

One of the biggest takeaways was Silvie’s mindset to combat imposter syndrome, “I think it's important to have the courage to be disliked… just think about what's the best for you and advocate, really, for yourself”.

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Amongst all the wisdom, a common thread was the idea that everyone has an opportunity to create positive change and drive innovation for women, not just within their own organizations but across this young industry as a whole.
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Looking for inspiration? Outside of this very appropriate Spice Girls Playlist, we’ve crowdsourced a few resources that have been transformational for our panelists and a few other Intellum employees.

• Silvie says “One of my favorite books on women empowerment is Melinda Gates' The Moment of Lift.”
• Jaclyn says an 8 week class on public speaking called Theatre of Public Speaking with Misty Megia rocked her world. She also shared that
  The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell brought her lots of "inner peace and clarity." Lastly she finds Homecoming, a film by Beyonce illustrates how the queen "brings artistry, deep meaning, and swag to all of her endeavors."
• Tia finds "The danger of a single story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and "The Year of Yes" by Shonda Rhimes two be her top two most impactful pieces.‍
• ‍Amy Morrison loves “You’re A Badass” by Jen Sincero and says “While it is not written only for women -- it is by a woman who helps you recognize and claim your own power”. She also recommends this interview Amy Wambach on Being Good Enough on the Re:Thinking Podcast by TED.
• Nicole Williams relates to Becoming by Michelle Obama. The way she navigated balancing her own career and a traveling husband.
• Last but least, Chi Johnson recommends Building For Everyone by Annie Jean-Baptiste, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and 100 Questions for the Soul by Ifie Natasha