When you break a glass ceiling, it hurts. Trailblazing is an equally exhausting and uncertain task. These overworked phrases try to illustrate what it is like to be a woman in business, depicting certain triumph through adversity. However, they fail to fully depict how difficult being a woman in business can be. In response, I have learned to surround myself with women who uplift and inspire with candor and transparency—those who choose community over competition.
As a women’s college undergraduate at Agnes Scott, I watched women foster connection in ways that often transcended professional norms. There was the time I sat in the Economics Learning Center dreaming of working at the Federal Reserve. Vanessa, a former intern there, helped me prepare my application and practice for the interview. We went from strangers to roommates in a mentor-mentee friendship that continues today.
In the field of economics, which is largely dominated by men, I learned that women live in a state of duality. It’s exciting to build a career, define your playbook, and overcome obstacles. At the same time, the sacrifices can feel monumental. Like the late night when I chose a company dinner over mealtime with my partner. Or the time I felt awkward and ostracized as the only woman at a dive bar happy hour. I cannot forget the emotional labor of second guessing whether a colleague’s negative actions were a result of my gender and the extraordinary courage it took to speak up. The triumphs are well-earned, but the road could be smoother if the playing field were truly level.
Now in the first year of my MBA program at Georgia Tech, I’ve learned more intimately that it’s not the worn out tropes that connect us. It’s our shared grittiness. Interacting with the Women in Business club members played a big role in my decision to get an MBA. I felt energized by the perseverance and incredible determination of these women.
I have learned I can count on the women at Georgia Tech to help me persevere when I’m on the verge of surrendering to self-doubt. We are mentors who share hard-earned and often heartbreaking wisdom, colleagues who tell you to stop second-guessing and ask for that promotion, and friends who listen when the weight of it all finds you at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday before a big presentation.
Community can replenish what grit alone cannot. Community reminds us why we started and helps us envision where we are going. It provides the collective strength to tackle challenges that no individual could conquer alone. My communities clean up the shards of glass ceilings and throw away the rubbish left on a blazed trail. It is all part of the unseen work that makes resiliency possible.