8 Ways Female Marketers Have Been Typecast in the Workplace

Equality in the workplace has made a few strides in recent years—we are seeing more females in the c-suite, awareness around the significant wage gap specifically for women of color and the #MeToo movement sparked a whole new light on combating sexual harassment in the workplace. But there is still a lot of work to do, particularly around the harmful unconscious bias women are still subjected to from colleagues, peers and even fellow c-suite leaders. The Administrative Assistant “A few years into my career, I walked into a Board of Directors meeting for a client with three other men on my team. The CEO assumed I was the admin, so immediately asked me to get him a coffee. I asked how he would like it, brought it back to him (while my male colleagues were watching). When the meeting started and the first topic was how to re-organize the multi-billion-dollar global company, I stood up to present my recommendations and fielded questions for an hour. Needless to say, the CEO apologized after the meeting. The takeaway is not to judge people by age, race or gender. Judge them based on their work.” Emily Culp, board member at Mizzen + Main, Stio & Cordial The Doer “At the manager level, I held a number of roles that focused on execution and process. I wanted to be a director but realized I had been typecast as a ‘doer’ and there were doubts around my strategic abilities. My advice for other women who find themselves in similar situations is to raise your hand for stretch assignments. Look for opportunities to demonstrate the skills others perceive you lack. Be prepared to leave the organization if it becomes difficult to change mindsets.” Jackie Gagne, svp of multicultural marketing, WarnerMedia The Mom Who Works “I will always remember a comment made by a male superior when I informed him that I was pregnant. His immediate response was, ‘are you coming back?’ He clearly associated my pregnancy with a pause or end to my career. "Don’t regret. Correct. When I informed him that I was pregnant, his immediate response was, ‘are you coming back?’ "One of the most powerful things we (both men and women) can all do to transform the workplace into a more equitable environment is to stop using labels that perpetuate the very stereotypes that hold women back. To rid the workplace of ‘typecasting,’ we should rid it of certain words that conjure negative stereotypes like ‘ice queen,’ ‘b—’ and ‘diva,’ to name a few. Let’s just purge those terms from our workplace vocabulary.” Karina Kogan, cmo, Oura “I remember once being recommended for a job that required travel. My then manager had said to me, ‘You can’t do that job. You have two young kids at home.’ He wouldn’t approve me interviewing for the internal role, which would have been a promotion. I wish I had the courage to ask: Who gave you permission to slow down my career? "My advice for other women to overcome typecasting at work: find the allies who will stand up for you, who will stand with you and who will fight for your career aspirations.” Mita Mallick, head of inclusion, equity and impact, Carta Adweek's Women Trailblazers: 35 Inspirational Leaders Improving the Future for Us All “When the role in D.C. opened up, my supervisor was on the candidate selection panel. One day, she described the requirements of the role and I asked why I wasn’t being considered. With my strong family ties in New York, she thought for sure I wouldn’t be interested in a role that required relocation. That was classic typecasting. I went home, spoke with my husband and family and put my hat in the ring. "I would advise other women to write their own script and make sure others know what role you want to play.” Magda Yrizarry, svp and chief diversity officer, Verizon The Token Hire “In my first job after college, the manager I reported to said that he couldn’t understand how someone like me got a position in the financial industry when he didn’t get a break in finance until he ‘worked his way up.’ This manager—a white man—had clearly typecast me as a token hire. "I knew I had to find trusted voices in the organization who could evaluate my potential. "Today, this kind of mindset is rarely stated so explicitly but I am certain that women in many fields continue to confront it. When I confronted it as a young professional, I knew I had to find trusted voices in the organization who could evaluate my potential without bias and support my professional development. I was lucky to find a group of amazing Black professionals who understood the racial and gender barriers at play and provided incredible mentorship to overcome them. "If women are facing typecasting at work, a trusted mentor—whether in their organization or in a larger affinity group—can help them strategize ways to reclaim their professional narrative and demonstrate their true potential.” Kimberly Davis, EVP, National Hockey League (NHL) The Aggressive One “I’m often known as the aggressive one or the one that moves too fast. It’s hard to know that you may have rubbed someone the wrong way when you are trying to make decisions to either help a client or your business. When my colleagues were trying to get me fired, it was really hard. But it was important for me to have women around me that were encouraging me. I called one of my mentors, Stacey, more times than I could count that year. I also tried my hardest to help each person on the team to understand why I was pushing for decisions or trying to exceed expectations. "My advice? Keep a tight group of mentors, friends, and colleagues around you to encourage you but to also hold up a mirror when needed.” Charlene Coughlin, president, TWIST Creative, Inc. The Fiery Latina “I remember being told once at a performance review that I was a bit too passionate at work. This is normal being Latin (I am Spanish). I remember being very upset and thinking that I was going to prove them wrong and show that I was not passionate. That was, of course, naïve and fundamentally impossible. It took me time to realize that the best way to deal with it is to plainly ignore it and just focus on being who you are, results and driving maximum impact.” Arancha Cordero, svp, chief growth officer, Danone Waters The Weak One “Early on in my career, I had some managers who were men mock and discourage me from being too ‘nice’ to my team. They felt that because I took a fair and human approach to managing people, I would be perceived as weak. I stood my ground. "Not only have I led successful teams over my career, I still have great relationships with almost everyone I’ve ever managed. The lesson is to stand committed and grounded in who you are and the results you bring to the table. The rest speaks for itself.” God-is Rivera, global director, culture and community, Twitter The Hobbyist “Think how you can upend people’s expectations. In the beginning, several investors thought because we were women, that we were going after kids' food as a mere passion project, that it was “cute.” "Think about how you can upend people’s expectations. As our pitch evolved, we put more emphasis on numbers and data. It’s always helpful to be aware of the stereotypes people might hold—and the subtle and direct ways you can subvert those narratives.” Evelyn Rusli, co-founder, president/cmo, Yumi 10 Refreshing Pieces of Advice That Helped These Marketers Get to the Top

Women Trailblazers

8 Ways Female Marketers Have Been Typecast in the Workplace

From the ‘token hire’ to ‘the administrative assistant,’ these trailblazers share the roles they’ve been associated with in the industry

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