Mary Barra and Ginny Rometty discuss being female role models in business with CNBC's Leslie Picker at the inaugural CNBC CEO Council: Leaders' Library.
GM CEO Mary Barra and former IBM CEO Ginny Rometty joined CNBC's Leslie Picker at the CNBC CEO Council: Leaders' Library on Monday in New York City.They discussed the examples set by their own mothers during childhood, and their own professional journeys, from downplaying their gender to embracing their role as female business icons for other women today.
Rometty said she began embracing her identity as a woman and mother in the workplace when people began recognizing her as a role model. "People can't be what they can't see. And I finally realized that I was being selfish by saying, 'no, no, don't look at me for being a woman, don't ever look at me for this.' Then I finally started to embrace it. ... I talk about our differences, that we can leave a memory and a mark," Rometty said.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra and former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty at the inaugural CNBC CEO Council: Leaders' Library event in New York City.Barra and Rometty both take pride in their identities as mothers and fighting against the "motherhood penalty" in the professional world. Motherhood can hamper perceptions of competence and result in lower pay, promotion, and workplace respect.
Rometty was raised by three generations of women who endured significant hardships, including a single mother — her father left the family when she was still young — and each provided models for overcoming challenges. "It does prepare you to have the courage to endure things," she said. She added that beyond the formal programs she is involved with to encourage more female leadership, she believes a major way to get into the workforce if they've left is having them see "women in our positions."When Rometty would be offered better jobs early in her career, her first instinct was to say no to the job, "because I was afraid I couldn't do them."
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