Gone were the days when women were confined to jobs that society dictates them to do. Nowadays, we manage to thrive in our chosen field and raise the standards higher than what is asked.
The women we have selected inspire us to do more and not to settle for anything less. They are the living proof that we can let our individuality shine and make a difference in whichever path we have chosen.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, (albeit a few days late), I would like to share the 6 women who continually inspire us, to exceed expectations and be on top of our game.
Photo credit: thatsnotmyage.com
Katherine Viner – Editor-in-Chef of The Guardian
March 20, 2015, was forever embedded in The Guardian’s history when Katherine Viner got promoted as its editor-in-chief, the first female to hold such post in its 194 years of existence.
Ushering the newspaper to a formidable force in the digital world is made possible by Katherine’s effort, thus, making the publication the 2nd most popular English language newspaper.
She started her career with Cosmopolitan UK. She eventually transferred to Sunday Times and then, at The Guardian in 1997 covering the lifestyle section.
Under her leadership, she is keeping up with her promise to make the publication be “truly global”.
Photo credit: lifehack.org
Lizzie Velasquez – Motivational Speaker
Lizzie is the living proof that we can turn negativity into a positive ray of sunshine. At 17, she came across a Youtube video naming her the “ugliest woman in the world”. The comments were downright distressing. This experience became an eye-opener for her to become a motivational speaker, and, stand against bullying. Now, she is one of the most sought-after motivational speakers with 3 books and a memoir.
Photo credit: etonline.com
Amal Clooney – Lawyer & Activist
Amal Clooney’s accomplishments in her field were seriously overshadowed by her enviable wardrobe and her marriage to George Clooney. This is in a way, sad for there is more than meets the eye for this lawyer and activist.
Amal has been practicing law for 15 years in different locations such as New York, The Hague, and London, handling high-profile cases such as Julian Assage (Wikileaks founder), Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy and Mohamed Nasheed (President of Maldives), just to name a few.
Photo credit: dailyfinance.com
Ursula Burns – CEO, Xerox
Xerox, a brand famous for its carbon copies turned into one of the most diversified business process services, thanks to its sharp and adaptive leader, Ursula Burns.
Ursula started her career in Xerox as a summer intern back in 1980. The rest, as they say, is history. It is admirable that she actually came from humble beginnings and eventually risen to the top. Now, her name is always included in the annual Forbes list of most powerful women.
Photo credit: raconteur.net
Susan Wojcicki – CEO Youtube, Google
A company started in the garage is now called Googleplex located in Mountain View, California. Susan Wojcicki’s road to success is truly worth telling.
Google started in 1998 with a modest office set-up in her garage. Susan offered the search engine services in different universities. Eventually, Google becomes the top search engine service worldwide. She is also responsible for adding Google Image, Google Books, and Google Adsense.
The acquisition of Youtube led by Susan turned into a profitable and successful maneuver to crush competitors. Currently, Youtube has an estimated value of $80 billion.
Susan’s other admirable trait is having a good work-life balance and being a terrific mom. She follows a schedule to be on time for dinner at home. She also made Google a parent-friendly work environment with 18 weeks paid parental leave, among others.
It is truly exceptional for someone being dubbed as the most powerful woman on the internet to be able to juggle all these.
Photo credit: mimagazine.net
Anna Wintour – Artistic Director, Conde Nast Publication Inc.
It is no secret that the Devil Wears Prada’s character, Miranda Priestly, the icy editor-in-chief of fictitious Runway Magazine was inspired by real-life fashion oracle, Anna Wintour. She is also known as “Nuclear Wintour” in the industry. Surprisingly, she is not bothered or probably, does not care about it.
Anna is a force to be reckoned with in the fashion industry. She concluded the supermodel era, started new trends in photo shoots, launched the careers of talented designers and of course, cemented Vogue as the ultimate fashion bible. Her leadership style is of course, controversial but, it gets the job done beautifully.
Stay tuned for next week as we switch back to some serious preparation with Call Center Training!
References:
biography.com / wikipedia.com / forbes.com / xerox.com / imwithlizzie.com / huffingtonpost.com
