Ellen S. Kitzis, Ph. D.

1
Breaking Through
the
Glass Ceiling
Other Life Challenges
and

• Ellen S. Kitzis, Ph. D.
• Compaq Services, Vice PresidentStrategy and
  Business Development

2
Womens Bill of Rights
Women have the right to life,liberty and the
pursuit ofhappiness long assumed to be the right
of men. Women, however,can only exercise this
right if we understand that it requiresvigilance,
personal honesty,and old fashion hard work.
The right to succeed is given, the actualization
of success is earned.
www.compaq.com
3
Background A Little About Me

• Raised on Long Island in 1950s track housing
• Grew up with Donna Reed and Father Knows Best
• Middle child among three girls
• Shy child, afraid to speak out in class
• Had very special childhood friend,parents,
  spouse and mentors whobelieved that girls/women
  were smart people
• Upward mobility was a right
• The world was rosy, but I was the firstkid on
  the block with divorced parents

• My dad drew the short straw and needed to create
  his legacy the hard way
• Learned early Winners know how to get their
  ideas heard
• People who believed in me made me believe in
  myself

4
How the World Evolved
Corporate

• CEOs
• Board of Directors
• Mobile technology
• Faster
• More paths
• Wheelies
• No more quotas
• Competency based
• More models

Economic

• Day care
• Media hype
• New consumers
• Quota based
• Prosperity
• Cosmo
• Stereotypes
• Light weight luggage
• Venture capital

Political

• Liberation movement
• Womens orgs.
• Education opens
• Middle class
• Early heroines

1970s
1980s
1990s
5
How Men, Women and Institutional Patterns Create
Glass Ceilings
Men...

• Feel loyalty to the brethren
• Men over fifty are not used towomen working
  side-by-side
• Not part of their educational experience

Women...

• Dont take sustained career pathsand often opt
  for the mommy track
• Assume they are not contenders and take back
  stage roles and jobs (supporting characters)
• Directed efforts at sexual differences, risks,
  rather than positive attributes that would impact
  corporate success
• Early examples were often hard to take

6
How Men, Women and Institutional Patterns Create
Glass Ceilings (continued)
Institutional Patterns...

• Tried to break them throughlegislative
  initiativesmoderately successful
• Put women in soft roles todemonstrate
  commitment
• Have job descriptions andattributes that have
  historically been associated with male
  attributes and continue to assume these
  attributes ensure corporate success

7
Personal Drivers
Independence
CREATEmy own future
Prove something
Makesomething
Leadrather than follow
Create new rules
8
Learning to Compete

• You dont always win
• It hurts to fail, but not badenough to quit
• Baseball players dont cry
• Winning feels good

www.compaq.com
9
Leadership and Innovation

• Dont avoid center stage its where the light is
• Get your ideas heard not complaints
• Find opportunities to be of thenew initiatives,
  businessesor experiments
• Find opportunities to supportother womens
  success

www.compaq.com
10
EducationCan Accelerate Opportunities

• Competitive marketplace
• Education is a differentiator it demonstrates
  commitment and persistence
• My Ph.D. still separates me from the pack and
  adds to the cache (colleagues like to call me
  Dr. Kitzis)
• It opens up new connections, job placement,
  career centers, alumni associations, new networks

11
Committing to a Career

• More than eight hour days
• Seizing opportunities and taking risks
• Mentors and the right managers switch to you get
  the right one
• Personal power
• Share success people want to be recognized
• Engage the external marketplaceconferences,
  associations, industry events
• Understand new business models learn the
  language of businessPLs, cost centers,
  operatingexpenses, margins

www.compaq.com
12
Supporting Characters
Bens Image of Mom

• Kids can sleep in their clothes
• My mom is in Japan isntan excuse for acting
  out
• Limousines and room servicesare part of lifes
  education
• They love to be part of yoursuccess Mom is in
  Fortune Magazine is good for show and tell

www.compaq.com
13
Supporting Characters

• Husbands who help are not helpful
• Pick someone who believesyour success is as
  importantas his success
• Child care is good for building character
• Corporate spouses swing both waysmy husband
  loved Winners Circle in Vale, Colorado

14
Final Thoughts

• Go for it because you want it, notbecause others
  are doing it
• Find your right mix, not everyonewants the
  executive life
• Find the right balance betweenyour ying and your
  yang

www.compaq.com
15
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