“5 Things We Need To Do To Close the Gender Wage Gap”, with Bethany Allee of Cybera

I think it’s pretty clear that the primary factor behind the wage gap is gender discrimination. Most of the other factors are related to this root issue. Earlier this year, KPMG issued a report that cites “entrenched gender stereotypes” as having the most negative impact on the careers of women. That’s essentially what I’ve personally witnessed at various companies throughout my career.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Bethany Allee. Bethany is Executive Vice President of Marketing for Cybera, and has over 20 years of experience in executive leadership roles, including President, Treasurer, and EVP Marketing. During that time, she has worked at iconic technology brands Broadcom and Brocade, as well as growth companies Cybera, NuView, and Powered. Known for her strategic vision during market transitions, Allee is a Retail BrainTrust contributing author, a member of the NACS Strategy Committee, and one CRN’s Women of the Channel. Allee serves on the board of directors for Dress for Success, WISE4 Women, and Sound & Vision Social Club. She enjoys writing, volunteering with equality-driven organizations, and doting on her children.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the “backstory” that brought you to this career path?

For me, it all started by following my general interests versus deciding on some formal “what I want to do with my life” plan while at the University of Texas at Austin. I ended up in a course where we spent the semester developing a digital marketing strategy for British Airways. At that time, it was called “Website Marketing.” I ended up winning the competition, and British Airways flew me first-class to London as my prize — my very first trip across the pond!

Because of that competition, I gained a bit of local notoriety. Soon after, I got a call from a startup called CollegeStudent.com. They asked me to join their team as their “Marketing Intern.” What they really meant was, “Please work for free and start our Marketing team.” As a naïve kid with no other particular plan in mind, I was just fine with that. It turned out to be a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime learning experience filled with clear challenges and successes every day. A couple decades later, I’m still close with many members of that CollegeStudent team.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?

As a woman who has hung out with mostly male Sales teams for more than 20 years, I’m not even sure where to start. Let’s just say that early in my career, I learned the value of double-checking the intended recipients of an email. While at an annual Sales Kickoff, a certain employee — who shall remain unnamed — hit “Reply All” to the entire distribution list of attendees and informed everyone that they were heavily inebriated and hanging out at Denny’s just in case anyone wanted to join them…at 3:30 AM, of course. I don’t know how many of the 2,600 onsite team members actually trekked over to Denny’s, but I do know this legendary mistake is still remembered in an organization that now has upwards of 20,000 employees. The lesson: ALWAYS double-check the “To” list on any emails before hitting “Send.” Related, the organization learned a valuable lesson about restricted distribution lists.

Can you share a story about the funniest or most interesting mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I grew up in Houston, Texas, and early in my career, I had the opportunity to manage a 24-city roadshow winding its way throughout the U.S. — including a stop in Houston. I was so excited to execute an event on my home turf that I (incorrectly) assumed I knew exactly where the event hotel was and that I had the correct hotel address on the invitation. Suffice to say, I did not. So, that was another key lesson: ALWAYS double-check the address. At that point in my career, I was starting to move up the ladder and this mistake put my ego in check in a major way — which was exactly what I needed at the time.

And, during the early part of my executive career, I was attending one of my first board dinners, where I was nursing a serious shoulder injury. At the beginning of dinner, the longest-standing and most influential member of our board asked me to pass a tray of chilled oysters on ice. I was pretty sure I could stabilize the weight of the platter with my one good arm. Physics and gravity thought otherwise. He ended up with a lap full of melting ice and slimy shellfish, and I ended up with an evening of awkward dinner conversation, embarrassment, and non-stop apologies. The lesson: Don’t be too proud to ask for help, or say no!

Ok let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. Even in 2019, women still earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. Can you explain three of the main factors that are causing the wage gap?

I think it’s pretty clear that the primary factor behind the wage gap is gender discrimination. Most of the other factors are related to this root issue. Earlier this year, KPMG issued a report that cites “entrenched gender stereotypes” as having the most negative impact on the careers of women. That’s essentially what I’ve personally witnessed at various companies throughout my career.

Even if the vast majority of people are well-intentioned about solving this issue, the deep-seeded issues in the system itself are a big hurdle to overcome — especially in the tech industry.

Can you share with our readers what your work is doing to help close the gender wage gap?

At Cybera, we have predetermined compensation ranges for each job and level. To maximize the effectiveness of this HR tool within my team, I’m diligent about aligning annual reviews with consistent compensation and title advancements for any team members who exceed expectations and drive results — regardless of gender.

Can you recommend 5 things that need to be done on a broader societal level to close the gender wage gap. Please share a story or example for each.

First of all, we must increase pay transparency and make the compensation discussion less taboo. Doing so will increase the willingness and ability of women to negotiate more effectively. For instance, I once had a manager who left the organization only to later tell me I was “significantly undercompensated.” While I appreciated the gesture, she wasn’t willing to provide any guidance when I asked for details about exactly how undercompensated I was. A seed was planted, but it almost felt worse to know that I was underpaid, yet still didn’t have enough insight or information to negotiate as aggressively as I would have liked. Fortunately, there’s less of a stigma to negotiation these days. And web sites like Glassdoor and Salary.com are giving employees more information and tools to better negotiate.

As a society, I think we should openly communicate about compensation standards and encourage companies to use tools that encourage leveling. I remember an era when no one would ever ask about house values or what someone paid for a house. That seems so antiquated. Now, it’s just accepted as widely accessible knowledge and no one even thinks twice about it. So, there shouldn’t be anything sacred about employee compensation. Bringing it into the light would also help companies to reduce the future risk of compensation discrimination — conscious and unconscious.

To take this a step further, companies could report on gender pay gaps as part of the tax process. The fastest way to address the wage gap is to make it impact the bottom line, so let’s give employers some incentives to correct any gaps with tax credits.

The second-biggest pay gap driver is career interruption, according to the KPMG report I referred to earlier. Women are more likely to disrupt their career to care for young children and elderly relatives. Family leave equality gives families the opportunity to make decisions without the boundaries of traditional gender roles. I feel extremely lucky to have had time at home with my children after they were born. But for my particular situation, it would have made sense for my partner to take on more of that responsibility — and it definitely slowed down my career trajectory.

Another example is what occurred the year before I gave birth to my second child. I had been responsible for running the largest, most expensive, and most strategic marketing program in my company’s history. Not only did I crush my metrics, I was viewed as a strategic leader and brought into customer and partner meetings that gave me tremendous insight into the long-term strategy of the organization. It was the kind of experience and insight that’s critical for career advancement. The following year, I was set to deliver my son a month and a half before the same marketing program culminated. But instead of being seen as the strategic leader of the team, I was treated like an order-taker and I wasn’t invited to a single customer or partner meeting — even the ones that required no significant travel. That was extremely disappointing and a real eye-opener for me.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I know it might come across as cliché, but my movement would simply be the “Live Everyday” movement. I would encourage people to do something that brings them joy or to have an adventure every day — even something small or relatively simple. My mother’s life was cut short when she was murdered at a very young age — just 34. Going through that experience gave me a big dose of reality and perspective early in life. It also taught me that time is our most precious asset. You simply can’t waste it. It’s perfectly fine to have lazy days, but you really do need to try seizing life and getting the most of each day!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote?” Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I really relate to something the celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels once said: “Unless you puke, faint, or die…keep going.” One of my best friends once told me that I’m not especially talented at anything (gee, thanks!), but that I try harder than anyone she’s ever met. It feels a bit like the old Avis television ads…I do try harder. My parents conditioned me to never give up under any circumstances, so I’m forever thankful to them for instilling that level of grit and gusto in me. And in case anyone reading this needs to hear some words of encouragement, “You can do it, so just keep going!” You know the old adage that just showing up is half the battle? Well, the other half is often persistence, perseverance, and effort. You’d be amazed at just how far resiliency can take you in life.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

I would absolutely love to go to happy hour with Sarah Ashley Longshore, known as the artist Ashley Longshore. She’s deeply passionate about the same type of volunteer organizations that I’m involved with, and she brings more positivity into the world than anyone I know. Here’s a quote of hers that I love: “I want to live in a world of laughter, color, sparkle, and shine. Life is too short to not spend most of the day with a smile.” She just gets it on so many levels. I definitely would love to drink a Manhattan — or three — with her.

Thank you for all of these great insights!


“5 Things We Need To Do To Close the Gender Wage Gap”, with Bethany Allee of Cybera was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap”, with Taryn Oesch and Amy DuVernet

Our research has found that women tend to receive less effective leadership training than men, especially in those occupations and industries where they could make more if they were better supported.

As part of my series about “the five things we need to do to close the gender wage gap” I had the pleasure of interviewing Taryn Oesch and Amy DuVernet. Taryn is the managing editor of digital content at Training Industry, where she manages content on TrainingIndustry.com; works on research reports; and co-hosts The Business of Learning, the Training Industry podcast. Her work at Training Industry has resulted in her being awarded an APEX Award of Excellence and a regional bronze Azbee Award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). She was also named a 2019 ASBPE Young Leader.

Amy is the director of training manager development at Training Industry, where she oversees all processes related to Training Industry’s continuing professional education programs, including their research, development and evaluation. Prior to joining Training Industry, she worked as a business consultant designing and evaluating organizational interventions in a variety of industries. She holds a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from North Carolina State University and is a Certified Professional in Training Management.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the “backstory” that brought you to this career path?

Taryn: I studied psychology and K-12 English as a second language (ESL) education in college, but it took some time for me to figure out the right career path for me. I went from teaching to university fundraising to marketing and then to my current role as a member of the editorial team at Training Industry, Inc. Writing and editing in this industry combines my passion and experience in education and psychology with my skills in storytelling and media.

Amy: During grad school, I originally intended to go the academic route. I love research and get a lot of great energy from both mentoring and teaching — key job responsibilities of university faculty. One piece of the puzzle was missing, however. I wanted to make sure the research I did was used in practice. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found a position where I can marry all of those passions; at Training Industry, Inc., I’m able to apply my research/science background to the study of learning and development (L&D) processes, careers and impact. I then translate the results of these studies into professional development programs that impart evidence-based best practices to L&D professionals.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?

Taryn: What’s been interesting to me as my career has developed is how my interest in supporting women at work has developed. I went from a women’s college to an office of all women to a company that is majority women. Most of the volunteer work I do is centered around inclusion and women’s issues — largely due to opportunities that opened up and seemed interesting rather than any personal branding strategy I developed. My takeaway is that your “personal brand” or career focus should be organic — reflect on your interests, passions and skills and let them guide you, but be open to opportunities that come your way.

Amy: The most interesting thing that’s happened to me since I began this career was having my daughter, who is now three. Having read about the dilemmas of working moms, I felt I understood the pressure, but I had no idea. It is truly impossible to do it all, and becoming comfortable with the trade-offs has been a huge learning for me. Becoming a mom has added so much joy and complexity to my life, and I’ve definitely changed the way I approach work and home life.

Can you share a story about the funniest or most interesting mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Taryn: On my way to my first job interview out of college, I was pulled over by a cop for an expired registration. Having to explain to the interviewers why I was late was embarrassing. Lesson learned: Leave even earlier than you think you should (and, oh yeah … you should probably make sure your tags are always up to date).

Amy: One of the biggest mistakes I made as I transitioned from grad school to practice was assuming that stakeholders, the consumers of my research, wanted to hear nitty gritty information about the statistical analyses and methodological implications of my work. (Picture me explaining hierarchical linear modeling to the COO of my company, passionately exclaiming, “The results are simply fascinating!”) I’ve been very fortunate to have excellent mentors who’ve helped me to learn the art of crafting a data story. Basically, the detailed, advanced statistical analyses are critical as the foundation of any data-driven strategy; however, the sharing of those results must come in as a carefully crafted story that resonates with my audience, allowing them to make well informed decisions.

Ok let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. Even in 2019, women still earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. Can you explain three of the main factors that are causing the wage gap?

We see three main factors at work in the wage gap. First is the fact that higher-wage occupations and industries (e.g., technology, engineering, finance) are still largely dominated by men; in fact, a 2016 Glassdoor survey found that men and women of similar age, education and experience have a 19.2% wage gap, while men and women with similar job titles, employers and locations have a 5.4% wage gap. Second is the fact that fewer women than men reach higher-level leadership roles, which naturally pay more.

Third, and affecting both of the first two factors, is the leadership training and development organizations offer women versus men. Our research has found that women tend to receive less effective leadership training than men, especially in those occupations and industries where they could make more if they were better supported.

Can you share with our readers what your work is doing to help close the gender wage gap?

Our research and writing in women’s leadership development is aimed at closing the training gap, which can close the leadership and wage gaps. Closing the gender gap will take a range of actions by a range of stakeholders, but learning and development leaders can play a key role by taking a look at the training they provide their leaders and future leaders. Making sure that women in their organizations receive training that’s focused on critical leadership skills (such as strategic thinking and planning, negotiation, and change management) and delivered in ways that meet women’s needs (such as on-the-job and formal coaching as well as in-person and online training) will help close the gap across levels and functions.

Can you recommend 5 things that need to be done on a broader societal level to close the gender wage gap. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Improve pay in female-dominated occupations, such as education and nursing. This strategy will create greater incentives for talented people to enter these fields and recognize the important work that teachers and nurses perform. It will also help close the gender wage gap by boosting the income of these workers, the majority of whom are still women.

2. Improve employer support of working parents, including flexible work options, paid maternity and paternity leave, and a culture that looks upon parenthood positively. For example, if a woman is able to take paid time off during her post-partum period, she will be able to maintain her income, return to work better prepared to perform and feel that her employer values her as a whole person rather than just a cog in the machine. If, after having children, she is able to take time off to attend school functions, work from home when her children are sick and otherwise be available as both an employee and a parent, she will be more likely to stay in the workforce and, thus, earn more money. For women who have taken a break from their careers, using programs like returnships can help accelerate their re-entry and earning potential.

3. We’re interested in seeing how next year’s elections shake out in regards to equal pay and family leave legislation. If family leave becomes mandatory, our only concern is whether it’s mandatory for both genders. If employers are required to give maternity leave but not paternity leave, we worry that it will incentivize them not to hire women, particularly young women.

4. Encourage pay transparency. When organizations go public on their wage gap (or lack thereof), it demonstrates their commitment to gender parity and encourages other employers to do the same. It also enables women to make decisions about where to accept jobs based on additional information (“Will I be paid the same as the men in my role and with my experience?”) and improves the company’s appeal to both job candidates and consumers.

5. We know that the wage gap is even worse for women who are members of more than one underrepresented group, including women of color and women with disabilities. Ignoring these intersectionalities is dangerous not only in terms of leaving many women behind but also in terms of the rich benefits that come with a multifaceted approach to organizational diversity and inclusion. An African-American woman with a learning disability has a unique perspective that can be very valuable to the organization she works for — but only if that organization recognizes her worth and addresses the unique challenges she faces.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Taryn: I have so many movements I’d like to start! The one that immediately comes to mind would be for men and women both to value the unique gifts women can bring to work — and to the world. Researchers have found no differences in the effectiveness of men and women as leaders — but many have found that men and women can bring different, inherent leadership strengths. If we valued some of the more “feminine” strengths — empathy, relationship-building, making connections — as much as we valued the more “masculine” strengths, what a better world we would have!

Amy: If I could inspire any movement, it would be focused on strengthening community engagement. There are so many aspect of modern life that push us to disconnect from each other. If we could reverse this trend and place the responsibility for each member of our communities on the shoulder of each member of our communities, I believe the average mental and physical well-being across our communities would dramatically improve.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Taryn: As a writer and speaker, my favorite “life lesson quote” is from 20th-century German philosopher Edith Stein: “Do not accept anything as truth that lacks love, and do not accept anything as love that lacks truth. One without the other is a destructive lie.” Words have power, and speaking the truth — but doing so kindly and with empathy — is the best way I know how to make a difference.

Amy: “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”

– Maya Angelou

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Taryn: I read Fran Hauser’s book “The Myth of the Nice Girl” last year and interviewed her for an article. In addition to being a nice girl herself — a really lovely person to talk to — she has interesting insights on what it means to be a woman in the workplace and how to bring your natural gifts to the table. (She also invests in some pretty cool female-led companies!)

Amy: Anne Wojcicki. The practical, medical and ethical implications of her work are profound. I’d like to pick her brain, not just about career and life lessons, but also about the impetus for her company and the future of genetic indexing.

This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.


“5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap”, with Taryn Oesch and Amy DuVernet was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business”, with Kent Lewis and Candice Georgiadis

LinkedIn has been, by far, the most powerful social platform for growing business. In 2017, I started reaching out to more than 900 of my 17,000 contacts, who were all my target audience as VP of Marketing. Since then, I’ve closed half a dozen strategic accounts via this outreach strategy on LinkedIn.

As part of my series of interviews about “How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kent Lewis, President of Anvil Media. As President & Founder of Anvil Media, Lewis oversees strategic direction of the company, with a focus on sales and marketing. He speaks internationally, writes for industry publications like SmartBrief and has been an adjunct professor at Portland State University since 2000. Since transitioning his career into digital marketing in 1996, he’s founded or co-founded four agencies and 2 organizations. He’s been named a Top 40 Under 40, Marketer of the Year by AMA Oregon and a Top 100 Digital Marketing Influencer by BuzzSumo in 2019. Outside of work, Lewis enjoys consulting with startups and spending time with family.

Thank you so much for doing this with us, Kent! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I fell into a career in digital marketing when the public relations firm I was working for spun out a sister web development agency in 1995 and they asked me to transition to that firm as head of marketing in 1996.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

The highlight of my career must be lunch with Seth Godin in Manhattan more than a decade ago. 15 years ago, I set a goal to meet Seth in-person after reading his book. I reached out regarding a speaking opportunity in Portland 13 years ago and two years later, I was having lunch with him at a vegan café. He’s as amazing in-person as he is in writing and as a keynote speaker.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

In 1995, I sent an email to a very influential technology reporter as a PR coordinator. The email came through scrambled, as he had a different encoding format than my email (back then, that was a thing). He assumed I’d done it on purpose and threatened to have me fired for it. My bosses laughed it off, knowing it was a technology issue and his audacity raised eyebrows to say the least. I appreciated their support as a junior employee.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

LinkedIn has been, by far, the most powerful social platform for growing business. In 2017, I started reaching out to more than 900 of my 17,000 contacts, who were all my target audience as VP of Marketing. Since then, I’ve closed half a dozen strategic accounts via this outreach strategy on LinkedIn.

Let’s talk about LinkedIn specifically, now. Can you share 5 ways to leverage LinkedIn to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

The first strategy I used was connecting with existing clients, so they would see my daily activity updates and syndicated articles. I found it was a good way to create a consistent touchpoint outside of our monthly newsletter and increased engagement significantly.

The second strategy was reconnecting with former clients (more than 2 years old) to schedule a catch-up call. One of my first engagements was a client from 10 years’ prior.

My third strategy was to reach out to qualified prospects. I found the best traction when reconnecting with former partners, industry peers and others with a timely need. I closed 2 strategic clients the first year, one of whom was a former key contact at a partner agency and another an industry peer I’d known for over a decade. Since then, I’ve closed more deals with similar relationships.

The fourth strategy has been to maintain steady post cadence, sharing status updates roughly hourly from 8 am to 5 pm daily.

The final strategy I’ve employed is to create original content (LinkedIn Pulse articles) roughly monthly. It’s a great way to share my POV on topics outside of other syndicated media outlets to which I also contribute. Those posts also generate more exposure as they are native to the LinkedIn platform.

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I’m a huge supporter of early literacy. Future prison capacity is based on 3rd grade reading levels. The more working professionals sit down with struggling student readers between grades K-2, the greater positive impact we can have on future success and economic growth. I’ve been a volunteer reader for SMART Reading in Oregon for 20 years: www.smartreading.org.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I have a man crush on Ryan Reynolds, as he’s a brilliant actor and is exceedingly funny. He’s also a prudent entrepreneur and invested in a local spirit brand, Aviation Gin. I’m a huge fan of a Pacific NW original.

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!


“How to Use LinkedIn To Dramatically Improve Your Business”, with Kent Lewis and Candice Georgiadis was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.