Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr Shirley Knowles of Progress Software On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
The 5 leadership lessons I’ve learned from my experience as a woman in STEM and further a woman in a predominantly male-dominated industry are the following: representation matters, leading with empathy, organizations need to sponsor non-profit organizations, authenticity is pivotal, and evolving the meaning behind leader positions. I hope some of these lessons will look unfamiliar to the untrained eye. It’s become easy to suggest common life lessons such as strategic development and fostering innovation — it’s time we approach leadership from a new perspective.
As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women Leaders in Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Shirley Knowles.
Dr. Shirley Knowles joined Progress as its first Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer. She is responsible for leading the company’s inclusion and diversity initiatives designed to foster a culture of belonging where all employees feel valued, safe and seen. She previously served as the first diversity and inclusion officer at a large property and casualty insurance company in Boston, where she led initiatives to promote inclusivity and appreciation of cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, socioeconomic and educational diversity.
Shirley earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Marquette University; a Master of Leadership Studies degree from North Central College; a Master of Arts in Gender and Cultural Studies and Master of Science in communications management from Simmons College; and a Doctor of Education in organizational leadership degree from Northeastern University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I’ve been drawn to a career in inclusion and diversity from a very young age, even before I embarked on my career. There’s always been a driving force within me to better understand people, their backgrounds, and how those backgrounds contribute to their understanding of the world. To me, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging means that people from different walks of life can appreciate the journey of the folks to the right and the left of them: no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, disabilities, or religious affiliation.
Most of my life, I have been the “first” or the “only one” in a number of instances: the “only one” in many of my AP classes in high school, as well as the first African-American senior class president at a predominately white high school. I was the first African-American to give a commencement speech at my college graduation. In many of my undergraduate and graduate programs, I was one of the few or only African-Americans in the classroom. As I have progressed into various leadership roles, I have seen very few women of color in management roles at the various companies I have worked at over the years — I believe experiencing this has made me a more empathetic and humble person because I know what it feels like to not see others who look like you. Being the “first” or “only” isn’t something that necessarily keeps me up at night, but it is something I’m conscious of — and because of this, I strive to ensure I am mentoring and paving the way for other underrepresented groups so they are not the “first” or “only” as they move up the ranks into leadership roles.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?
Being an inclusion and diversity officer is not as easy as some may think — you’re constantly learning on the go since this space is subjective and ever-evolving. During my first couple of months at Progress, I was planning a listening tour with some subcommittee members from our inclusion and diversity committee. During the process, I asked one member — a white male who has been with the company for more than a decade — to randomly connect with employees he was meeting with throughout the week to get their perspective on I&D. I met with him a week later and he shared how amazed he was at the various perspectives on the topic, including those apathy and fear of discussing the topic with other employees for fear of ‘saying the wrong thing.’ In that moment, we took some time to process some of the feedback he heard and reconfigured part of the listening tour to ensure we could address how uncomfortable it may be for employees to openly talk about what inclusion and diversity means to them. Although I was not totally surprised by some of the comments he heard, I knew this was one of those ‘a-ha’ moments for him, but I also knew his experience would make him a stronger ally for building an even more inclusive workplace.
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?
I started my career in public relations and I was pretty green — there were so many things I didn’t know, but I was too proud to tell anyone I didn’t know how to build out a media list or why it’s so important to keep press releases short and to the point. One of the mistakes I kept making was around media alerts — I would sometimes start out writing an alert, but it looked like a press release and vice versa. It was one of those things where I kept making the same error, but would pretend that I did it on purpose! Thank goodness I had an understanding leader at the time that could recognize there were a few things I needed to learn about PR, and was patient enough to teach me. The lesson I learned? It’s OK to admit you don’t know what you’re doing, and be open to help from someone who is much more experienced in your respective industry — it will help save time re-doing work down the road.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
One of the reasons why I joined Progress was due to the company’s CEO staff members being committed to ensuring the organization is known — both internally and externally — as having diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging as part of the company’s DNA. Our CEO, Yogesh Gupta, understands at a foundational level what it feels like to be excluded through his life experiences as a man of color. Because of this, he can speak authentically about why inclusivity must be a part of Progress’ culture and values, and not some fly by night trend to check off boxes. People can see right through that fairly quickly. We’re not focusing on inclusion and diversity as a one-off — we’re doing it to create real, positive change.
Many other leaders on our CEO staff understand that systemic changes — including who we hire, who we’re developing and promoting, which employees our leaders are mentoring and sponsoring, the impact of our employee resource groups (ERGs) and I&D committee are making, the cultural events we celebrate, the diversity of our teams, and the way we engage with the world — are critical to the success of the company. Progress employees understand that I&D is a business imperative — by understanding our people, our communities, and our world, we are able to connect on a deeper level internally while also creating innovative products for our customers with our diversity of thought, experiences, skillset, education, and backgrounds.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
As Progress’ first Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, I felt that it was critical to hear from employees before I started to think about I&D initiatives that would impact our teams. Starting in the fall of 2021, I kicked off a multi-week “listening tour” throughout the entire organization, which led me to speak with dozens of employees from our offices around the world. By creating a safe space for groups of five or smaller to authentically speak about inclusion and diversity — without the fear of being judged or attacked for one’s beliefs — employees were very open about their own experiences in the workplace and what I can do to educate our leaders on the importance of creating inclusive teams.
We will continue these conversations in 2022 a few times every quarter, which will help me provide real-time, ongoing feedback to our leaders on how well we are moving the needle to ensure we are doing our best to be one of the most inclusive organizations in the world. Also, in the new year we plan on kicking off “lunch with leaders” series which focuses on identifying five to eight high performing individuals and giving them access to c-suite members. This critical program will allow participants to ask questions of their leaders like never before — asking essential questions that unlock a new way of thinking. These employees will get first hand experience to discuss leaders journey’s to the c-suite, understanding that the path is not linear and opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. By breaking down the hierarchy of leadership, this helps dispel imposter syndrome most feel, improve confidence, and increase fostering more open and honest conversations.
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
Leaders in STEM have a certain responsibility to encourage girls’ passions in STEM. As the United Nations points out, globally, the percentage of females among STEM graduates is below 15% in over two-thirds of countries. And in middle and higher-income countries, only 14% of girls who were top performers in science or math expected to work in science and engineering compared to 26% of top-performing boys. In male dominated fields like STEM, it’s important we tackle these questions and find solutions.
Representation matters. Women sitting in a position of power and influence matters. If young girls see a women founder or see another sitting in top executive positions, they won’t question whether they belong in STEM, or questions if they can pursue this career path — they’ll see a future reflection of themselves. This can be done by setting up scholarships for women pursuing STEM fields; sponsoring all-female hackathons; and highlighting the amazing women working at their organization, especially those in leadership roles.
Enterprises around the world need to do a better job of laying a foundation to support young girls as they enter the workforce, so they won’t have to be one of the “first” or the “only.”
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?
Promoting inclusion and diversity initiatives within the STEM field is notoriously difficult, often due to unconscious bias in hiring efforts, lack of promotions, and centuries-old inclusion issues. According to recent Pew Research, Hispanic and Black workers continue to be underrepresented in the STEM workforce, and women make up a quarter or fewer of workers in computing and engineering. Being the “first” and/or “only,” is intimidating so imagine for many women who work in male-dominated industries under the STEM umbrella must feel knowing they’ll never be considered first for a leadership roles because of their gender. Leaders and influences must recognize the impact unconscious bias has in the way we see and perceive others, especially when it comes to the way companies hire and promote women and people of color. We need to sponsor and invest in women and highlight the work they’re doing in the same way we have traditionally celebrated the talents and contributions of men.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?
I’ll keep it simple — there are plenty of women who are interested in a career in STEM. There are young girls in the world who want someone to invest in their dreams, to guide them and believe in their desire to work in the STEM field. They aren’t “uninterested” in STEM. We need to dispel this belief that girls and women don’t want to work in IT or aren’t good at math. Some of the greatest minds in STEM, like Katherine Johnson (of NASA) or Grace Hopper (the key inventor of the language COBOL, a widely used programming language) have been women. How many more like them are just waiting to be discovered and given a chance to change the world?
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in STEM or Tech” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
The 5 leadership lessons I’ve learned from my experience as a woman in STEM and further a woman in a predominantly male-dominated industry are the following: representation matters, leading with empathy, organizations need to sponsor non-profit organizations, authenticity is pivotal, and evolving the meaning behind leader positions. I hope some of these lessons will look unfamiliar to the untrained eye. It’s become easy to suggest common life lessons such as strategic development and fostering innovation — it’s time we approach leadership from a new perspective.
The majority of leadership positions in STEM tend to be white males — with minimal representation from women and minorities. We’ve reached a critical need for a greater emphasis on diversification, which is why mentoring the next generation has become so crucial. We need to see a significant commitment from organizations to sponsor or partner with non-profit organizations. Top talent comes from all places, and investing time and energy in cultivating the interests of these marginalized and underrepresented groups early on will distinguish organizations committed to fostering immense change.
Over the years, I’ve received feedback that those in tech view their job as ‘glass half empty,’ which can create misalignment between leaders and their teams. The power has shifted from leaders to employees, and meeting your teams where they are at has become critical for building trust. Authentic leaders are not afraid to get personal. It’s time to accept that the leader role is constantly evolving and hold them accountable for the success of their teams.
What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?
There’s always room for improvement, and reassing can help leaders create realistic goals that contribute to the overall success of the team. Goal-setting is a seemingly important touchpoint for many leaders who look to this process to understand changes in employees’ performance. A key tip is diversifying their teams communication avenues. It can be easy for leaders to only collect feedback from management, but prioritizing hearing all voices shifts the accountability back onto the team. Sourcing feedback from all levels, pushes everyone to contribute to one another’s growth and success — and ensures all team members feel they belong and their opinion matters.
What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
As a female leader, work culture is an ever-evolving environment that needs care — which is true of managing large teams. It’s easy, especially in a dispersed workforce to become siloed in your individual work within a larger team. While everyone has individual needs, leaders who see the most success understand the importance of fostering an environment where everyone belongs. “Women are too emotional,” is a common myth women fight everyday — not many men are subjected to disprove. The key to hands-on leading with empathy is building a foundation of trust rooted in assessing everyone’s level of capabilities and committing a degree of accountability across the organization. Women leaders’ capacity to lead with more authenticity contributes to a solid foundation of trust and open communication across large teams. By doing so, they remove self-serving or unconscious bias and set goals for their teams that support each person’s individual growth and help them reach their full potential together.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The biggest challenge in anyone’s career is asking for help. For me, that came in the form of a past leader and mentor who recognized my talent and potential early on and invested in my future success. Throughout my career, I’ve experienced passive-aggressive behavior from my colleagues making me feel invisible. But my mentor did more than be my advocate — she instilled a level of trust that in turn earned by loyalty. A great example of leadership is knowing not only when to act but more importantly when to listen, and she knew instinctively when jumping in with a solution wasn’t the best course of action. She pushed the HR team to perform a market analysis on what was fair pay for my background and expertise. Through actions like these, I could tell she cared deeply about my future success, which has made me into the person and leader I am today. Thank you.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I have always tried to remain humble and do my best to put myself in someone else’s shoes, to see situations from various perspectives. By doing this, I am able to empathize with others in a way that makes them feel seen and heard. I don’t do this because it’s “my job” to hear out different viewpoints and be accepting — being good to others is a core tenet I believe in and practice every day. I truly enjoy mentoring others, it brings me great joy to use my past experiences and insight to help others. I love donating and volunteering — I try to give to new nonprofits every year. I also enjoy sending friends motivational books that have made a big impact in my life. Overall, I just enjoy giving back to others. I have been very blessed in my life, so pouring into the cups of others is important to me.
You are a person of enormous 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. 🙂
The STEM industry is ripe for I&D change, and I truly believe it will help these organizations foster more innovation: for their companies and our greater social structures. I’m thrilled to join an organization that has committed to ensuring their inclusion, equity and diversity practices not only meet but exceed the STEM industry’s standards. By following these best practices, you can prime your STEM organization for lasting I&D impact.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote I aspire to follow everyday is by Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Many of us are afraid to fail. Rightly so. But it shouldn’t end here, rather I’ve led my career by taking calculated risks. It was a worthwhile risk to become Chief Diversity Inclusion Officer at Progress, this is my first role at a global company. The world can be a subjective space if you don’t push to redefine your outlook constantly. Meeting new people worldwide, opening yourself up to discover different cultures, perspectives and opinions is what I believe Mark was trying to capture with his quote. This pertains to our need to push systemic changes in business operations — taking a true moment to understand where the other person comes from. Diversity of thought is no longer a nice to have but a critical component to the success of companies and people’s ability to put themselves in others’ shoes. The cultural events we celebrate, the diversity of our teams, and the way we engage with the world all add up to the unimaginable impact we have on one another. Many of us can get highly focused on one goal, driven to achieve it in the short team, but without getting distracted or trying something new you limit your ability to discover new possibilities. Life is full of endless possibilities, and fear should drive your push to discover not limit.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders 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’ve been fortunate enough to meet the person I’d love to have a private breakfast with or lunch with — but if given the chance to reconnect for a deeper thoughtful conversation I’d be honored to connect with Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley.
One of my previous employers had secured Carla as a keynote speaker — and my boss and mentor mentioned earlier knew of my passion and respect for her work. Not only did she care about my personal success she paid attention to my personal interests and nominated me to moderate the discussion with Carla. The ability to talk with my idol was unparalleled. Carla has achieved many firsts in life, motivated to never let anyone tell her she can’t do something. An important distinction many will miss is through all these achievements she didn’t pigeon hold this success but devoted her spare time to coach others to achieve their own “firsts.” As I have progressed through various leadership roles, I’ve seen very few women of color in management roles and it’s made me highly aware of my surroundings. “Being smart isn’t enough,” still rings true today and I strive to ensure I am mentoring and paving the way for other underrepresented groups. So they are afforded the same chance to have a boss and mentor like I had who’s invested in their professional and personal successes as they move up the ranks into leadership roles.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr Shirley Knowles of Progress Software On The 5 Leadership… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.