Creating Opportunity for Everyone

Women Taking the Lead

Did you know women represent only 33% of employees in the Tech industry?

And according to Accenture half of women who go into the tech industry drop out by the age of 35.

Knowing those stats, it’s great when you hear of a company that is beating those odds. I wanted to know what is making the difference, so I’ve invited Laura Baldwin, the President of O’Reilly Media to share what they are doing at O’Reilly with all of us.

Meet Laura Baldwin

Laura Baldwin began working with O’Reilly Media in October 2001 as Chief Financial Officer and added Chief Operating Officer to her responsibilities before becoming O’Reilly’s first President in March 2011. Prior to O’Reilly, she consulted for the publishing industry with BMR Associates, managing diverse large projects. Her media career started at Chronicle Books, where she was CFO for ten years, contributing to its successful distribution and gift business launch. Laura’s diverse experience in banking, corporate governance, and media fuels her passion for the industry. She credits her leadership ethos to her all-girls high school, where she was taught that leadership is available to anyone who demonstrates initiative and drive regardless of their gender. At O’Reilly, she helped to create a diversity scholarship program and continues to advocate for an inclusive and open workforce.

In this episode Laura and I discuss:

· O'Reilly's executive team stat (45% women) and companywide stat of 43% women

· When O’Reilly realized there was a discrepancy in their company, and something needed to change.

· What they are doing differently, which has allowed them to sustainably achieve these numbers.

· O’Reilly’s current focus to help their people continue to have flexibility and manageable workloads.

Resources

Connect with Jodi Flynn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodiflynn

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching process, or how to ask your employer to pay for you to work with a coach. https://calendly.com/d/djm-mnc-2km

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast. https://forms.gle/xiTZt2JAWZnWEiWp7

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader. https://womentakingthelead.com/leadership-abilities-inventory

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system that gives you the foundation and structure to take your goals and make them happen. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3LH7S0

Where you can find Laura and O’Reilly’s resources

O’Reilly’s diversity statement: https://www.oreilly.com/diversity/ Click to follow link." href="https://www.oreilly.com/diversity/" rel="noopener">https://www.oreilly.com/diversity/

Free diversity resources: https://www.oreilly.com/online-learning/building-diversity/

Laura Baldwin: https://www.oreilly.com/people/laura-baldwin/

Corporate Responsibility in the Age of AI: https://www.oreilly.com/radar/corporate-responsibility-in-the-age-of-ai/