To celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day and the theme #ChooseToChallenge, we talk to two of our project managers, Vivian Panagos and Emma Stewart, about the challenges they’ve faced and the advice they can offer other aspiring women in the sector.

Emma Stewart, Principal Consultant, PM-Partners

Emma Stewart is a Principal Consultant (Advisory) and is currently on secondment to Transport for New South Wales as the Agile Practice Lead. She has experience in consulting and client-side in a range of industries. Emma has been involved in a wide range of initiatives from traditional project and program delivery to using Agile approaches.

 

What advice do you have for women starting a career in project management today?

Don’t self-select. If a role is of interest and you think you would be happy taking it on, give it a try. Find a way to demonstrate your applicable experience and apply. What’s the worst that could happen? You’ll have spent some time preparing your application and you might receive a “no thank you” or you might go through and have a fantastic opportunity ahead of you.

What have been the biggest challenges in your career?

Consulting and technology generally have more male employees than female. Especially in my early consulting days in London, there was a definite bias towards young men in sharp suits and pushing them forward to new roles and promotions. When the limited number of promotion opportunities came round, they largely went to men and maybe one token woman. Luckily organisations have started to change this approach and there is more equality around career recognition. However, many companies are still on the journey.

How have you overcome the challenges and what lessons have you learned?

I’ve looked for my own skill niches that I can offer and tried to play to my strengths while learning from others. My advice is to deliver well for clients and colleagues so they want to work with you again. Where I have spotted opportunities, I have put my hand up. My offer hasn’t always been taken up, but it has made people aware of my interest and also prompted them to think of a more diverse candidate pool.

Women are smart and capable, with much to add. However, I often experience that if there’s a woman in the room she will be the one taking the notes, scheduling the meetings, and other admin on behalf of the others in the room. If I’m not happy about this and feel it’s becoming a pattern, I will directly ask the people in the room if someone else would take over.

Currently, many companies and organisations are making efforts to have women in senior positions, but progress in many is still slow. These representative women are often HR and marketing leads – it would be brilliant to see more women in other leadership roles.

What changes have you seen in the past year when it comes to gender-related challenges facing working women today?

The flexible working arrangements resulting from COVID-19 have already had a huge positive impact on many working women, offering more flexibility around how and when we choose to work. Many women are now able to contribute even more fully than before. This is true for men, too, as many couples have more flexibility to balance family and work life.

Let’s celebrate success – tell us about your biggest career achievements and what you learned from success.

I’m proud of the networks I’ve made throughout my professional career. Yes, in any job you have to make tough decisions, have robust discussions, and work through problematic situations. It’s important at the end to remember that you are all human beings with families and lives, trying to do your best work, and that you will all need to work together again – maybe in the next meeting, next week, or the next organisation.

Respect people and their views, even when they don’t align to yours. Sydney, and Australia overall, is small in terms of people in your profession. Guaranteed you will come across people again, often when you least expect it.

Vivian Panagos, Senior Project Manager, PM-Partners

Vivian Panagos is a Senior Project Manager and has been with PM-Partners for more than 10 years. She chose a career in IT after studying a degree in computer science at a time when technology was still in its relative infancy – and she was the only female in her year at university!

What advice do you have for women starting a career in project management today?

Invest in yourself. Take the time to learn and keep up-to-date on technological changes. I would also recommend networking far and wide and finding a mentor whose leadership skills you aspire to.

What have been the biggest challenges in your career?

First, accepting my value to an organisation. I knew I was qualified to do the job, but I would often underestimate my own worth. I am now not afraid to negotiate pay or to price my services appropriately. Second, work and family life has been a difficult balance. When my two sons were very young I would work long hours with limited flexibility. This has now changed with remote and flexible working becoming more of the norm. Thirdly, speaking about my accomplishments. I used to worry that I would come across as conceited but I now know the value of sharing what I’ve achieved.

How have you overcome the challenges and what lessons have you learned?

From working with so many different organisations, I’ve learned how much work practices and cultures can vary – being personally flexible to adapt to changing environments has been my biggest take away and especially important when it comes to project management. You just never know what’s around the corner that you may need to adapt to.

Let’s celebrate success – tell us about your biggest career achievements and what you learned from success.

One of my most memorable achievements was leading the critical delivery of training of a major system implementation. My involvement was last minute due to circumstances that meant there was a small timeframe to deliver the learning content before go-live. I managed over 30 trainers and multiple training locations to deliver the content to more than 5,000 staff. The experience taught me that I enjoy a challenge, even one that looks seemingly impossible.

As both Emma and Vivian’s experience shows us, there is much of value that you can learn about yourself when you #ChooseToChallenge.

While the obstacles facing women in project management are still very real and apparent, there are calls for change – and signs of real progress – all around us. Female project management professionals are an active part of that movement and their success deserves to be celebrated.

To find out more about stepping up to challenges in a changing business world, contact the experts at PM-Partners or call us on 1300 70 13 14 today.