Women in the Workplace Expert Ashley Milne-Tyte Interviewed by Anne Loehr

Ashley Milne-Tyte is a storyteller, writer, reporter, radio producer and podcast host. Most recently, she is the creator and producer of “The Broad Experience,” a podcast about the nuances of women in the workplace. As well as being online and on iTunes, her show airs regularly on WRLN, Miami’s public radio station, and on the Women’s International News Gathering Service (WINGS).

In addition, she’s produced hundreds of news spots and features for Marketplace, the public radio business show, as well as filed stories for NPR, WNYC, The World, and the BBC. Her print pieces have appeared in Women of Influence magazine, Phoenix Focus magazine, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Independent, the New York Daily News, and Metro.

I have been following Ashley’s work and was so excited to speak to her about issues women face in the workplace, as well as how being a minority might play into that experience.

Here you will find the video of our conversation, as well as a cheat sheet of key points if you don’t have time to watch the full 30-minutes. If you’d like to watch the segments you are most interested in, the topics below are listed alongside what time they appear in the video.

 

• Ethnicity & Women: Does it Make a Difference in the Workforce? 2:34
  Ashley speaks about her specific experience with British and American women in the workforce. She identifies that culturally, most women have issues with confidence. She feels that in Britain it isn’t culturally appropriate to advocate for yourself and that your “work should speak for itself.” She feels this makes it more difficult for British women in the workplace.

• The Experience of Minority Women in the Workforce: 4:11
  Ashley discusses how some women don’t want to be put in a basket with other women and that it’s important to acknowledge all women are individuals. That being said, she feels that non-white people have an entirely different layer of reaction to deal with in the workplace. Their ethnicity elicits additional assumptions about who they are, what they do and where they are from. Because being a minority woman in the workforce isn’t discussed often, Ashley makes it a goal to have non-white women on her show. Ashley raises an interesting point about Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In book, that there are very few non-white people mentioned. Ashley points out that in 30 years, white people are not going to be society’s “default setting.” My infographic on the new majority demonstrates this fact.

• Female vs. Male Behavior in the Workplace: 6:22
  Ashley discusses the difference between how men and women self-advocate.

• Two Mistakes Commonly Made by Women in the Workplace: 9:25
  

  • Mistake 1: Women don’t speak up to advocate for themselves or articulate to higher ups what advancement they want.
    
  • Mistake 2: Women see opportunities as risky; consequently they may say no to an opportunity rather than saying yes and working it out.

• How “Lean In” Helps Both Men and Women: 12:12
  Ashley believes that on a basic level, it’s helpful for men to see how things come across from a woman’s point of view. Ashley is thrilled that people are talking about women in the workforce on a more regular basis.

• Can Gen Y Women Change the Workplace? 14:03
  Ashley brings up that Gen Y doesn’t like authority so wants to be the authority. They want to be their own bosses and expect more out of work. While it would be great to believe they can change the workplace, the jury is still out.

• Gen Y Women Case Study: Levo League: 17:00
  Ashley interviewed someone from the Levo League which is a wonderful startup aimed at getting Gen Y women into more senior positions. She explains some of the ways Levo is working to open companies’ eyes to women’s workplace issues, even down to revising the language used in job descriptions.

• What Organizations Can do to Help Women “Lean In”: 18:29
  To put it simply, Ashley believes the only way to make real change is to have someone in a senior position who actually cares. Hiring someone with a job title that includes the word “diversity” won’t change things.

• Encouraging Men: Open Conversations about Women in the Workforce: 21:58
  Ashley battles with the fact that often men won’t consider listening to a show or conversation that is about women. They see those issues as separate from them. There needs to be more commingling in networking events. Communication between genders is key.

• Mean Girls: Is Female Competition Real? 25:53
  Ashley brings up an interesting point about why people may see women as less generous with themselves in the workplace. Perhaps it is because they have had to work so hard to get where they are and put up with so much that they are protective of themselves and their positions. The unfortunate result is women in the workplace have to deal with not getting support from men or women.

To learn more about Ashley Milne-Tyte, check out her website, and listen to her podcast, The Broad Experience. You can also follow her on Twitter.

If you’re interested in content like this, take a look at my blogs about women in the workplace and  follow me on Twitter.

Finally, do you have a personal experience with being a woman, or minority woman, in the workplace and facing challenges? Please leave me a comment, shoot me an email or tell me on Twitter.