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but she ’ s got two sons . This is all to make sure that women coming up now don ’ t go through the same frustrations she did .”
LOOKING AHEAD TO ACTIONABLE STEPS The Castell Project has multiple prongs : There ’ s the research ( the nonprofit partners with Georgia State University ), but then there ’ s also a year-long training program for women and female-identifying executives that teaches skills like aggressive negotiating and communication strategies . In addition , Berg has been compiling
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lists of industry women for companies and conference coordinators alike looking to get talented women on their speaking rosters .
“ I love what Peggy Berg is doing in putting together these ‘ binders ’ of women ,” says Andrea Foster , senior vice president of development at Milwaukee , Wisconsinbased Marcus Hotels & Resorts . “ It ’ s like , if you ’ re looking for women to enhance your group , here ’ s a list , choose from any of these : They ’ re all rock stars .”
Sponsorship , says Foster , is critical to seeing women advance . “ It ’ s more than just
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mentorship ,” she says . “ Sponsorship means that the sponsor is putting the individual up for opportunities , roles , promotions , growth , development and advancement .”
It ’ s exactly that kind of strong advocacy that the Castell Project strives towards .
“ We find that it ’ s advantageous for companies in this industry to keep their women in the industry ,” Berg says . “ We want women to have a network within the industry that gives them resources that benefit their company and also strengthens their potential .”
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of one color , one age , one school : Oh , wow , you ’ ve got a problem . H : So it sounds like this is a wakeup call ? PB : And it ’ s hard . So whoever you are , what happens in your gut when you run into one of these biases ? When you start paying attention to it , you can feel it . Literally , it ’ s a gut feeling . You can feel it and when you feel that , it ’ s a very difficult thing to challenge yourself and say , “ Oh , I know that feeling . That means my bias is making my decision for me . Do I want to let that happen ?” So it is hard . I know that my biases are kicking in because that is when I stand up from my desk and go get a cookie . Because I will do anything , especially if it involves a cookie , if it saves me from having to do the uncomfortable thing of going against my bias . H : ( Laughs ) Love that . We should all eat more cookies is really the moral of this . PB : I eat a lot of cookies and then I come back and I say , “ All right , I ate the cookie . I am now going to overcome my bias and do what I was supposed to do before I went to get the cookie .” |
Peggy Berg leads a 2018 winter Castell Project cohort program . |
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28 hotelsmag . com April 2018 |