SEI Women's Network

#HERSTORY | 23 #HERSTORY | 23 After working in that position for about a year on a full-time basis, I received another unique opportunity to become a trainee consultant at a small retirement plan consulting firm. My boss there was a strong and brilliant woman named Lori. Her knowledge and strength were incredible. The firm was quite diverse for that time period, with over half of the senior positions being held by women, including Lori. Lori helped me acquire additional skills that have served me well for many years after our direct working relationship. She was an incredibly hard worker and a master with numbers. More specifically, she taught me technical skills in administering retirement plans and how to balance a retirement trust account in the most efficient way possible. Fast forward a bit, and I got my first job at a big firm (CoreStates). One of the top executives was Rosemarie Greco, Chief Executive Officer and President of CoreStates Bank, N.A. and President of its parent corporation, CoreStates Financial Corp. During her tenure, the bank—ranked 18th largest in the U.S. at the time—was recognized as one of America's most profitable and efficient banks. With thanks to Rosemarie and other leaders, CoreStates was heralded for its corporate philanthropy, service quality and culture of employee empowerment and diversity. I was a newly minted vice president in one of the regional offices, and I decided to request a meeting with Rosemarie. She always projected an amazing level of confidence and poise in company meetings and in communications. She had an extraordinary balance of smart and sensitive, and to me, she always seemed to be all-knowing. I was delighted when her secretary reached out to me to schedule a 45-minute meeting with Rosemarie. The 45 minutes, in her presence, flew by while I bombarded her with questions about her style of leadership and her perspectives on the challenges that faced us as an institution. She was generous with her time and knowledge. Rosemary taught me how one can lead with strength and kindness. She was highly respected for her knowledge, thoughtful leadership and nerves. To this day, I try to emulate her approaches within my management style. Throughout my early professional years, I gradually came to realize that not everyone was fortunate enough to have the professional experiences and mentors that I had. Not everyone was so positively influenced by a generous assortment of intelligent, strong women. As my career progressed, the number of women who "touched" my career grew tremendously. I often reflect on the privilege I've had to work closely with such great women. I worked for some. Some worked for me. And I labored alongside many in a peer-to-peer way. At this point, I am very professionally "tuned in" to the dialogue and importance of allyship. What is an ally? An ally can be defined a few different ways, but I like to say that allies are those who actively advance inclusion through intentional, conscious efforts that benefit all people. I am continually learning what it means to be a thoughtful and effective ally as I interact with women, members of the LGBTQ community and underrepresented minority populations in professional settings. The importance of allyship in the workplace lies in accepting that imbalances do exist, and using whatever voice or platform that I've been afforded to work toward changing that. Why is male allyship important? It's simply the right thing to do. Specifically, male allyship is incredibly important to me because I feel like I have a debt to pay to all of the women that allied with me and for me. I garnered so many of my professional skills from female mentors that I will forever have a price to pay in return for their generous "gifts." Serving on the SEI Women's Network board of directors is one small way to be a male ally. However, selfishly, I still think that I'm getting the best deal—because I've come to know and learn from another group of amazing women.

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