International Women’s Day: Celebrating Achievements and Non-Linear Career Paths

Last week, at the 25th anniversary of the eTail West conference in Palm Springs, California, I was in the audience during the keynote fireside chat “The Myth of the Linear Career Path: Lessons Learned About Seizing Creative Opportunities for Growth.” Shelley E. Kohan, associate professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and RetalWire BrainTrust member, interviewed Kristin Shane, EVP, chief merchandising and marketing officer at The Guitar Center, and they both shared their insights and experiences in navigating career challenges with purpose and passion.

“When I hire leaders, I want to see cross-functional experience. So take the risks to do the job that is off the beaten path and you will be successful as you continue to cultivate your network,” advised Shane. 

The speakers emphasized that a career is a lifelong journey, and it often has unexpected turns while one discovers their sweet spot and “magic power.” They advised attendees to:

• Recognize the importance of curiosity, trying new things, and learning from failure
• Set boundaries and prioritize self-care to avoid burnout in high-level roles
• Embrace the value of cross-functional experience and take risks to pursue opportunities outside of one’s comfort zone

Both speakers have a passion for supporting other women. Shane mentioned a common difference between men and women in career advancement, where men tend to raise their hands for roles they haven’t experienced before, while women take a more cautious approach when pursuing new opportunities. 

“Women tend to feel that before I raise my hand for that job, I need to prove to myself that I know how to do it. So we tend to not raise our hands until we actually have an experience in a role,” stated Shane. “That fundamental difference is what sets us back sometimes as women.”

“Women in general need to have more confidence in themselves and the work they can do,” said Kohan. “While it may be easier to get a seat at the table today than a few years ago, the larger challenge is being heard when you are at that table.” For young women to be able to rise above the ranks of corporate America, they should do their research, have credibility in the work they are doing, and stand up with confidence about their views, contributions, and the role they play as part of the team. The other area where women may be disadvantaged is seeing themselves as a competitor to other women. “If we, collectively, can be less competitive and more supportive of the success of each other, it can be a powerful tide that lifts all women,” said Kohan. 

A prevailing issue is the lack of female representation in senior leadership positions, giving few opportunities for women to see role models or mentors who are filling roles they want to achieve. Companies should be creating supportive environments and collaborative opportunities for women. Providing access to training and professional development opportunities within the organization can equip women with the skills needed to move ahead.

The other topic discussed at the eTail fireside chat was work-life balance challenges for women. “Women certainly have more challenges in terms of the work environment, and let’s face it, it’s a fact that women have babies! We worry about time off and gaps in employment; we are scared to take maternity leave,” said Shane. Oftentimes, women are confronted with conflicts in home-work schedules, especially with young children, Shane explained. “But it is men too who feel the pressure. Paternity leave is great, but some partners are afraid to take it,” she said, before telling a story about a male employee who was afraid to take his paternity leave.

At the end of the session, as a final recommendation, Shane said, “I would just encourage you to think the myth of the linear career path is real. I think having opportunities to do things outside of your cross-functional area is important because toward the end of your career, when you want broader scope, you have to be able to demonstrate how you lead.”

Honoring the BrainTrust Women and Their Career Journeys on International Women’s Day

I’ve met so many talented women and love to hear their stories, challenges, and goals. At this point in my career, it’s especially satisfying to mentor, collaborate, and support others. eTail and the BrainTrust are great forums for doing just that. In fact, Shelley and I have “known” each other for years but never met in person before eTail25. It was a pleasure to hear about her journey, learn why she made the choices she did, and discover how we could help one another on current projects. I admire her industry expertise, passion for education, and dedication to mentoring young women.

When asked about the holiday, which falls during Women’s History Month, Shelley said, “It is sad in a way that we have to have an International Women’s Day at all. Every day should be International Women’s Day.”

While I also have mixed feelings about having an International Women’s Day (I’d rather my accomplishments be measured and recognized across the entirety of professionals than just the female gender), it is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on colleagues’ experience, accomplishments, and advice. That’s why I wanted RetailWire’s lady thought leaders to share their career journeys and passions.

We reached out to all the women on the BrainTrust, and below are the stories we collected about their career journeys, filled with challenges, successes, and unexpected turns.

“After a stint as a band director, I spent time in retail operations, finance, and IT, before moving to the dark/vendor side, where I spent the rest of my career developing and marketing solutions for retailers and brands. It took a while for me to sort out that my sweet spot is thinking differently — developing a unique vision and bringing it to life. Now I help individuals, publications, events, and brands stand out from the crowd in an industry I love.”

Patricia V. Waldron, Contributing Editor, RetailWire

“I spent a larger portion of my career in a male-dominated function, store operations. I was often the only woman in the room, but I excelled at what I contributed. My success was based on my tenacity to drive performance and my high confidence in roles I earned throughout my career. I made sure that I had a seat at the table and my voice was heard. I was always prepared and showed up with my best self each time. I remember being at one meeting with about 20 men and I was the only female. Someone asked me to get coffee, and I said, ‘I will take mine black, thank you.’

I made mistakes along the way, and young women have to remember that the career path is not a perfect journey. Although there are more leadership roles filled with women than a decade ago, there is much work to be done. BIPOC women have an even higher hill to climb and the industry should be doing more to provide equitable opportunities for advancement. Companies should be thinking about how to provide opportunities, training and mentoring to advance women and underrepresented groups. The C-Suite demographics are changing, which is good news, but not fast enough. Sadly, the glass ceiling is alive and well.”

Shelley E. Kohan, Asociate Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology

“My journey from being a daughter of immigrants to being a successful merchant to now owning my own successful business was a testament to my resilience and determination. Being a woman was very much a part of this. It is important for me to empower the women around me, showing them that being a woman and woman of color is not a limitation but a source of strength. I am still learning every day, understanding the nuances of navigating the business world as a woman, but it only fuels my commitment to support and uplift others on similar paths.”

Liza Amlani, Principal and Founder, Retail Strategy Group

“Following your passion, and my passion has always been learning new things, has led to a curvy career path, to say the least. I started out in consumer research at an ad agency in NYC, and I fell in love with the consumer. Then I went to grad school and got a bug for travel and went overseas for a bit. Came back and landed in the distance learning business, fell in love with tech. My ‘peanut butter met my chocolate’ at the intersection of marketing and technology, in the early days of the dot-com boom (round one) and I’ve been hooked on that ever since — including 2 years with a startup, followed by 12 years with a largish PE-owned company in a variety of roles, 8 years founding my own venture-backed tech startup, and now into year 2 at another largish PE-owned company. And during all of this, I got married, had three kids, got divorced, was a single mom, got remarried, and now I am a grandmother of 2 with no plans to slow down!”

Susan O’Neal, General Manager, Promo Intel, Numerator

“Loyalty served me as both my flex and possible mistake. I stayed at companies for long periods of time; focused on nearly impossible goals while the companies moved the goalposts for promotions, recognition, and additional responsibilities. This is something many have faced, but could it be argued that, as a woman, I was more loyal than I should have been? Maybe.”

Christine Russo, Principal, Retail Creative and Consulting Agency

“I started my career working directly for retailers, focusing on merchandising. I moved to the vendor side as a retail strategy advisor, then hopped over to healthcare market research before returning to retail advising. Through a non-linear career path, I’ve learned the importance of embracing change until you’re energized by the tasks that land on your desk and the internal culture to which you’re contributing.”

Melissa Minkow, Director of Retail Strategy, CI&T

“I am an accidental entrepreneur. In my forties, I left an officer-level position as VP of loyalty with a big retailer that had a toxic environment and an executive team that fostered it. I had no plans to start a business, but I got a call from another retailer to see if I could fix their broken loyalty program, so I LLC’d for the legal protection. I figured it would be about 6-8 weeks of work, then I could take the rest of the summer off. Nope. Here I am almost 9 years later, heading a loyalty and CRM consulting firm with a global footprint and a logo sheet that is astounding for a firm of our size. Some days I’m still shocked, but it’s still way more fun to solve other people’s problems than my own! And I managed to create the strategic agency partner that I couldn’t find when I was on the client side.”

Jenn McMillen, Founder and Chief Accelerant, Incendio

“My undergraduate degree is in Political Science with minors in Russian and Physics. So naturally, I work in retail technology today (ha!). The story of why those degrees is too long to tell, but how I ended up in retail is easier. While working through school, I ran the only computer in a small retailer who then decided to go all in on a computerized POS, inventory, and purchase order management solution (the original computer printed the checks that we paid vendors). When I saw firsthand just how much technology upended every part of the business, and how retail as an industry is uniquely resistant to adopting technology at all, let alone quickly, the juxtaposition of that captured me. So much for the Foreign Service exam, I was retail tech all the way after that, and my ability to translate technology concepts into business value has been the skill that shaped all of my career after that.”

Nikki Baird, Vice President of Strategy, Aptos Retail

“While I’ve always worked in the commerce and supply chain/logistics space, the move to marketing was a mid-career pivot. During the first half of my career, I was working in several roles, across customer service, in the product management office for large ERP implementations, as a business analyst. And I briefly dabbled in sales. It wasn’t until after my son was born that I took the time to upskill and reposition myself as a marketer. I started out working on brand strategy, websites, and positioning and messaging as a contractor. Today I run marketing globally for a B2B SaaS tech company where I get to help retailers and direct-to-consumer brands discover how they can solve their inventory availability and fulfillment optimization challenges. I love it!”

Nicola Kinsella, SVP Global Marketing, Fluent Commerce

“While it may sound cliche to say that the true meaning in life is not arriving at your final destination, but enjoying the journey along the way, I am truly starting to appreciate just that. I will add, however, that during the journey, you should always take the moments to enjoy the view. Such has been my career lesson learned. I have often defined my career as a selection of passion, chance, and opportunity. So my choices were based on interest, natural talent, and small leaps of faith. As such, I progressed not on a linear road, but on one filled with curves and sometimes dead ends. Having always been both creative and analytical, I set my early sites on journalism (in front of the camera, of course), but I quickly turned to advertising/marketing as my pursuit. During one of my earliest jobs at a small agency in NYC, I worked on several retail accounts and refined my taste to include both my love of the marketing trade and my interest in the retail industry. Which led me to a series of jobs and promotions on both sides of the retail and brand tables. My journey has taken me from administrative assistant to CMO and pretty much every level in between. I learned to be hungry, be aggressive, be persistent, and, more recently, to be humble and grateful. Yet, when I look back now, after 30+ years in my career, I don’t see the obstacles as much as I remember the achievements. So, when I am now asked for career advice, I enthusiastically share that no job should define you; that you are replaceable; that the secret to success is to make others successful; that your best mentor and career advocate is yourself; and that your best self is always ahead of you. So, wherever you are on your own journey, take a moment to enjoy the view from where you are, there is always something to see.”

Lucille DeHart, Senior Marketing & Branding Executive/Consultant Columbus Consulting, MKT Marketing Services LLC

“Even though retail is something everybody is familiar with, it’s an industry with many running stereotypes. It wasn’t a career path I even considered while growing up, but it’s one of the most innovative and exciting sectors to work in today. For me, I found myself at the intersection of retail and technology after years of working in a variety of sectors, including distribution, manufacturing, and marketing agencies. It’s been such a rewarding journey as retail is extremely interdisciplinary and all of the experience and skills I picked up in my non-linear career are now valuable assets. TL;DR retail is a great career path for those who are curious, can’t sit still, and thrive in dynamic, fast-moving environments.”

Karen Wong, President, TAKU Retail

“I started my retail career on the wholesale side of the business as a showroom manager at the Dallas Apparel Mart in an all-male sales office. I lobbied hard for a sales territory, finally landing my dream road warrior job, spending weekends traveling hundreds of miles in a rented cargo van packed tight with order pads, over 20 massive rolling cases filled with hundreds of clothing samples, and racks that I set up in my hotel room. I moved to LA to take a promotion working with major West Coast department stores, lugging those same cases to Honolulu and San Francisco on planes. I went on to become a specialist in building multi-million-dollar businesses from the ground up for multi-brand companies, then managed sales and marketing teams across all kinds of categories. All of it formed the foundation of the B2B consulting and speaking business I launched in 2001. From that experience, I distilled best practices and principles that transcend categories, channels, and geographic silos. Helping companies see around the corner, get credit for the great things they’re already doing, and giving teams the confidence to take on big opportunities never gets old!”

Carol Spieckerman, President, Spieckerman Retail

“My career path is squiggly. After a decade in retail and B2B marketing, I needed more flexibility to accommodate ‘sandwich generation’ priorities. Launching a B2B content business 11 years ago let me balance serving retail tech clients and my family. It also inspired the best work of my career. Examining the hottest retail trends has transformed my curiosity into a library of informative content. Looking back, I marvel at how much I have grown because I took a detour from a linear career path.”

Lisa Goller, B2B Content Strategist, Lisa Goller Marketing

“I had many accomplishments in my 40+ year career in advertising and retail marketing and certainly made several ‘leaps’ as technology and innovation reshaped our industry. Most rewarding, though, has been my success as a ‘working mom.’ I shared interesting aspects of business with my two children and found that this connected us during much overseas travel. Today, I’m especially proud of how my approach to work helped shape my daughter’s creative spirit and financial independence.”

Gwen Morrison, Partner, Candezent Advisory

“I got my start in the retail industry as publishing editor of a physical trade show zine in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My freelance writing career then led me to study the SaaS solutions propelling our industry forward. Like many women from my generation, I wasn’t encouraged to develop my technical acumen as a kid, but technology is shaping retail’s present. So, I’ve been focused on remedying that by building up my technical acumen and mastering AI, SEO, and content management systems.”

Jasmine Glasheen, Principal Writer & CEO, Jasmine Glasheen & Associates

“After two years in a role I cherished, I faced an unexpected challenge of reapplying for my own job due to organizational shifts, a trial that questioned my confidence and worth. Despite not being chosen initially and facing the harsh reality of fleeting external validation, my journey took a pivotal turn when I was offered my position back. Albeit months later, in that moment, I wrestled with the decision should I, or should I not? Needless to say, I returned armed with newfound perspectives. This experience taught me an invaluable lesson. Real value and self-worth lie beyond titles and are not at the mercy of corporate whims but are, instead, deeply personal and self-defined truths. I have found solace in mentoring young women to confront their professional hurdles with confidence and embrace their true worth, regardless of external circumstances. I firmly believe that success validation isn’t solely about moving up the corporate ladder, but rather about the value you bring while moving side to side, covering the foundational aspects that ground you for success.”

Arnjah Dillard, North America Retail Practice Lead, Stibo Systems

“My career journey in retail began in an executive training program, knowing that I needed a career that took into account both right and left brain skills…highly visual and analytical at the same time. I loved the path through floor merchandising to New York showrooms to European and Asian shopping and sourcing, in department stores, vertical retailers, and some unconventional startups. As life progressed, I realized that diagnosing and solving merchandising and planning problems ‘was my jam.’ Now I spend my energy translating technology solutions for people who do what I once did. It’s very rewarding to see the realization on clients’ faces that I really do ‘get’ what they do and can guide them to the best answer for their businesses.”

Allison McCabe, Director Retail Technology, enVista