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WOMEN TO WATCH
Marsha Sampson Johnson, Angie Hart and Anne Kaiser are role models for women in business
It's hard to imagine a business world without women. Today, women not only make up a significant portion of the work force but also hold positions from the boardroom on down.
Three Georgia women who were named to Profiles in Diversity Journal's annual Women Worth Watching in 2007 list hold high-level leadership roles and are expanding opportunities for women and minorities in business. All 102 women chosen for the list were cited for their abilities as role models and mentors.
Women in powerful positions is a tradition at Aflac. The Columbus-based insurance company has been a strong supporter of women since 1959, when one of its most prestigious awards went to a female agent. That corporate culture has helped Angie Hart blossom into her role as senior vice president for community relations.
"Historically, Aflac has had a corporate culture that embraced diversity," Hart said. "We've had women who paved the way for my generation. I was lucky to have four female mentors early in my career -- and one of them is still here."
Hart started as a comptroller in 1980. She moved through the ranks, taking posts in risk management and human resources before settling into her current job in 2001. Aflac's female-friendly policies made it easy to do her job, she said.
"Over the years I've been here, we've added an on-site day care center that I took advantage of when my children were little," said Hart, the mother of two. "There's also a cafeteria, an emergency clinic, flexible work schedules and compressed workweeks. We've done a number of things to make it easier for women to stay in the work force."
Seventy percent of Aflac's employees are women. Women account for 52 percent of the company's management and supervisory positions. At the top level -- vice president or higher -- women hold nearly 30 percent of the posts. But that doesn't mean they've all figured out the work-family balance.
"Over the years, one of the challenges has been that balance of family and professional life," Hart said. "I've always found it challenging to balance all of that. But I think it's true that, across the board, things have gotten better for women. The possibilities are now unlimited. If a woman in the younger generation coming up dreams big, has a mentor, is a person of integrity and has a passion for what she does, then [her] possibilities are unlimited."
'Gain credibility'
Marsha Sampson Johnson never thought that she was breaking ground for women at Southern Co. The senior vice president of talent management and chief diversity officer said that most of her hurdles were more personal.
"I was breaking ground for myself," said Johnson, who has been with Southern Co. for 20 years. "My angst was about being an African-American woman who didn't know the business. I wasn't trained as an engineer, and doing my job required more study, attention and focus.
"I quickly learned that the first thing you have to do is gain credibility. People don't just give that to you; you earn it through results you deliver. From there, you continue to build relationships."
Johnson has seen women make progress in the working world.
"The rewarding thing for me is seeing women and minorities making strides in all different kinds of jobs," she said. "Now, there's not a job you can name that isn't being done incredibly well by women and people of color. That's very promising for the future."
But the future will still have challenges, particularly when it comes to that question of work/life balance.
"I don't think the work environment is adapting to women as much as women are getting a lot tougher in adapting to the work environment," Johnson said. "Women are making choices about career and family and figuring out [that] if I do X, I may have to put off Y."
Johnson, who is single and has no children, credits her lifestyle for much of her success.
"I've been very mobile; I could move from Atlanta to Birmingham to Mobile and back," she said. "Others may have had to consult with husbands and children and other realities that are very important. Women are still very much the nurturers, and it's very difficult to manage all that and the demands of the job world, especially as you move into the executive levels. You need a very strong support system."
Ability to adapt
Learning the business was also a major challenge for Anne Kaiser, vice president of sales at Georgia Power. A 19-year veteran of the company, Kaiser often found herself to be "a non-accountant working with accountants; a non-attorney working for attorneys; and a non-engineer working for engineers."
Kaiser's ability to adapt has been key to her success.
"In trying to bring a sales strategy to their businesses, I had to get in, learn the industry very quickly and speak their language to get results," she said. "That was a bigger challenge than the gender issue. But there has been enormous change on that front. The engineering field is a relatively new one for women, yet there's been a concerted effort to recruit female, Hispanic and Asian engineers."
That's a different approach from the 1970s, when Kaiser entered the business world.
"When I was graduating, you had three options: nurse, teacher or flight attendant," she said with a laugh. "Now, the picture is very bright for women."
Yet many women are grappling with the daily tightrope walk of work and life, said Kaiser, who has no children.
"I don't think you can do it all; that's a myth," she said. "The question is still what is important to you. Some women who are extremely laid-back can fold children into their daily lives.
"I'm not wired that way. The good news is [that] it's not such a gender-specific issue anymore. It's a question that's important for all of us to answer."
