Women Need to Find Ways To Communicate Career Goals, Speaker Says

The keynote speaker at this year's Women of Influence Forum says it's important for women to communicate about what they want in their careers. 

Accenture Senior Managing Director Pallavi Verma says women often face "micro-aggressions" in the workplace...such as being passed up for promotions because managers don't consider them as candidates.

For her, a micro-aggression she overcame was coming back to work after her marriage and finding out her company had changed her last name to her husband's without asking. She had kept her last name after marriage. 

"It was impactful to me, and it made me realize I needed to go and ask and tell. And just because I'm married, and again, this was in the '80s, doesn't mean I'm going to stop working and just have a family," she said. 

While she said she was left out of some male-oriented networking opportunities like drinks after work, one way she'd get around those obstacles is to invite a boss or colleague out to coffee or lunch to ask for "advice." 

"I used advice to communicate what I wanted, versus going in and demanding it," Verma said. 

She says that method helped her get buy-in and support for achieving her career goals. 

Verma says it is important for women to find a way to communicate what they want to move up the food chain.

Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.