Embracing Your Femininity in the Workplace
“Embracing Your Femininity in the Workplace was the theme of the latest conference sponsored by Murray Hill Institute-TX in February 2024 in Houston. The event, which took place at the Offices of Catholic Charities,
focused on topics related to the role women have in professional life, and how their feminine qualities enable them to deal with the different situations and challenges they encounter in positive ways.
Lorena Van Metre, Manager of Change Management for ConocoPhillips' Global Enterprise Resource Planning Modernization Project, was the keynote speaker. Lorena illustrated through practical examples drawn from her experience how the intrinsic feminine qualities that women possess--sometimes perceived as weaknesses, are in fact a great asset in the professional environment and should be celebrated and nurtured.
A panel composed of three women representing different sectors of professional work spoke about how they apply their feminine qualities in their place of work. Mona Foch, Managing Director at Parks, Paton, Hoepfl and Brown (PPHB), spoke about “Balancing Professional Life and Personal Life”. Mona shared with the audience of young professional women how she raised her four children while working full time at PPHB and her predecessor firm JPMorgan. Using her creativity and speaking with her manager and husband, she worked out her schedule in such a way that she was able to meet the demands of both. Paloma Urbano, Director of Data Modernization at ConocoPhillips addressed the topic of
Photos by Marissa Pozzi
For Emma Ndouba, a Petroleum Engineer, the theme resonated with her, being a woman engineer and working in a male-dominated industry. “The authentic panelists sharing their personal experiences made the discussion so relatable and very impactful. My biggest takeaway is that femininity is a strength in the workplace”. She also believes that “we all need to be aware of those feminine traits that characterize us and leverage them to be more assertive. I value individual development, and these types of events are great learning experiences that help develop awareness on different topics”.
Mica Mangibin, a Nurse, loved the event as well. “It was empowering to learn how our femininity is absolutely needed in every workplace, regardless of one’s professional circle”. She also thought it even more encouraging to see other women who were able to achieve professional prestige while still being dedicated and loving mothers. “Their example shows that contrary to what society believes, one can be a strong ‘boss woman’ by using her inherent ability to be compassionate, nurturing, and intuitive instead of casting these traits aside”.
Murray Hill Institute will continue this fascinating and inspiring conversation with young professional women in future conferences. Stay tuned….
Written by Victoria Arruda
“How to be Assertive Without Being Aggressive”. What is her secret in achieving this delicate balance? Be polite but firm. “Being a person who respects others enables you to be understanding and at the same time be professionally competent.” And Nancy Gold, Corporate Reserves Advisor for Murphy Oil Corporation, gave tips on how to “Win Respect” in the workplace. Nancy is an engineer and has always worked in a predominantly male environment. By sharing humorous anecdotes she illustrated how the differences between the way men and women work can be complementary rather than divisive. Some of her advice to the audience: put to good use the inherent qualities that you have as women such as sensitivity to the needs of others, flexibility, intuitiveness, care for harmony and beauty. This, along with good humor, can contribute greatly to humanizing the work environment where everyone can thrive and feel needed.
For Dr. Juliana Figueiredo, the conference was very inspiring and helped her to have a new outlook on her own life: “Everything was well prepared, and they had a nice lineup. All the presenters were precise in their comments. The most important message I left with was that you can be a very good professional and still be a mom and take care of your house. Not that you must do everything by yourself, but there is a way to do it if you still want to work and have a family”.
Photos by Marissa Pozzi
