Companies Need Women in Leadership

A few days ago at the holiday party of a friend, her company gave out “goody bags” at the end.  Nice gesture as a thank you to employees.  Women’s bags were on the right.  Men’s on the left.  When she looked inside hers, she was happy to find three lotions.  As she was leaving, she saw that thechuttersnap 473305 unsplash scaled Summit Prep men were particularly happy: each of them, instead of lotion, had received a nice bottle of whiskey in his bag.  Mild happiness turned immediately to bitterness. The next day more-or-less all of the women at the company were expressing their dissatisfaction.  The men’s whiskey probably cost at least three times as much as their lotion.  Inequality hurts.  And this was salt in an already open wound: in a company with hundreds of employees, there is not one woman in an executive or even senior position.  I would imagine that, if they had even one woman in a senior position who was aware of different gift bags, that woman could have easily pointed out that the company’s nice gesture could easily back-fire and create dissatisfaction when its intent had been to increase employee satisfaction.

To be honest, I do not entirely blame the bone-headed idea of different bags to women and different bags to men or even the disparity in gifts inside the bags.  I can imagine myself doing something similarly idiotic.  However, my company is very unlikely to make that mistake.  Why?  nathan dumlao 298337 unsplash scaled Summit PrepBecause the co-owner of Summit Prep is a woman, and our Director of Operations is a woman as well.  Thankfully, they would prevent me from similar idiocy.  I am neither a fool nor sexist, so how could I have made a similar mistake?  Because I do not know what I do not know.  However, at least I am aware that I do not know what I do not know.  I have learned through experience that I absolutely need the input of a diversity of perspectives in order to make good decisions.  Part of the necessary diversity of any company is having both men and women in leadership roles.  Without diversity, we far too quickly and easily see life only from our perspective and personal experience.

Having a female Co-Owner and Director of Operations has been invaluable for Summit Prep.  In addition to both of them simply being phenomenal at what they do, they are attuned to aspects of business and people that I am less attuned to.  For example, our families have a much adult beard briefcase 590515 scaled Summit Prepbetter experience in our office because of their input.  My focus is a quality product, but I now recognize how important sensory cues (décor, scents, amenities, etc) are for a good experience with our company.  They also have much more insight than I would into the needs, wants, expectations, and thoughts of the moms of our students.  Because we work as a team with families, it is necessary to have these invaluable insights.  They have also brought a better work environment for our team through a larger emphasis on time-off and work-life balance.  This has helped our team to stay happier and to do great work and has helped our company retain the best tutors.

Research backs-up our experience.  A survey of 21,980 firms from 91 countries found that having women in C-level positions, as opposed to no women in these positions, increased retention of both male and female employees and increased profitability by 15%.¹  Another study found that companies with strong female leadership generated a return on equity of 10.1% per year versus 7.1% per year for those without similar female leadership.²  These tangible metrics are important, but our experience points to value even beyond what can be expressed in numbers.

Summit Prep is lucky to have a great team.  One characteristic that enhances our team is the leadership roles of women in our organization.

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References:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/why-companies-with-female-managers-make-more-money.html
  2. https://www.msci.com/documents/10199/04b6f646-d638-4878-9c61-4eb91748a82b

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Margie B.
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I can’t thank david for all his hard work and getting my son the score he was aiming for!! Summit prep is an unbelievable place to get your kids ready for their college prep Act and SAT courses!!! Thanks again for making this year end with a bang!!
Thomas S.
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The entire experience from start to finish was excellent. The process was clearly outlined and understood. Scheduling was a breeze and our teacher come not have been more flexible.
Georgia B.
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Eva was wonderful. With her help I was able to get into my top school and receive and scholarship. I loved her help and spending time studying.
Jeanine L.
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We were lucky enough to be referred to David at Summit Prep! My son enjoyed working with David as he felt that he really helped him prepare for the ACT. He explained concepts covered on the test as well as the test itself. My son felt confident taking the test and did so well that he only had to take it once!
Ben H.
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David helped me improve my SAT from a 1480 to a 1570 over the course of about 2 months. Each session made me feel more and more confident.
Jill B.
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Eva took on an almost impossible task and seriously worked a miracle! We found out we were moving, and our son had to take the ISEE exam asap. From his practice test to the exam, his scores went up exponentially. We give her 5 enthusiastic stars!
Rachel F.
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My twins have had a wonderful experience with Summit Prep preparing for the ACT. David is extremely knowledgeable and connects individually in a very relatable and helpful manner for each student. I highly recommend Summit Prep!
Janice B.
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All three of my children have used Summit Prep for their test prep and, I believe, reached their full potential as a result of the outstanding guidance of David and Ryan. His ongoing support went above and beyond. Many thanks!
Kwesi A.
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My son just got accepted into MIddlebury!! He could not have gotten a better tutor than Eva!!! She is the best!
Arlene S.
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Summit Prep are professional, enthusiastic, encouraging and most importantly successful in helping our son achieve his goals. We would strongly recommend using David and his team and want to convey our thanks for all of their help!
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