Source: https://www.thewomenofdenver.com/articles/category/success-motivation
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 08:26:11+00:00

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I am a working mother, with two children in full-time, center-based daycare, and I’ll be honest: Every month I wonder if it’s worth it.
When I was first pregnant, I was working full time as a project manager. I liked my job, but I knew it was only a step on my career path. I had many more goals to pursue, and I remember feeling nervous, unsure how having a child would impact my career. I wondered, would I want to keep working? Would I be able to find daycare? Would I suddenly become irrelevant in my industry? How would I balance my aspirations with my new, cherished role as mother?
But something unexpected happened after I gave birth: While my heart expanded exponentially with infinite love for my child, my personal goals and priorities came sharply into focus. Not only did I want to continue my career, but doing so became a matter of self-preservation. With little eyes watching me, I felt a renewed drive to succeed and live a life of purpose. I wanted to work, and I needed to do it efficiently. With dreams to chase and a daughter along for the ride, I was determined to continue my career.
Little did I know the biggest challenge I’d face was be the astronomical cost of daycare.
My husband and I both have good jobs, but still, our daycare costs surpass our mortgage payment. Currently 93 percent of my personal salary goes to paying for childcare. In the 4 ½ years since having my first child, I have tried almost every working situation imaginable. I’ve stayed home. I’ve worked remotely. I’ve freelanced. I’ve started my own business. I’ve worked part-time. And I’ve worked full-time. I even tried network marketing. Every one of my moves was heavily influenced by our childcare options at the time—or perhaps more accurately, lack thereof.
And I’m certainly not alone. Working parents across Colorado are trying to navigate the rocky waters of costly and limited childcare while minimizing the impact on their careers. Single parents and families living below the poverty line are hit the hardest by the lack of quality, licensed childcare in the state, and while there are resources available to help, they are hard to find.
In Colorado, families with an infant or toddler in center-based care pay 44 percent more for childcare each year than they would pay for a year of college tuition.
Colorado is one of the top ten least affordable states for childcare, with center-based infant care costing 40 percent more than the national average.
Public funding to support early care and education in Colorado offsets only 28 percent of the cost of providing care—10 percent less than the national average.
According to the National Women’s Law Center, 7 in 10 mothers today are in the workforce. Yet a 2015 Washington Post survey reported 51 percent of parents stopped working or took a less challenging job for caregiving reasons.
Because women typically make less than men, mothers are often the parent to put their career on hold. Then, when their children enter school, women often struggle to find work because of the “mom gap” on their resume. Lack of affordable child care isn’t just affecting women in the years when they rely on it; their long-term career trajectory and earning potential may be affected for years to come.
The repercussions don’t end there. Companies are faced with the cost of high employee turnover, the economy suffers as disposable income diminishes, and society loses the long-term economic benefits associated with early childhood education. Yet there is hope: These socio-economic consequences are proving to be catalysts for innovative solutions.
For example, WorkLife Partnership is a Denver-based nonprofit partnering with Care.com in a pilot program to invest in family childcare settings. They aim to increase the availability of affordable, licensed care by providing grants to at-home daycare providers. This, in turn, serves the companies with which they partner.
Fabiano sums up the problem we face in Colorado with one simple statement: “Colorado is known as a ‘childcare desert’ because there are more people who need care than the state can hold.” As our state continues to attract more residents and the cost of living increases, I hope this is just the beginning of our collective brainstorming session on ways to make the desert flourish with more opportunities for affordable, quality care. The women of Denver—and the country as a whole—are counting on it.
Saralyn Ward hosts a parenting segment on Colorado’s Everyday Show, and is the founder of The Mama Sagas, a community of women sharing their stories in video and blog form. For more stories of local Colorado women balancing a career and family, visit The Mama Sagas blog every Wednesday.
Pop Quiz. Which of the following statements do you agree with?
I want to maximize my life and leave behind a legacy.
My life currently impacts others in a positive way.
My core values are reflected in my daily life.
We would all love to answer ‘yes’ to the questions above, but in many cases we need guidance to do so. Forbes has suggested that having someone help you define goals, solve problems and see situations in new ways is one way to take control of your life and career path. Sounds to us like mentorship is the solution. It is essential for us to have someone in our life that pours into us. Whether it is encouragement, sharing insight or helping to build discipline, mentorship is wildly invaluable.
For example, 12 year old actress, J.Lee has found her passion in life because of the impactful people in her life. J.Lee has done extensive commercial work for clients like Children's Hospital, King Soopers and Furniture Row. Lee said, “My mentors are my mom and dad. They are both actors, so I'm able to learn a lot from their experience.” She went on to say that having her parents, Tammy and Lewis Brown, as mentors has always impacted her passion for acting. She loves watching them on television and they inspire her to pursue her goals. “The most powerful thing my mentor has shared with me is to be authentic. That means always be yourself and don't be afraid to do so. This goes for acting and life. People can always tell when you're faking,” Lee shared with us. This shining star says that she plans to be a mentor in the future. “I know how helpful having mentors is to me, and I want to help someone else be their best too,” Lee exclaimed.
On September 27, 2017, the Women’s Foundation of Colorado hosted its Annual Luncheon and it was full of laughs, tears and “ah-ha” moments. The audience was packed with women of all different ages waiting to receive the award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer, who was the keynote speaker.
As J.Lee sat in the audience listening to the Hidden Figures actress talk about her life growing up in Montgomery, Alabama, her face glowed like no other. In an open and honest conversation with President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, Lauren Casteel, Spencer shared that she decided to buy out a movie theater for young girls to view Hidden Figures. She got the idea from comedian, Kevin Hart, and was not expecting it to have such a significant effect.
In a heart-wrenching moment, she began to tear up as she recalled her mother working multiple jobs and how she could not afford to take Spencer and her siblings to see movies in theaters. “Hidden Figures had an educational impact and I felt a lot of people should see it. I remember being in class as a child and hearing the kids talk about movies they had seen and I knew what it felt like to not know,” Octavia shared as she choked back her tears. “I just wanted little girls to know that even if their families couldn’t afford to take them to opening weekend that no matter what dreams you have for yourself...these women weren’t maids, they were scientists and they were doing what they loved doing. They had no idea the impact they would have on the world. I felt like every little girl should see that so that they knew in that moment that if that was something they wanted to do, they could do it.” Spencer shared with tears streaming down her face.
There is no doubt that Spencer is a formal and informal mentor. Through her filmography over the years, the actress has continued to portray powerful women of color, spreading inspiration to the masses. Her first film debut, A Time to Kill, as Roark’s nurse began her journey of depicting an unrepresented minority: black women.
Most recently Spencer portrayed Dorothy Vaughan in the film, Hidden Figures. The critically acclaimed film depicts the true and untold story of several African-American women who provided NASA with essential information needed to launch the program’s successful space missions. Spencer’s amazing performance has earned her multiple nominations including the Screen Actor’s Guild, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Award to date. The Space Race would not have been the same without mathematician and colored computer, Dorothy Vaughan.
Spencer noted that she became veracious after she found her way around her reading challenges and she is a strong believer that when a child is supported, they have no choice but to flourish. Octavia also left us in awe after the film, Gifted, which is J.Lee’s favorite role to date. Lee shared, “Of Octavia's amazing roles, my favorite character was Roberta in Gifted. I liked that she was like a mother to the little girl, Mary, and a great friend to her and her uncle. She was also willing to fight for her! Her love, playfulness, and strength reminded me of my Nana.” Over a slice of chocolate pie, Octavia ended the luncheon by wishing the women and girls of Colorado dream big and that the men step up to help the women and girls achieve those dreams.
In Spencer’s “spare time”, she mentors formally as an AT&T Hello Lab Mentor. AT&T designed this mentorship program to pair entertainment industry leaders with aspiring filmmakers from diverse backgrounds as they create new short films. The program is focused on supporting each filmmaker by introducing them to studio and production company executives, agents and attorneys. Also, mentors including writer-director Rick Famuyiwa, rapper Common, film director Desiree Akhavan and producer Nina Yang Bongiovi are responsible for counseling filmmakers on pitching their work, managing budgets and directing character-driven narratives. Most importantly, these films will highlight and celebrate untold stories from neglected communities like LGBTQ, women and people of color. This program is proof that mentorship is crucial throughout our entire life span.
It is also very interesting that Spencer does not want to take on the title of “role model” because she realizes that she will do things that people like and dislike. Above all, she strives to make her mother proud of her by keeping her legacy intact. “I just want to be the best person I can be,” Octavia said. Amazingly enough, J.Lee left the room feeling empowered and inspired. Lee said, “After meeting Octavia Spencer, I had to pinch myself. Days later it still felt like a dream! I really enjoyed hearing her speak, and I'm motivated to work harder at being a great actress like Octavia."
By Karen Einisman, communications contractor and freelance writer.
If hashtags tell us anything about American culture and the current political environment, then the #FutureIsFemale. From #IAmANastyWoman and #ShePersisted to #MeToo and #TimesUp, our nation is reckoning with its history of inequality, misogyny and sexual harassment.
As this new era unfolds, more women are stepping forward, raising their voices and entering the political arena for the first time.
In Colorado, women serving in political positions is nothing new. In 1893, the Centennial State became the first to give women the right to vote through a popular election. The following year, voters elected the first three female legislators in the country to the State House of Representatives.
And, while Colorado comes the closest to gender parity than almost any other state, we have yet to elect a woman to serve as either governor or U.S. Senator.
The question that remains unanswered in 2018 is whether the current movement toward gender parity can shatter the glass ceiling that seems to have kept Colorado women from reaching the state’s highest offices.
What changed following the 2016 election and the subsequent Women’s March is that women are no longer waiting for encouragement from others to run for office. In 2017, organizations that train women to run saw increased interest from potential first-time candidates who want to make change in their communities.
As we commemorate Women’s History Month, Women of Denver is celebrating three remarkable women who have made the leap into politics and who hope to inspire others to do the same.
At 27, state Rep. Faith Winter ran for office because someone she admired asked her to run. While lobbying then-state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, the senator encouraged her to consider a run for office. And so began Winter’s political career, one in which she addresses the issues women care about most, first as a Westminster city council member and then as a state representative. Now, she is parlaying that political work into a run for the state senate.
Winter’s mission is to improve the lives of Coloradans through affordable housing, paid family leave and climate-change legislation. She also believes that Colorado is reaching a boiling point on housing affordability.
“Even in rural places, housing is not affordable,” she said.
She hopes to address the state’s lack of paid family leave as well, working to pass legislation that would provide leave to families by creating a state insurance pool. Currently, only 21 percent of residents have access to this benefit.
“Whether you need to take care of a child, an adult parent or yourself, you would pull from the insurance pool for wage replacement,” she explained, noting the cost per individual is as inexpensive as a cup of coffee per week.
Aside from making news for the issues she supports, Winter recently joined the #MeToo movement by telling her story. She came forward to protect other women, she says, after hearing about continued harassment by fellow legislator, Rep. Steve Lebsock. By speaking up, Winter believes she is helping move our culture toward one of zero tolerance. We need to not only “stop [this] behavior, but also empower women and other survivors to hold sexual harassers accountable,” she said.
Winter is also helping to shift the makeup of our political landscape. For the past 12 years, she has encouraged and trained women to run for office.
That’s why she believes our legislatures need more diversity, including more women. She is inspired by working to empower them raise their voices.
“It’s fun work. It’s necessary work. And, I think its work that is going to change the world."
A sense of obligation to others runs deep in Cary Kennedy’s family. Her mother, a social worker, felt so strongly about this notion that she fostered three children, giving them opportunities to succeed and motivating Kennedy to dedicate her work to helping people who do not have those same opportunities.
Beginning her political career as an intern in Governor Roy Romer’s office, Kennedy has gone on to serve as Denver’s Deputy Mayor and Chief Financial Officer and, most recently, Colorado State Treasurer. In keeping with those values, she helped create the “Building Excellent Schools Today” program, which works to ensure that all students have the same opportunity to attend modern learning facilities.
Kennedy’s next move? She is running for governor. In addition to education, her top priorities are health care accessibility and affordability, and protecting open spaces, air and water in the face of the state’s continued growth.
As governor, Kennedy would give all Coloradans the option to buy affordable public health insurance, and she would address climate change by ensuring the state meets the Paris Agreement’s emissions-reduction target, “with or without Washington,” she said.
Kennedy is among a long list of Colorado women who have helped shape the state in the past 140 years, but she points to the glass ceiling that needs to be shattered.
Can you hear that ceiling cracking?
After entrepreneur Heidi Ganahl sold Camp Bow Wow, her chain of pet care franchises, in 2014, she wanted to give back to her community. Her belief that education is the key to the American Dream led her to run for the Board of Regents at her alma mater, the University of Colorado.
Since winning her at-large seat in 2016, Ganahl has worked on campus issues of affordability, free speech, and safety. She’s made progress in the area of affordability, by instituting a four-year tuition guarantee, eliminating extra fees, and reducing the cost of course materials by piloting a digital library. And in the area of free speech, Ganahl helped CU create a new student debate group to teach students “how to think, not what to think,” she said.
Ganahl, who was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 10 Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs, wants to see change in the number of women in Colorado politics as well. She is mentoring potential candidates on both sides of the aisle, encouraging them to run for office.
Ganahl has proven that if anyone can mentor someone to “go big”, it’s her.
As chief revenue officer of Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), Tina V. Murphy is the driving force behind the company's customer focused culture. GHX specializes as a healthcare business and data automation company that works tirelessly to help healthcare providers bring better patient care and savings to patients and the growing healthcare industry. Since 2000, Tina V. Murphy has worked for GHX through a number of roles, including senior vice president of Global Product and Corporate Development, and as president of GHX Europe's business unit.
"I don’t believe that success is about natural ability; rather, it is about outperforming your gaps through hard work," Tina V. Murphy stated when asked about her work philosophy. Her stellar track record and many accomplishments can be credited to her deeply rooted beliefs in the need to work hard, remain tenacious, and building and drawing upon the strengths of her teammates.
"Just as I expect myself to rise to the occasion, I expect that of others as well. Nothing pleases me more than to hear from the team that I created an environment where they felt valued and able to achieve more than they thought they could."
This philosophy is experience based. Tina V. Murphy knows personally how rewarding rising to the occasion can be. "At one of my first jobs, I was asked to do something that I thought was impossible, but being new in my role, missing expectations wasn’t an option. Two months later, I surpassed expectations. The lesson learned was the thrill of having an ambitious goal and then achieving it."
"That feeling has fueled my leadership philosophy - hire smart people and push them until they are uncomfortable, support/mentor them and then celebrate their successes. I continually raise the bar for myself and my team, while providing an empowering culture in which they can thrive."
Business is a bottom-line proposition and we need to understand and articulate the role we play in executing on the company’s strategy.
The experience that Tina V. Murphy has amassed has given her powerful insights into how to achieve success, affluence, and larger monetary gains in the workplace. She advises to remain result driven by focusing on your own personal goals as well as those of the company, and view every setback as a new and valuable tool for growth. True to her personal mantra, Tina V. Murphy says that it is important to constantly try to outperform your own weaknesses.
"Know your strengths and understand your weaknesses. Don’t apologize for who you are. Your unique personality, experience and perspectives are precisely what can make you a powerful, effective and successful leader. Believe in yourself and stand up for what you believe in. When you do, others will as well."
Tina V. Murphy stresses that knowing your strengths and understanding your weaknesses goes far in terms of salary and promotion negotiations. This includes going into the negotiation with determination backed by research, analysis of your own work, and knowledge of the value that you bring to the company.
"Know your worth. Recognize your strengths and the value you bring to the organization. Business is a bottom-line proposition and we need to understand and articulate the role we play in executing on the company’s strategy. Then, when making your case, be concise and to the point. The confidence you bring to the conversation will speak volumes."
The outlook of constantly working harder, smarter, and tougher has given Tina V. Murphy a enlightened perspective on combating specific problems unique to women in the workplace. "Women do face challenges or obstacles, but I believe focusing solely on those challenges could be a distraction. Life will always present us with them. What we control is how we handle those situations," she answered when asked about how she approaches adversity while working.
"Women should recognize that they naturally bring a combination of knowledge and intuition to help navigate complex situations; they recognize nuances and motivations and can help ensure multiple perspectives are considered to develop the best strategy. Too often, women try to model the behaviors of their male counterparts, while suppressing their natural strengths. Cultivate those qualities that come naturally to you. It is precisely those attributes that make you a powerful, effective and successful leader."
GHX has recognized that Tina V. Murphy's skill set - as well as outlook - make her exactly the type of strong, effective leader that is needed to push the company to greater heights. Before serving as chief revenue officer and senior vice president of Global Product and Corporate Development, Tina V. Murphy was president of GHX's European business for two years. She headed to the assignment not only as a woman, but as an American woman.
It is this distinction that initially caused some unrest in her team. Using the same skills and philosophy that helped shape her career, she was able to build and nurture a workplace that communicated, contributed, and ultimately delivered and accomplished much more than they did previously.
The experience is one of her best memories. "During my final week in that position, I received an email from one of the team leaders. He wrote, “Before you came, I couldn’t imagine a female president and now I can’t imagine success without a female president.” To this day that is my proudest moment - my presence and my actions opened the organization’s eyes to the power of female leadership," Tina V. Murphy shared.
The power of female leadership, and the lessons and tenacity that it took to earn it are lessons that any inspiring business woman would benefit from. "I am sure there are plenty of other people who have more natural ability than I do, but there are few who rival my drive, passion and desire to keep learning and growing. I focus on what matters – the company, its employees, and our customers – above all else. And I take full accountability for the results of my work, good and bad." Tina V. Murphy's abilities lie far outside raw skill, and have been grown and honed over 25 years, making her the successful individual she is today. The result? A woman with a success story that some only dream of.

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