UPDATED 19:00 EDT / MAY 07 2014

Women of the World: Taking their role at the table | #EMCworld

WomenThis year’s EMC World 2014 Conference presented a panel entitled “Women of the World” hosted by Stella Low who serves as the Vice President of Global Communications for EMC. In an exclusive segment on SiliconANGLE’s theCUBE, John Furrier welcomed two panelists from this week’s discussion.

Panelist Rosario Marin has the distinction of having been the 41st Treasurer of the United States. As the highest-ranking Latina in the Bush Administration, she also holds the distinction of having been the first Mexican-born person to hold that office. Marin is also the author of Leading Between Two Worlds: Lessons From the First Mexican-Born Treasurer of the United States.

Joining Marin for the interview was Molly Fletcher. Fletcher is a currently a motivational speaker who, previously, was one of the only female sports agents in a career that spanned nearly two decades. She has authored two books: The 5 Best Tools to Find Your Dream and The Business of Being the Best.

Leading off the discussion, Furrier asked them if they could share their thoughts on this year’s EMC World event.

Watch the interview in its entirety here:

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“I commend EMC for bringing these women together and hosting this breakout forum,” Fletcher said. “It’s a paradigm shift for me because I’m used to working with balls and bats. I think the focus will be talking about our world and what we did and how we did it.”

Marin saw the panel as a sort of wake up call for corporate America. “Women are coming to take their positions,” she noted. She explained how her experience in the political world mirrors the world of the boardroom. “They are coming to take their role at the table.”

The panel, as she sees it, is a way for trailblazing women like herself, to share their experiences and help to point the way forward. “At the end of the day, everyone is fulfilling their own mission in life,” she stated. “There are times that are difficult but as far as I’m concerned, women need to know they are bigger than the challenges they encounter.”

Social skills & beyond

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With the social media world gaining more prominence seemingly day by day, Furrier asked if this unsiloed norm of communication is helping drive the ability for women to ascend and succeed.

Offering her unique perspective from the sports world, Fletcher commented that the sports space is definitely affected. “I tell people that they have to assume they are always at a press conference,” she said. “Anything they put out is immediately received.” Fletcher also explained how social media has been an important driver for branding and endorsements for today’s sports stars allowing them to connect in a meaningful way with their followers.

In addition to instant and immediate communication with followers, Furrier asked how the instant feedback that is anonymous and often unkind could be addressed and overcome.

The idea of developing ‘Social Emotional Skills’ is of utmost importance, according to Fletcher. “What people want is authentic and genuine people. If you can be an authentic and genuine woman, you can grow,” she said. She suggests taking the thing that could make you an outcast or an anomaly in the sports world or the boardroom and turning it into a positive. “For me, being the only woman in the room negotiating a high-dollar contract could be daunting. Turn that into a positive.”

Marin’s unique political perspective led her to address the bullying aspect of anonymous social media feedback. “Having been in politics,” she began, “talk about bullying. If you’re in politics, you’ve been bullied enough. You should not let those things get to you, especially if they are anonymous.” She continued, “Who cares? Why would that bother you? If people anonymously bully you, let it go.”

Where CNN and ESPN used to have exclusive gatekeeper status in the fields of both of these guests, Furrier highlighted how social media has created a far more transparent culture and used the recent example of Donald Sterling being subjected to immediate and harsh criticism and action due to his recorded remarks. “How can we have constructive and hard conversations like this going forward in this transparent culture,” he asked.

  • Authentic interactions

Going back to an earlier theme of the authenticity, Fletcher claimed she was very much a fan of this new paradigm brought about by social media. “Everything being out in the open is great,” she commented. “It allows the authentic and good people to flourish.”

Building on that idea, Marin claimed it is situations like what we have just witnessed that raises the bar for everyone in this brave new social world. “We have a great learning opportunity as a society,” she claims. “Sterling brought the entire community together to say that this is not acceptable.”

It is this, the democratization of media that both Marin and Fletcher see as being an empowering driver going forward. “The one thing that is constant is change,” offered Marin. “Technology is very dynamic and we should embrace it and not fear it. I see it as a wonderful opportunity.”

photo credit: ALDEADLE Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EU via photopin cc

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