National Women’s History Month: Channel Women on the Gender Agenda
Not everyone likes surprises — especially not like these.
![Businesswoman Meeting Businesswoman Meeting](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt996d18571881e41e/652402617c8a47a36e910003/Businesswoman-Meeting.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
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Kelly Danziger
General Manager & Vice President of Channel
When someone said about me, “She’s just a sales leader and not a business leader.”
Hilary Gadda
Co-Founder
Alliance of Channel Women
I was intentionally left out of a possible promotion by another woman.
Sarah Marsh
Director, Partner Channels
Workday
I went to a client meeting with a team where I was the highest-ranking leader from my company. I was the only female in a room with about 10 men. As the five customer attendees entered the room, they shook the hand of each of the members of my team but wouldn’t shake my hand due to religious reasons, which I understood and respected. However, it was a very challenging environment as the men only addressed my male team and wouldn’t make eye contact or acknowledge me during the meeting.
Although I know this scenario was due to the religious and cultural norms of the customer, I felt small, like I didn’t belong there, and my contributions to the meeting were brushed off as the focus continued to be on the men in the room.
Jasmina Muller
Vice President, Global Channel Sales
ScienceLogic
I was approached by an individual who said to me, “You fit right into the channel.” I thought it was really nice to hear considering I had just started a few months prior. So I said, “Well thank you, but is there a certain fit? Because I am an advocate for our partner community and my job Is to make sure we both align and provide a common goal, which is to provide valuable outcomes to our customers.” The individual said, “Well yes, you are a social butterfly and get along well with us and know how to keep the crowd going.” I immediately looked at this person and said, “I would like to think you’re intelligent based on what I have heard about how you run your business. But it doesn’t seem that way, and that makes sense considering not many want to do business with you.”
Darcee Nelan
CEO
IQ Wired
I worked as a channel manager for a service provider running the Colorado market. For six years, I chased a promotion that was promised to me if I was able to hit certain targets. Every year those targets were raised, and the bar became higher and higher, but I still exceeded the targets. I finally realized that the “promised” promotion was never going to materialize and I decided to leave.
Upon my departure, one of my direct reports (who was a male) was given the promotion in a matter of weeks. I was crushed, because I had worked hard for years in that role thinking that my achievements would be rewarded, but they never were. What made it worse was the fact that my direct report was given the promotion without having had to demonstrate any long-term results.
Realizing that I had spent six years of my life playing a zero-sum game was a humbling experience that made me feel foolish and hurt my ego. Fortunately, once I was able to process what I considered to be a huge slap in the face, I was able to redirect my energy toward achieving great things at IQ Wired.
Darcee Nelan
CEO
IQ Wired
I worked as a channel manager for a service provider running the Colorado market. For six years, I chased a promotion that was promised to me if I was able to hit certain targets. Every year those targets were raised, and the bar became higher and higher, but I still exceeded the targets. I finally realized that the “promised” promotion was never going to materialize and I decided to leave.
Upon my departure, one of my direct reports (who was a male) was given the promotion in a matter of weeks. I was crushed, because I had worked hard for years in that role thinking that my achievements would be rewarded, but they never were. What made it worse was the fact that my direct report was given the promotion without having had to demonstrate any long-term results.
Realizing that I had spent six years of my life playing a zero-sum game was a humbling experience that made me feel foolish and hurt my ego. Fortunately, once I was able to process what I considered to be a huge slap in the face, I was able to redirect my energy toward achieving great things at IQ Wired.
Ask any woman in the channel about the gender agenda and she will have plenty of stories to tell. Whether it’s because of being underestimated or outright excluded, women have had to overcome a variety of — and extra — challenges to take their place in the channel.
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We’ve all heard the stories about a woman going to buy a car for herself and having a man accompany her. She’s going to be paying for it, so she’s the one who wants a test drive, has questions and will negotiate the price. Still, the salesman directs his conversation past her to her male companion.
The channel variation on that scenario: The client bypasses the female salesperson/team leader/manager and directs their attention to her male co-worker.
With that in mind, we asked channel women, “What is the most surprising thing that has been said/done to you as a woman in the channel?
Check out the gallery above to see how they answered.
Did you miss the first installment of this series? See the link below to catch up.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Buffy Naylor or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
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