This post is part of my subseries on how organizations can transform leadership development for women, as described through the eyes of women’s lived experiences and where gaps remain. 

In this post, I explore how women in STEM navigate not only a male-dominated industry but also remote leadership roles within male-dominated society, through the eyes of Becky Williams. Becky Williams trained as a chemical engineer and worked in technology and manufacturing before becoming a VP of Global Marketing and Business Development and the President of the Asia Pacific region at Lord Corporation. She has served as a  Director of the nonprofit Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the world's only Global B2B Think Tank, and is a Board member of Athena of the Triangle, a nonprofit that develops women leaders at all levels. She is also the founder of REALM Leadership, an executive coaching company. 

Becky's story sheds light on the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated STEM industry and the decisions she made to advance her career while managing a growing family.

While many technical experts, such as engineers, move into supervisory roles as a result of their subject matter expertise more than their interest in people or business leadership, Becky was motivated by engaging more with people and understanding the business. She recalled: 

“One of my early assignments was in a research lab with a lot of autonomy. I realized that it wasn't engaging enough for me - that I wanted work that involved more people. So, I took an assignment on the manufacturing floor solving technical problems in which a lot of people are involved. Then it seemed to me that the design engineers were having more fun because they talked to the customers. So, I took some courses in mechanical engineering and was able to move into a position where I interacted directly with customers. Over time, I became interested in business and logistics problems, so I moved into program management, which allowed me to keep the customer interface, but at a larger scope. I  moved into sales and marketing to get more involved in business strategy, which all helped me grow into more positions of greater scope and leadership.”

Her curiosity and interest in constantly learning and growing continued to propel her career. When she became the VP of Business Development, she indicated that she would be willing to consider an expat (oversees) assignment. The opportunity did indeed arrive: to serve as the President of the Asia Pacific region for LORD. 

Navigating remote leadership in a male-dominated industry, and from within a male-dominated society

During this part of her career, Becky was a leader working remote from headquarters, a female in a male-dominated industry, and working in a part of Asia that was considered to be a male-dominated society. 

How did she navigate this? She shared five factors that helped her and may help others in similar situations.

1. Having support to navigate family responsibilities

“We had four children in late high school through just post-college and not all of them were excited.” The youngest was finishing his junior year in high school and did not want to move away from his friends. They agreed to have her spouse stay in the US with their son, visiting her during breaks when possible, until he went to college. 

They saw this as an adventure marking an important family transition. “It was a great time in our life to have this kind of assignment because we were transitioning into becoming empty nesters and my husband had the flexibility to help with family needs as well as travel within Asia. Each of the children came to Hong Kong for some amount of time. Our oldest, who had started a career in design and communications, actually came to live with us and work in Hong Kong for about 18 months.”

2. Having supportive partners/allies to help overcome gender and cultural barriers. 

Becky noted, “Often, the spouse of an expat employee, called the “trailing spouse”,  is assumed to be a woman. There was really very little in the way of support or guidance for my husband. He had to reinvent himself – both in terms of his identity as an empty nester and as a male in a society where everybody’s first question is ‘where do you work?’” 

One of the ways he navigated was to take up the identity of a supportive ally. For example, “He would come with me to some business dinners. They found it easier to talk to him as a man [because that’s what they were used to] and he would then socialize me to people who were uncomfortable with a woman executive.”

3. Being intentional in allowing for and adapting to cultural differences.

Becky recalled, “I had always been adapting to the male-dominated manufacturing industry culture in the US, so I was prepared to do the same in another country.” It’s an important fine line to straddle: understanding and appreciating cultural differences while also challenging some to get the work done. 

Becky also acknowledges an executive coach and a Mandarin tutor as important allies. “My coach helped me expand and refine my definition of my role and the tutor taught me many cultural lessons.” 

4. A company culture that emphasized learning, collaboration, and gender equity as strategic priorities. 

Becky described how Rick McNeil, who became CEO of LORD in the early 2000s, noticed that there were many silos and that people didn't move between them. He increased opportunities and encouraged employees to move around the company and learn from many areas. 

His intention was to take learning from one area into another, which would help the company. An additional positive outcome was it created a collaborative environment with transferable skills across leaders. 

Becky noticed that “Over time, a sense of camaraderie, understanding, and willingness to collaborate developed. We felt like we were all in this together. The culture became that you didn't get ahead by stepping on someone else. When I went to Asia, I knew I could call somebody who had dealt with a similar issue, and they would help.” 

Earlier in her career, there was also a stated initiative in the company to increase participation of women in technical roles, so “sponsors and supervisors who may not have been willing to do that on their own, were definitely [incentivized to] promote women in engineering. Senior management set the expectation, incentivized sponsors, and that then gave me  opportunities.” 

She then had more leeway to demonstrate her capabilities and be supported, both in the US and when she ultimately went abroad. 

5. Leaning on your network. 

“I'm an introvert. So, I didn't find it lonely, per se. But I was used to leading from the middle - including many people in decision-making - and now I was left to function autonomously in a different country. One huge advantage was that I [had been with the company for a while] and had a very deep network of colleagues I could call [from afar]. That was a big part of it not being so isolating.”

You can find Becky Williams on LinkedIn here, and her company page Realm Leadership.

Mira Brancu is co-author of the Millennials’ Guide to Workplace Politics, which includes tips like those above and more.

This blog was originally published on Psychology Today on 06/22/23. All rights reserved, Copyright 2022 Mira Brancu/Towerscope.