Emma Friedman recently participated in the Real Life Story Series—a program run through the alumni outreach here at Carnegie Mellon. Emma gave a presentation tittled “In Defense of Logistics” on February 21 to collegiates about her life as a professional woman working in a male dominated field.
Emma graduated from CMU in 2007 with a B.S. in Mathematics and Statistics and a B.A. in Philosophy. She also was captain of the cheerleading team and rowed on crew. Emma definitely understands the pressures and stress involved in being an undergraduate at CMU. Like all of us building up our resume and striving to graduate she has what we all want come our senior year—a job.
Emma’s experience is centered on her job as the Logistics Manager for the Department of Defense’s Phased Array Rader Programs. She manages six programs where her role is instrumental in the design, acquisition and lifecycle support of mission critical defense systems around the world. She is most directly associated with the navy.
Emma has been employed since she graduated in 2007. Amazingly, she got her job offer October of her senior year, leaving her with lots of time to enjoy CMU without the stress of finding a employment. Emma said: “I wanted to work in the government to have a better opinion and so I can judge it realistically.” She further explained that we all criticize the government but she didn’t want to do that without truly understanding our government from the inside.
As a woman in a male dominated field Emma has faced discrimination and uncomfortable moments. The Defense Department consists of mostly male employees and is only about 5-10% female. Emma said, “In a meeting of thirty people there is a high probability that you’re the only female.” There are a lot of things that Emma listed as factors that work against her as a woman in this field, like having a high voice, looking young, and being short. Her coping strategies include: “intentionally lower your voice, maintain eye contact, don’t act dumb, don’t wear skirts.” Emma is a firm believer in not distracting people with clothing, legs, pretty nails, or a fancy hairstyle. She said, “If I showed up in a party dress and heels to work I don’t think I’d be able to participate in the meetings.” Men don’t have the equivalent of glamour that women do and as a female working with men you have to respect that. Women have to look professional, which is why Emma is a firm believer in a pantsuit.
Many of the men that Emma works with have served in the military so they see her in a very different light. When she first started working they did not take her seriously because she was a woman with no military experience. Emma had to prove to them that she was serious, hard working, and had opinions that mattered. Emma said, “You have to respect everyone that you work with.” She definitely took the high road and respected these men—even if didn’t respect her.
Not surprisingly Emma has faced gender discrimination in the work place. Emma said, “On my first day a guy looked me up and down and greeted me with ‘it’s great to see that we’re hiring such fit young talent.’” Her boss also got phone calls from co-workers asking if she was hot. This inappropriate behavior would make any person uncomfortable.
Emma offered a lot of advice for young women entering into male-dominated fields. Some of things she said was, “Dress modestly, always! Be respectful, it can help determine a lot for the future. Understand that if someone is giving you attitude there’s a reason behind it. Don’t get offended. Don’t cry, once I had to pretend that I was suffering from allergies to cover up my tears.” Emma stressed that you don’t want to be noticed for physical or emotional reasons in any job or any company. She believes that “You have to earn the right to stand out. The problem isn’t looking like a woman but sticking out. Red nails and a flowery dress are distractions.” You want to be known for your talent and brain not your appearance.
Emma has learned a lot from working in the Defense Department. She said, “I understand so much more about the government, how people work together, and that different backgrounds add so much to a team.” Her life experience is an example to all CMU undergraduate women. The workforce is still not as gender neutral as it should be and we have to deal with it accordingly. If you get a job in a male-dominated field be proud to be a woman and show off your talents and abilities.