This article was originally written by Kyra McCue during her internship with HNM Systems. In it, she reflects on her experience working for a woman-owned business and what female leadership meant to her as a college student preparing to enter the business world.
What Working for a Woman-Owned Business Means to Me
As a woman-owned business in a traditionally male-dominated industry, HNM Systems understands the importance of recognizing women in leadership. While women continue to make strides in executive roles, research has historically shown a significant leadership gap between men and women.
According to research from S&P Global Market Intelligence, companies with female CEOs or CFOs showed stronger financial performance. Yet women remained significantly underrepresented in executive positions.
Why does that gap persist? Gender stereotypes and social norms can play a role. MarketWatch reported on stereotypes that associate men with taking charge and women with taking care. People can carry these beliefs into the workplace. As a result, they may influence perceptions of leadership and executive hiring decisions.
Women in Leadership in Telecommunications
Men have historically held more leadership positions than women. In male-dominated industries, the gap has been particularly visible. When this article was originally published, women made up only 12% of executives at leading telecommunications companies.
The 2020 Capacity Power 100 offered another example of this disparity. Only eight women appeared on the list of influential leaders in the wholesale telecommunications industry. Capacity Media compiled the list through nominations and submissions from across the industry.
Together, these numbers highlighted an opportunity for the telecommunications industry to recognize and develop more women leaders.
HNM Systems: A Woman-Owned Business
HNM Systems is proud to be a woman-owned business. Heather Moyer founded HNM Systems and serves as its CEO and President. Over the last decade, she has grown the company while building a people-first organization serving clients across telecommunications and other technical industries.
Under Heather’s leadership, HNM Systems earned a place on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for two consecutive years. In 2020, Heather was also named a finalist for the San Diego Business Journal’s CEO of the Year and Business Women of the Year awards.
For young women considering careers in business, seeing women lead and grow companies can provide a meaningful example of what is possible.
An Intern’s Perspective on Female Leadership
For Kyra, the opportunity to intern at a woman-owned business offered a firsthand look at female leadership in action. In her original article, she reflected:
“As a female college student pursuing a degree in business, I have been incredibly inspired to intern for a company that is run by a successful businesswoman, especially in an industry where women leaders are few and far between. Much work remains to be done in our society, but seeing this real-life example gives me hope that as I enter the business world, more women will be recognized for their efforts as leaders and mentors.”
Kyra McCue originally wrote this article during her internship with HNM Systems.
