Red Shoe Movement Hall of Fame 2020

Hall of Fame 2020 Honorees

Red Shoe Movement Hall of Fame 2020

It’s 2020 a year that demands Perfect Vision on Gender Equality. A moment in history that we hope will mark a before and an after.

We are excited to welcome to our 2020 Red Shoe Movement Hall of Fame a group of courageous leaders who inspire us to innovate in our quest to reach gender inclusion.
This year we bestow our first ever Women Ensemble Award, to a group of female leaders at Celebrity Cruises. These four women are remarkable in their own right but together, they are unstoppable. Their leadership not only inspires millions, but it is also posed to change the male-dominated maritime industry.

We honor the Latin American President of one of the largest technology companies in the world who is constantly challenging the status quo at every meeting and at every opportunity so that his organization becomes a model of inclusivity for others.

And in a year when young voices are finally getting a seat at the table, we once again recognize the power of youth to affect change by celebrating an aerospace engineer from South Africa who is among the very few women to be part of an Antarctic Expedition when she was still under 30. Finally, we honor the female president of a university with a track record for being the first to occupy a traditionally male position in academia and who is constantly looking for ways to make her field a more inclusive one.

Cesar Cernuda, President Microsoft Latin America, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Corporation

If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

In my experience the most important thing is to open as many doors as you can for other people, particularly if they have been underrepresented as is unfortunately the case with women, especially in technology. Once you begin to do this, talent becomes evident and begins to appear everywhere, carving completely new and innovative ways of thinking about the business. The greatest thing about inclusion is that any effort you put into developing a diverse team is multiplied enormously by the team itself. Having said that, it’s still important to always be aware that true diversity is constantly developed, perhaps the biggest danger is to believe you have already done all you can do.

If you could suggest one action that women could take to accelerate their career growth, what would it be?

I would encourage women to continue to speak up, whenever you have an idea, whenever you have a position, an opinion or disagree with anyone, always say it out loud. As an industry, and as a company, as both male and female leaders, we work every day on doing our best so that you will always be met with an open mind, that is our job. There is undoubtedly still a lot of work to be done on this front, from all of us, but we really need women to never lose the courage to keep driving equality.

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Alison Davis-Blake, Ph.D., President Bentley University

If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

Train all employees on implicit bias and be relentless about recognizing and eliminating implicit bias in personnel selection, evaluation, and promotion. It remains true that we have a tendency to picture men when we think of leaders, more often than we picture women. This habit is unlikely to change until women are given opportunities to lead. Removing artificial barriers to those opportunities is essential to our progress.

If you could suggest one action that women could take to accelerate their career growth, what would it be?

There has been substantial research that indicates that “women don’t ask” meaning that they don’t negotiate as frequently or as hard as men, which can create career-long disadvantage. In my experience, women also don’t “tell.” In other words, they aren’t as vigilant about telling others about their successes. I would suggest women tell people about their skills and successes, negotiate for compensation that reflects their value to the organization and not settle for less. As someone who is the recipient of many “asks and tells,” it is clear to me that the gender differences in these behaviors are quite stark. Career success starts with being clear about what you have accomplished and asking for the same things as others with similar accomplishments.

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Lumka Msibi, Aerospace Engineer, Board Member, South African National Space Agency

If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

I would suggest organizations implement policies that help women to achieve work-life balance, such as paid maternity leave, paid childcare leave and flexible hours. Many women in the tech industry leave the industry within the first 3-4 years; some because they start families and need more flexible working hours and others because of the workplace culture that is untransformed. Thus in order to accelerate representation of women at the top we need to ensure women stay in the industry so they can climb the ladder to the top, allowing companies to promote from within their organizations.

If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

I would encourage women to take the initiative and participate in a variety of projects to obtain a wide experience that improves their leadership skills.

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Celebrity Cruises Women Ensemble Award: Lisa, Kate, Nathaly, & Nicholine

If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President & CEO, Celebrity Cruises

Make it a priority. Be purposeful about it. And hire people who also care about it. I know these are three things but honestly, they work together. I see too much talk and not enough action in this regard. That has to change.

Kate McCue, Captain, Celebrity Edge

Organizations must commit to make gender diversity a top priority by walking the talk and actively recruit at all levels of the organization.

Nathaly Alban, Captain, Xploration

Allowing them to develop their leadership talent within each work group, promoting them to take the leadership of some work group and above all recognizing their achievements.

Nicholine Tifuh Azirh, Second Officer, Celebrity Edge

Organizations must believe and embrace gender diversity in all aspects, by judging the thinking capacity and abilities of individuals and not on their gender.

If you could suggest one action that women could take to accelerate their career growth, what would it be?

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, President & CEO, Celebrity Cruises

Own your career. And own your success. Don’t leave your destiny in the hands of anyone else.

Kate McCue, Captain, Celebrity Edge

Don’t just do your job, do a little extra and do it with every ounce of passion and pride you can muster!

Nathaly Alban, Captain Xploration, Celebrity Cruises

I think that self-education and relationships with others are the basis of development. We all learn something new every day. Get to know key people and build relationships that will help you. By doing this, you will build key skills that will serve you well your entire career including listening, reaching out, cooperation, collaboration, communication, and learning others’ needs.

Nicholine Tifuh Azirh, Second Officer, Celebrity Cruises

Women need to work hard persistently and with self-confidence.

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