Powerful Jewish women: Tips from the top

JULIE LEIBOWITZ

There are numerous reasons for it, the most obvious of which is the fact that women are usually primarily responsible for home and childcare. Many opt to give these their full attention at the expense of their career.

The SA Jewish Report spoke to High Court Judge Sharise Weiner, former Vodacom executive Joan Joffe, and journalist and author Mandy Wiener – three Jewish women who have reached the pinnacle of their profession – about what it takes to succeed.

What qualities does it take to rise to the top of your profession?

Weiner: It takes tenacity, dedication, hard work, and a good sense of humour. It is accepted that women must work harder than their male counterparts to be fully recognised.

Joffe: You must differentiate yourself from others. You can do this by being excellent at what you do, by making yourself visible, by making alliances along the way, and of course, by working exceptionally hard. You need to have a vision for yourself, and an appetite for risk. Plus, a big dose of passion. And, you need a supportive and caring partner.

Wiener: Above all, you must have an inherent talent in doing what you do. That, coupled with passion and plain hard work, is everything. You have to have a drive to achieve, and you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

Were there other promising women in your class who fell off the career ladder. Why?

Weiner: There were few women in my graduate class. As far as I know, only one or two are still in the profession. The legal profession is very patriarchal, and was obviously more so in the 1970s. Some women chose to pursue other careers, while others chose family life. As an advocate working for oneself, taking off time to raise children can result in the total loss of your practice.

Joffe: Certainly, some of my colleagues didn’t pursue a serious career. In some cases, it must have been because their priority was not to go after career success at all costs. In life one has to make choices, and many women have chosen to lead lives other than in the generally competitive and stressful scenario of serious career life.

Wiener: I have some colleagues who have carried on as frontline journalists despite having had children, and their husbands are the primary caregivers. Then, there are others who gave up their careers in journalism to go into corporates or something similar. And then there are those like me, who have tried to adapt their careers to have the best of both worlds, which is not always possible.

Is it possible to balance home, family, and a career?

Weiner: Work/life balance is a misnomer. What I learnt was that I had to do the best at work when I was there, and the best at home when I was with my son. Trying to achieve balance simply adds to the frustration. You can do both, just excel at each when that is what you are doing. Of course, having a great support system makes this easier. My husband was a very hands-on father. In addition, he has always been the cook in our family. I also had the invaluable support of my parents who could assist with lifts, homework, and so on. It alleviated some of the guilt.

Joffe: It is extremely difficult for women to balance a highly successful career with the responsibilities of family life. It can be done, but it requires serious effort. Having assistance in the form of a willing partner, mother, mother-in-law, or home helper can assist, but there is absolutely no substitute for the presence of the parent.

Wiener: Work-life balance is a myth. I read a comment from a Silicon Valley chief executive recently who described life as a working mom like walking on a tight rope with a balancing pole – sometimes you lean towards work and neglect your kids, and other times, you lean towards your kids and neglect your work. That’s the reality. You can’t have it all, all of the time.

What have you had to sacrifice on the way to the top?

Weiner: From time to time, I sacrificed spending more time with my son. But today, he is a well-adjusted young man with a great respect for women. In his view, I would have been a terrible stay-at-home mother!

Joffe: I didn’t spend enough time with my family. I regret that, and so, I think, do my wonderful sons and husband. One can’t recover the many precious moments of being together that we all missed. I also had no time for leisure activities and hobbies. But that’s the way it was and, while I do regret a few things, I loved almost every moment of a thrilling business career.

Wiener: When you’re building your career, you have to throw all of yourself into your work. It means long, long hours, and sacrificing time with your friends and having fun. You get very serious very quickly when dealing with the kinds of stories we do, and it’s difficult to disconnect and decompress. I was extremely fortunate that I was relatively successful early on, so at least now I can enjoy the benefits of that.

What are the main issues career women face?

Weiner: Female advocates still face huge obstacles in their career path. Taking time off to raise children, meaning a few years (not 10 days), can kill one’s career. I have seen this happen to virtually every woman who did this. The glass ceiling is still there, although more and more women are thankfully shattering it. Complex commercial cases are, in the main, given to men. This is changing, but very slowly, and it only involves a few women at the Bar. One of the biggest problems that women experience in all professions and careers is sexual harassment. It is rife, and not adequately dealt with by professional bodies and corporates.

Joffe: I never believed in a glass ceiling. Certainly, I never saw one. If one is really good at what one does, one can achieve almost anything. The hardest part is achieving a balance between work and everything else. One has to make choices, and understand the implications of those choices.

Wiener: I doubt any of my male colleagues are answering questions for an article on work-life balance and whether they have faced any issue in their career because of their gender. The very fact that this is still being highlighted is a problem, because if we continue to treat it like a challenge that we’re female, then it always will be one. Some (actually most!) of the very best, most respected journalists in the country are women.

Do you think the business or corporate world is doing enough to accommodate women?

Weiner: Some corporates have introduced good benefits and accommodations for their female employees. It has changed dramatically over the past decade, and is to be welcomed.

Joffe: Some companies do offer “perks” like flexible working hours, day-care centres for young kids, and generous maternity (and paternity) leave. Definitely many more need to offer these and other benefits.

Wiener: I imagine more can be done for women, but it would also be great to see a cultural shift where we see more stay at home fathers supporting successful career women.