HAMMOND | Working hard remains the “price of admission” into the top echelons of business, said a panel of five prominent women at Wednesday’s 10th Annual Business Expo luncheon at Dynasty Banquet Center.
Other characteristics of successful women in business include education, being lifelong learners, taking chances, accepting challenges, persevering and carving out time for self and family, they said.
Hosted by the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, the luncheon panel featured Denise Dillard, chief consultant, government and external affairs at Methodist Hospitals; Barbara Greene, president of Franciscan Health Care in Munster; Mary Tilak, M.D., internal medicine specialist; Carla Morgan, attorney for the City of East Chicago; and Kathleen O’Leary, president of NIPSCO.
Jim Dedelow, of WJOB, moderated the panel discussion, which gave the five women opportunities to tell the stories of their success and give advice to young women starting out in their careers.
Common themes emerged in the hour-long talk.
A supportive family is one of the key factors in their success said O’Leary, Tilak and Dillard.
“My mother ran her own health clinic in India, which was basically a third-world country. She was an obstetrician and family practitioner. That was five, six decades ago. She delivered babies in the front room of a small apartment,” Tilak said. “She taught me that you work hard, you’re intelligent and follow your passion.”
Getting a good education also is vital, the women said.
“I chose to go to Notre Dame to compete with people who run this country,” said Morgan, who grew up in East Chicago’s Indiana Harbor section. Greene agreed.
“Education is number one. Get your foundation in place, be consistent and persevere,” she said. “I think the glass ceiling is softening.”
Perseverance means knowing up front it’s not going to be easy, said Dillard, who graduated from Horace Mann High School in 1971, in the era of court-ordered busing to integrate the Gary schools.
“You can’t just say, ‘I want it.’ You have to show up and show out. As African-American women, we had a triple challenge — being of color, educated and women,” she said.
Morgan advised young women wanting careers in business to “work smart. Create your own atmosphere around you. Learn to change your environment. Make moves.”
Other advice the women offered included seeking out mentors, volunteering and signing up for unpaid internships to boost a resume, knowing where you want to be in five to 10 years and supporting one another.
“Somebody took a chance on me,” O’Leary said. “Women are definitely supporting one another. Corporately (at NIPSCO), we’re doing more.”
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