Today I'm joined by JoAnne Anton and DeVona Wright Cottrell. This episode was a previously recorded on the “Keeping It Local” Podcast powered by First Federal Bank.
Although women have made great strides in the workplace, they’re still often under-represented — especially women of color. Women only hold 20% of board seats, make up 8% of Fortune 500 CEOs, and receive 3% of all venture capital funding, all while being two times more at-risk when it comes to losing their jobs.
Yes, those are staggering statistics — but things are trending up. There are now two times the amount of women entrepreneurs than there were in the 2000s, and there has been a 500% increase in the number of black women in business over the last two decades. And, although women only hold 20% of board seats in the US, that number is up 6% over the last few years.
Today, we’re joined by DeVona Wright Cottrell (Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel, GMR Marketing) and JoAnne Anton (Director of Giving, Herb Kohl Philanthropies), two brilliant female leaders in Wisconsin.
Women like today’s guests are a big part of the reason why things are changing for the better. Over the course of this episode, we’ll talk with these two leaders about why diversity is something so critical to the business world, and why it’s so key to have women in leadership positions everywhere. We’ll also discuss how they personally embrace the idea of being a servant leader in the Milwaukee community, and how that mindset has guided them to where they are today.