03/11/2019
Women's Lives Matter too, so do what you love, I love what I do!
from Rob Chrisman (https://www.robchrisman.com/mar-9-letters-on-lo-comp-lack-of-concern-about-cybersecurity-advice-from-women-for-women-new-to-our-biz/)
"Women who seek equality are underachievers!"
So goes a recent quote from a letter from a reader.
Here's a story, the subject being female firefighters from Ghana launching the first gender discrimination case, based on a woman who was fired while in labor!
A seventh woman has joined a proposed $100 million class action alleging that Morrison & Foerster held back the careers of mothers and pregnant women through unequal pay and promotion opportunities. Scott Flaherty reports that an unnamed former associate at the firm identified as Jane Doe 7 added allegations under the New York City Human Rights Law and proposed a subclass of women who worked at Morrison & Foerster in New York to the gender and pregnancy discrimination first brought nearly a year ago. The case is in San Francisco federal court.
I received this note on advice for women or people of color. "My first bit of advice to woman would be to demand your worth. I work for a great company and I currently make a fair wage, but I have also been the recipient of substantial increases several times in my 28-year career and of late it has been the result of the hiring of another male executive. I think I told Chuck Kragel that every time they hire a male executive, I get a raise and quite frankly that is the truth. I remember Steve demanding a raise for Will about five years ago and guess what, I got a 30k raise at the same time and finally made 6 figures the next year. This has happened over and over in the last 20 years, so in addition to demanding your worth, women in a decision-making role need to make sure that the people they manage are taken care of from a financial perspective in a fair and equitable distribution. Am I underpaid currently compared to my peers? Absolutely, but at some point, it just becomes greedy and I am comfortable with my wage as it currently sits.
"Encourage other women to apply for jobs and roles that they are suited for. Don't be judgmental of physical attributes large, ugly or sexy. If someone is doing something the wrong way and trying to get noticed, identify how they should be dressing or acting if they want to be taken seriously and focus on their mental aptitude. I have seen the parade of title company "girls" in their tight short skirts and now I just think to myself, that poor girl. Invest in the potential, invest in the mental ability and teach them the other skills. Be professional at all times in front of all employees.
"Women need to behave at work differently than they act at home. As women, we tend not to lean in, we want to be the team player, nurturers, motherly and we think of others first, so we do not demand the income we deserve. We like the work life balance that we have established since we often bear the role of raising our children, so our work emulates our personal life and we don't want to disrupt anything. I know personally I will not think twice about buying the shoes my kids want that cost $100 but I would never spent that much on a pair of shoes for myself and never have. We often sacrifice for the company or our staff and shortchange ourselves.
"Also, there is no crying in mortgage, but unfortunately as a woman, that is often how we react to stress, frustration and anger. Men should know this, but they view it as a sign of weakness and emotion, so it is critical you keep that in check, but teach your male peers where it comes from so they are not so judgmental about it. As an executive it has always been my role to teach the other guys the why and the how, some get it better than others. Question the golf tournament mentality: typically just the guys benefit, and not the women."
Annemaria Allen, CEO & President of The Compliance Group, Inc., remembered, "When I first started in this industry I was just out of high school. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, so it was impressed upon me to get a job that paid decent and provided health insurance. The only place I could think of where I didn't need a degree was working for a bank which also meant weekends off. At that age weekends were way more important than health insurance. Nonetheless, I spent 12 years in operations, processing, funding, underwriting and appraising. I never felt completely fulfilled.
"What I didn't realize at the time about myself was that I was very methodical, analytical and creative and those areas of the mortgage industry that I was working in just didn't hit my heart. I felt like I was pigeon holed in this area of the business and there was no growth for me. It wasn't until 12 years in... that I started really looking at the entire industry. I had no idea there were so many facets to our industry, all the way from taking an application to selling a loan into the secondary market and beyond. I found that I loved researching all the legal requirements that pertained to WHY we make a loan. It was fascinating to me to understand the history of RESPA and the REASON I was providing a Good Faith Estimate. When my eyes opened to the road of possibilities, I quickly found my niche in Compliance.
"When the compliance door opened up, I decided that it was extremely important for me to educate myself as much as possible on all the laws surrounding the mortgage industry and take as many courses available to make this happen and allow me to grow and be successful in my job. As I continued with my compliance career and kept up with my education and networking one day I realized, that from the time I was a little girl I always wanted to have my own company. After 5 years of practicing compliance with my employer an opportunity arose to open my own company. This is where I was able to really tap into my creative talents which had significantly been missing in my life. Now, after almost 19 years as a successful business owner and 31 years in the industry, I look back and reflect, and I tell that young girl and all the other women entering our industry. Don't limit yourself. Educate yourself and keep growing. Network to your heart's desire and ask lots of questions. Know yourself and what makes you happy and don't allow yourself to be pigeon holed. Work hard. Follow your dreams."
Mar. 9: Letters on LO comp, lack of concern about cybersecurity, advice from women for women new to our biz March 9, 2019 by Rob Chrisman About Rob ChrismanRob Chrisman began his career in mortgage banking – primarily capital markets – 31 years ago in 1985 with First California Mortgage, assisti...
