Maria E. Brennan
Brennan’s tenure at WICT has been marked by many significant achievements. In 2014, for the fifth consecutive year, the organization set a record for membership–10,000 individuals. She regularly emphasizes WICT’s responsibility to keep data points on gender diversity front and center, and is working to fine-tune WICT’s leadership programs. Earlier this year, Brennan and the WICT board passed a new strategic plan for the next three to five years.
Where are the biggest growth areas for women in cable?
Technology positions remain the sector where women can greatly benefit from increased representation. And as we saw from this year’s PAR survey, retaining women in the workforce (within all positions) is also quite important, because we know through research that greater gender diversity equals greater profitability, better employee retention and higher overall staff morale.
What’s the most important aspect of mentoring?
The most important aspect of mentoring is having a go-to source who you can trust when seeking input on relevant issues. Good mentors or workplace sponsors, without exception, have a positive impact on a woman’s career. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one.
Best trick for maintaining personal-professional life balance?
Because it is sometimes difficult to find balance between work and home, I try and live in a guilt-free zone. It’s a nice place to live. I try my best to be 100 percent there for the person, place or thing that needs me most at any given point and time. That may not give me balance all of the time, but I does give me peace of mind knowing that I’m there wholly. And having a strong support system in place certainly helps.
