In this episode, I talk with Gladys Mezrahi, President and CEO of Indigo Events and founder of The Power of the Heels Foundation.
Gladys and I talk about mentoring young women to disrupt the poverty cycle, we talk about what the gender gap is and what can be done about it, how women can ask for what you deserve at work and the importance of your personal brand.
A quick note. I want to apologize to Indra Nooyi – I mistakenly said she was making her way early in her career in the 70’s but it was actually the 80’s. She was just heading off to college in the late 70’s. It didn’t seem right as soon as I said it!
Also – a disclaimer to add – I want to ask our listeners who are men to hang in there and please don’t get defensive listening to parts of this discussion. It’s hard to have conversations like this in a way to qualify everything that needs to be qualified. Please realize some of what we talk about are generalizations based on a pool of millions of people and we, of course, realize there are so many exceptions, including – most likely – you. Thank you so much for listening!
About Gladys Mezrahi
Gladys Mezrahi is President/CEO of Indigo Events, an international events company with clients that span the globe and industries, such as VISA, Disney, the Museum of Modern Art in Colombia and the Miami International Book Fair.
Gladys is also the founder of The Power of the Heels Foundation which empowers and mentors young girls and women and connects them to create a financial force.
Her career started at a very young age in Colombia when she founded a top-line skin and body products manufacturing company which she successfully ran for 15 years and then sold to an international skincare corporation.
Gladys has been featured in The Miami Herald and was recognized as one of the 2016 International Business Women of the Year by the Organization of Women in Trade and Event Marketing, as well as being awarded a Proclamation in the Florida Senate. She is the award-winning author of “More Wow and Less Oops.”
Through all the awards and recognitions which are too many to be named here, Gladys considers her greatest accomplishment to be raising two wonderful children, Debbie and Nessim and 5 wonderful grandchildren with her husband Samuel of more than 40 years.
You can reach Gladys at
Email: gm@gladysmezrahi.com
Instagram: @gladysmezrahi
LinkedIn: @gladysmezrahi
Website: www.indigoevents.net
Website: www.thepoweroftheheels.org
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE PODCAST
Power of the Heels
More Wow and Less Oops by Gladys Mezrahi
Ask For More by Alexandra Carter
My Life in Full – Indra Nooyi
The Secret Garden
Carlos Vives
Yo Que Te Ame by Ricardo Montaner
SHOW NOTES
[03:27] Gladys introduces herself
[04:59] Mentoring young girls through Loving Me More
[05:35] The story of a girl saving $123 after learning how to budget
[07:30] Mentoring girls in the event industry
[09:21] What does it mean to close the gender gap
[10:12] Statistics on what women get paid vs. a white male
[12:51] Thoughts on how to close the gender gap
[14:15] Advice for women in leadership positions to close gender gaps
[15:24] Pay equity for women in the tech industry
[17:51] Why women are leaving the workplace
[20:03] Why teachers should be paid more
[21:37] How to find out if you’re being paid fairly
[23:29] The value of sharing salary information
[24:33] Steps to take when you find out you’re making less than your male counterparts
[26:40] Overcoming the fear of asking for more
[31:20] Results from fair pay initiatives as part of DEI initiatives
[35:00] The importance of having dress codes
[37:44] Why personal branding is important for leaders
[42:52] The best leadership advice Gladys received
[49:47] The routine Gladys attributes her wellness to
[52:52] The value in taking time to think
[54:54] Songs Gladys listens to when she needs an energy boost
QUOTES FROM THE SHOW
If we could just change one girl’s life we can change a whole village.
The only way to close the gender gap is with education and with getting women at the top levels.
If we start educating girls and women since they are young we can prepare them for college and then prepare them for a career so we can literally take action starting before.
I always tell the girls to make yourself indispensable.
I cannot say don’t be afraid because nobody knows the position of that other person is in but if you don’t ask you’re never gonna know.
Somebody once told me that we have two years and one month that we need to listen double and talk half of it half of the time.
A friend of mine told me that one of the lessons of Merkel the German Chancellor that she wrote into her book was that whenever there was a tough situation she she took one or two days before responding and analyzing what everybody was saying before making her decision.
There’s always two sides of the story.
If you can be empathetic with the with the people that you work with you can be empathetic that shows that you understand that you’re connecting to that person and I think they will be more productive if you connect emotionally.
Responses