Hard to believe 2020 is already almost over! While our Women@Mazzetti (W@M) numbers did not significantly vary, everything else has been quite the roller coaster. At the beginning of the year, the Women@Mazzetti committee had planned on focusing on leadership mentoring and ally training. We started with taking implicit bias assessments, collecting scenarios of gender-related micro-aggressions, and discussing ways we could address accordingly. As we began sheltering in place in early March, we quickly shifted gears to focus on the gender equality impacts of COVID-19 while managing our new working-from-home (WFH) reality. We hosted an internal panel to address new wellness challenges, including, working near children adjusting to online-learning, safely visiting job sites, etc.
In response to prevalent racial inequality and tensions exposed this year, we organized a virtual Privilege Walk session. Many of our colleagues shared personal accounts and perspectives re both inside and outside of Mazzetti. As a result, a new Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) committee was formed. (We look forward to collaborating.)
2021 W@M plans include: re-focus on leadership mentoring, allyship training, while still providing support for our Mazzetti-ites that are in shelter-in-place. Though remote, in some ways we feel even more connected to our colleagues… And a renewed motivation toward ensuring our culture is welcoming to all.
W@M January Spotlight: Sarah Jane Madole
Sarah Jane (SJ) Madole is a Technology Internal Information Consultant based in Nashville, TN. With her passion for care-taking, she started her career as a registered nurse working in the ER and later the PACU. Her career pivoted after a significant shoulder injury, coupled with encouragement from the former leader of Mazzetti’s Technology and Medical Equipment Planning Division, Mazzetti+GBA to apply as a Medical Equipment Planner. (GBA merged with Mazzetti in August 2016.)
SJ saw this role as a unique opportunity to improve patient outcomes on a broader scale, planning medical facilities to facilitate care for many patients, for many years to come. No college degree directly applicable for this role–it requires substantial on-the-job training. Early in this new career, Sarah Jane’s mentor incrementally helped build her industry knowledge and experience. SJ leveraged her clinical background, quickly building trust with clinicians and helping bridge the gap between designers and clinicians when planning a space.
While nursing gender demographics in the ER, in SJ’s experience, appeared mostly balanced, medical equipment planning was (is) more male-dominated. SJ wasn’t deterred by the gender imbalance, having strong female role models, including her mother. As a single mother with minimal means, SJ’s mother moved to Nashville with her two children and worked in a male-dominated industry. Because of her mother’s influence, Sarah Jane was not deterred by working for a male-dominated industry as a female. (And practically speaking, her new “9 – 5” schedule, vs. erratic 12-hour shifts, supported more of a work-life balance, raising a family of her own).
After taking a few years off to care for her three children, Sarah Jane was encouraged by her colleagues to return to Mazzetti+GBA. She was encouraged by their example, that it was possible to have a great career AND be a great mother. Mazzetti was also very accommodating and offered her the flexibility she needed to return. Sarah Jane now manages our medical equipment planning database and occasionally consults on projects.
Her advice to young women entering any industry—nothing will take you further than having a strong work ethic, integrity, and self-motivation and, never underestimate the importance of finding work that you are passionate about.
Though SJ’s career pivoted in an expected way, she believes that God has given her an opportunity to user her knowledge and skills to provide for her family – and this should be celebrated as a beautiful thing! Sarah Jane emphasizes,
“Every human under the sun should be treated as equal in value and dignity, and we should strive for this equality across the industry. Women bring so many strengths to the table, and we need women in healthcare planning – for their worldview, for their strength, for their compassion, and for their knowledge. These beautiful differences are what make women amazing and should be celebrated in the workplace.”
We could not agree with her more!
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