Q&A With Women In Revenue’s Executive Director: Insights For Empowering Women In The Workplace

The organization recently released its annual survey: “Women in Revenue (WIR),” which uncovers top issues facing women in business. Key findings from this year’s research include:

• 52% said that transparent compensation information is the most important consideration when evaluating a job offer;
• 38% of all women and nearly half of executive women said they considered quitting their job in 2021;
• 17% of women are positive they are not being paid the same as male peers; another 41% have no idea; and
• 1 in 5 women in professional services and revenue operations roles listed sexual harassment as one of their top three challenges (21%).

Demand Gen Report sat down with Deanna Ransom, Women In Revenue’s Executive Director, to discuss how to provide world-changing equity and inclusion while empowering women in the workplace. Ransom has been an active member of the Women in Revenue community and was appointed to the board in 2021. She was integral in the formation of the community’s diversity, equity and inclusion programming, making her new role as Executive Director long overdue.

Demand Gen Report: What’s driving the re-evaluation of work for women and what are they looking for exactly?

Deanna Ransom: The top challenges women deal with are compensation and work-life balance. We need to see an increase in women in leadership roles and the improvement of pipeline quality. Training and coaching processes need to be re-evaluated to create a more supportive environment.

Women are looking for the option to work from home without it diminishing their career trajectory. They want the ability to not feel guilty about taking a vacation. In addition, there needs to be pay transparency. There’s a clear and documented pay gap between men and women and very little is being done to fix it. To be very transparent, it's easier as a lifeless conversation than it is to actually fix it because fixing it means that more dollars have to flow out of pockets to make it right. So, what do we do? We keep the conversation going.

DGR: How can companies continue or begin to hire these future leaders?

Ransom: I believe that there are a few key things that must be done. One is truly recognizing and paying the worth of these future leaders. Another thing would be including more diverse talent. What good is it to bring in diverse talent if you have not reshaped the culture of your workplace? Once you bring in diverse talent you want them to be an active, contributing, participating party without carrying so much pain and friction!

I believe you must rethink your culture and the KPIs of leaders to make sure they're thinking about these things in a meaningful way. It’s important to get assistance in guiding you to think through or educate how you start to shift your culture.

DGR: Do you see a stride happening in the workplace for equality?

Ransom: I see a heightened awareness in the workplace. Some companies are rising up and I'm even willing to say that we have some pretty amazing companies who are sponsoring us because they are committed. They are committed to making this change and I do see the spark of hope and that ray of light. Is there more work to be done? Of course. But I truly see a glimpse into a brighter future.

DGR: How did it feel to be appointed Women In Revenue’s first Executive Director to lead the community in its mission for workplace equity?

Ransom: It felt both humbling and exhilarating at the same time. If you think about my entire career, a big piece has been purpose in work and that has been a strong theme for me. This is the reason why I always did nonprofit work, in addition to my corporate work. It was humbling to be asked to step in and lead such an amazing charge that's so important for the future and for the next generation. It was also very exhilarating because it's something I'm super passionate about. Women In Revenue is now at a place where we're able to help companies recognize it's not just on the women to learn and do different — we must change the environment for it to be successful.

DGR: What do you hope to see happen in the future for Women In Revenue?

Ransom: Breaking it up into two parts: There is Women In Revenue, the organization, and then there is the women in revenue that we serve. Women in Revenue as an organization, my hope is that we continue to evolve as the beacon of light for support. My hope is that we create true equity, parity and transparency that is needed to change the world of work and support the whole woman.

For women in revenue and women in marketing, sales and customer success who are navigating these ever-changing choppy waters… my hope for them is that we become more united now than ever. I hope we continue to help one another grow and be better not just for us but for those who come after us.