We’ve included a text version of our podcast for accessibility.
Our introductory podcast gives an overview of who we are and what we do, along with some context and background regarding our philosophy. We promise to keep these podcasts funny, engaging and relevant because your time is precious, as is space in your brain and on your playlist. So this is for you to use.
First, some background about myself. My name is Erica D’Eramo and I’m the founder and CEO of Two Piers. My career started with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Penn State University. I’ve spent nearly two decades in the energy industry, working domestically and internationally, in field-based roles and office roles, including engineering, operations management and finance. I saw, first hand, the challenges facing women, particularly those starting out in field-based roles. Following a three-year offshore rotational assignment in Angola, I decided to take a sabbatical and start this project, (Two Piers), to provide resources and support directly to women working in male dominated environments. During that sabbatical, I also conducted a study called Spot the Difference which was sponsored by BP and executed in conjunction with QuayFive - a consultancy based out of the UK. We worked with 12 different FTSE 300 companies spanning multiple industries, each with international reach. We examined the career choices and motivations of employees and how they differed based on gender. We also examined the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion initiatives. There were some very interesting findings, which we will discuss further in a future podcast.
So why gender diversity as a focus? For us, it relates back to engineering. We here at Two Piers hate to see waste, especially when it comes to human potential. Not only are we putting up unnecessary barriers for more than 50% of our potential workforce, but we also make it more difficult for them to fully contribute when we have non-inclusive workplaces, or we evaluate them against how well they can conform to a masculine norm. Additionally, we see waste in the stressors this can put on team dynamics when the workforce begins to believe that gender outweighs meritocracy. This sows discord, distrust and disenchantment. We also feel that gender diversity is deeply misunderstood. Efforts to diversify a workforce and create a more inclusive environment are often seen as philanthropic initiatives as opposed to strategic business imperatives in today’s competitive, fast-changing world. In addition, gender is simply one facet of diversity, however it is more visible than many other aspects of diversity, and thus can act as an analogue to open the door to conversations on ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, socioeconomic diversity, neurodiversity, etc… We at Two Piers want to foster an intersectional conversation about diversity and gender.
So how are we tackling it? We are taking a two-pronged approach. We are committed to alleviating the current pain points of gender imbalance for those currently in the workforce by supporting individual women through workshops, coaching and resources such as this podcast. Some examples of focus areas are:
Navigating pitfalls of masculine workplaces
Setting and asserting boundaries
Handling difficult conversations and confrontations
Individualized coaching and planning
Some might ask whether a focus on equipping women with tools and tactics is paramount to victim blaming. Why should women change to fit the environment, as opposed to the environment changing? Well we fundamentally believe that women should not, in fact, have to change, however, we like to use the analogy of going to Mars. In the short term, we need some special toolkits in the first place - you can consider these our psychological oxygen tanks, until there are enough successful women and enough systemic change to create the atmosphere that we want and need. To turn a blind eye out of squeamishness is to reject reality and set people up for failure. At the same time, equipping women with survival tactics is not enough. We need to address the systemic root causes by working with organizations.
The organization and corporate work that we do focuses on creating systemic and sustainable change. It also supports and sustains the resources that we provide to individuals. When working with organizations, we first focus on understanding the true baseline using leading and lagging indicators. We also examine the effectiveness of current initiatives and what some of the unintended consequences may be. From there, we determine an action plan and measures for how to reach the group’s goals. We don’t just look at the numbers and percentages, but rather take a more holistic approach.
So why a podcast? We wanted to make some of our resources and content easily and readily accessible, particularly for those individuals who can benefit immediately. Perhaps it’s difficult to attend a workshop in person, or perhaps someone’s not not ready to ask for help or scheduling a coaching session. Podcasts can remove some of those barriers to access. It also gives businesses an opportunity to sample our offerings and see whether our ethos is a good fit for their company.
Podcast episodes will focus on two different areas. We will look at strategic topics and systemic issues around gender diversity in the workplace, including how we can affect change and how organizations can create diverse and inclusive environments. We will also have podcasts focused on more tactical subjects for professional women. Topics will range from travel tips to taxes, pet adoption to car buying. We will look at what works for working women.
We want to thank you for joining us for episode one of season one of Two Pier’s podcast. Be sure to follow us on social media. You can find us at LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, or on our website at twopiersconsulting.com. We’ll be putting on a workshop this Friday at the annual Women in Leadership Conference at Rice University, here in Houston, TX. The interactive workshop is focused on navigating challenging interactions and confrontation. It’s one of our favorite topics! Tune in next Wednesday (Feb 19) for a recap with insights from the event.
We’d love to hear from you. Reach out to hear more about our offerings or provide suggestions on requested content you want to hear about. Have a great week! We’ll meet you back here soon.