Having women leaders on board is a crucial step towards achieving gender equality and promoting diversity in the workplace. According to the seventh edition of Deloitte Global’s Women in the Boardroom report, companies with women CEOs or chairs tend to have more diverse boards. However, the pace of progress toward gender parity is slow, and it is estimated that the world could reach near-parity only in 2045.
This also means that women leaders, already in power and position, need to help their organizations go that extra mile in bringing women aboard. Being experienced, they know what changes in the organization will make it promising and appealing for women employees. Women need to stick together and that forms the base of CHIEF, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there.
CHIEF is the only organization specifically designed for senior women leaders to strengthen their leadership journey, cross-pollinate ideas across industries, and effect change from the top down. As a distinguished member of the organization, Gretchen Villegas, a senior leader with 25+ years of experience specializing in mission-driven innovative program designs has met the most inspiring, welcoming, supportive women leaders from all industries and corners of the United States. “I am so blessed to have access to women who not only want to help one another but who really care about one another. Since I joined CHIEF, no matter what challenge I have been facing, I do not feel alone. I thank all of the women in CHIEF whose paths have crossed with mine for being there for me. I am also here for all of you,” shares Gretchen.
An Exciting Journey
Gretchen is an Executive Leader with 25+ years of experience in global development; with 15+ years living and working in Latin America and East and Southern Africa, and 10+ years at the headquarters offices of global development organizations working abroad.
She has worked at the intersection of where international NGOs meet both local and international private sector companies’ supply chains and how smallholder farmers, their families, and communities can become included in the system instead of excluded, leaving wealth in the communities. The growth of local wealth in vulnerable communities abroad brings dignified income, dignified lives, and empowerment for the future.
Gretchen has worked on projects in various countries including Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi, Uganda, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal to name a few. She has co-created projects with the likes of Walmart Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, Cargill Animal Nutrition, General Mills, United States Agency for International Development, United States Department of Agriculture, and too many to mention local civil society organizations making a difference in their own country’s futures.
The projects included technical training in farming as a business as well as agricultural production systems, creating entrepreneurship opportunities for those excluded from the ecosystem, integrated with nutrition-focused agriculture, job creation, and community resiliency efforts. The effort of bringing the private sector, donors, and local civil society organizations together made the work sustainable – it did not extract resources, knowledge, and wealth, but it built it locally or at least provided a foundation to build from.
Guided by her Vision to Make an Impact
Gretchen’s working style is to set a big-picture vision as the north guiding star, and then integrate the team into How to actually execute the vision. She believes that data should drive decision-making and learning and adaptation is key to project planning, pivots, and use of human and financial resources. The impact is the end goal – and thus how are we best stewards of the resources we have to get to the end goal.
“My teams are very collaborative; I have a flat team structure for the executive team and everyone’s voice weights decisions. I believe I ultimately work for my team – I need to ensure the objectives are clearly defined and it is then my responsibility to ensure the team members have what they need to execute to the optimum degree possible. As one person a vision goes nowhere, but as a team, we can join together with our individual superpowers and create a lasting impact,” she says.
One of the most impactful leadership initiatives Gretchen led was regarding how to develop not only a winning proposal design for global development impacts but to create a proposed project that would have a significant and measurable impact based on evidence and backed by a financial model. This entailed facilitating a process that integrated various departments across the organization including the field staff, and headquarters staff, finance, human resources, programs, monitoring and evaluation, donor management, and risk and compliance.
“As the process was new it was grueling at times, however once the end result came, staff were pleased with the outcomes and felt ownership over the execution, and the donors were pleased to have an impact and financial model they could use to measure results against the funds that had been spent and define if the project was successful or not,” reminisces Gretchen.
Believing in Ideas
Innovation has been the key to Gretchen’s 25+ years of work. She believes that, for all successful global development programming, most times innovative ideas come from those very same people/communities who are being supported. Vulnerable communities understand their circumstances, and root causes of challenges. When you listen carefully, they have parts of the answers, that when we come together and partner WITH communities, we can find innovative solutions to move forward. Ownership, she feels, is a key ingredient in development – you not only need an innovative idea but you need to own the marketing and execution from the bottom-up to make it work for impact to be achieved.
Bridging the Gender Disparity
Gretchen has been a successful professional woman, thanks to some senior male executives who believed in her when she was young; just entering the global development industry.
The so-called “Old-boys-Club” gave her challenges to overcome and as she proved herself, they promoted her to more responsibility. “I was the only woman leading a field program for one organization for many years before another female executive was hired for the same job. I was blessed to have some men believe in my potential and give me the chance to learn, and make mistakes, but gave me the space to prove that I could deliver. And I did deliver time and time again, but I had to learn from my mistakes. In some ways you could say it was Tough Love that made me the professional I am today – but I would not have asked for it to be any other way. I really appreciate those who believed in me, when I was still growing into my positions,” she says.
There was a roadblock in being a woman leader in a still male-dominated industry when Gretchen entered. That has now changed significantly. However, when she started, she remembers being the only woman in meetings with the donors in the field and younger by at least 30 years. She had to speak louder, present better, and push back when appropriate to gain respect.
And in the end, just be fearless and not worry about how she was perceived.
“I believe companies need diversity at the top executive level in order to have great products/services.
We all come to the table with our own experiences and if you will “superpowers” that are honed from where we come from, thus many perspectives are the key to real quality and success.
If you limit the life experiences at the executive table, I believe you limit the optimum success that you will ever achieve,” states Gretchen.
Miles to Go
Gretchen sees herself continuing to work in global development, evolving her skills to stay innovative, and on top of her game, and becoming a mentor to so many more young leaders in the field. She was gifted with her superpowers of building robust high-performing teams, visioning tremendous impact, and lighting the way through negotiated partnerships and co-creations. She wants to be able to pass that on to those who will evolve it into something even more impactful someday.
On taking her time out from work and balancing life Gretchen depends on friends and family as a support system. “I have a female colleague/mentor and friend who I can thank for reminding me to take care of myself. I am not very good at it – really. I love my work and it does become all-consuming because I love helping people and doing it across cultures and languages. However, my friend always reminds me to take time out – block time in my schedule, just to THINK. That advice has been invaluable as I have grown in my career. Without time to just REFLECT and THINK I cannot stay grounded and balanced in both my personal and career goals. For that – I am eternally grateful – and it is still a work in progress,” concludes Gretchen.
Transforming Lives :
Gretchen prides herself on being a mentor to young women. She was given support and she wants to pay that forward.
Amenye’s Story:
Gretchen met Amenye when she was working in Malawi. Amenye had just graduated from the local University when she applied for an entry-level monitoring position for the project I was managing. She was young, timid in her interview, and did not have as much experience as others who had applied. Gretchen had been told by foreigners in Malawi that women especially young women were not going to college or entering the workforce at even half the rate of men. She saw something in Amenye, took a chance in hiring her, and never regretted one day since then. Amenye is now the National Project Manager for FAO in Malawi. As a Project Coordinator, she is responsible for the day-to-day management of two projects in fisheries, gender, and social protection including the overall management of the budget, work plan development, and partner and stakeholder collaboration. She also supports the leadership of the FAO corporate strategy.
“Amenye is a brilliant young woman who is committed to making her country a better place for everyone. I was so blessed she joined my team right out of college,” says Gretchen fondly.
Alejandra’s Story:
Gretchen met Alejandra when she was providing support to a project in Honduras. Alejandra was working as an administrative assistant when Gretchen entered, and once she met her, Gretchen could see right away the potential for her to manage much more. Alejandra has an analytical mindset, uses data and evidence to describe her opinions, and is already a budding entrepreneur. She has a passion for helping those in need and never wavers in the time it takes to get a job done the right way. Gretchen was able to adjust her position to Impact Analytics while with the team, and she took on extra coursework in her free time and spent the many hours required to help her teammates understand how to gather and use data. “My proudest moment was when she took the reigns at a moment’s notice when asked to lead a facilitation of a mapping project; explaining to her teammates how to collect and organize data. I am confident she will continue to create impact for her country and community at large and I am blessed to have been a part of her journey thus far,” says Gretchen.
QUOTE FROM ALEJANDRA :
“Gretchen’s leadership, characterized by a blend of passion and professionalism, has not only fostered a positive work environment but has also inspired and encouraged others to develop their skills and abilities. Under her guidance, I have learned the importance of effective communication, the value of planning, delegating, and maintaining effective lines of communication, and the significance of fostering a supportive team culture. Her insightful comments and constructive criticism have helped me grow personally and professionally. I am happy to have worked with her and look forward to putting the invaluable lessons I have learned from her into practice throughout my career.”
