Women’s Equality Day Spotlight - Erica Abdel-Khaliq
I believe that I’ve been blessed in my life. And, if I’ve had any success, it has been due to my faith and my family. At every turn, they have been there, every step of the way - cheering me on. I’ve been promoted. I’ve received accolades. I’ve written a book. I blog. I vlog. Have I been compensated fairly for these accomplishments? I’d like to think so. But even today, you know who likely hasn’t - my wife.
Women still do not make the equivalent compensation of men in the United States and around the world. I see that as one of greatest challenges we ALL face. I just watched a documentary that said the pay gap lies primarily in the women that decide to have children. Even today, in a global pandemic, I read that nearly 3 million women have not re-entered the job market- in part to take care of family.
In my job, if I see these instances , I try to do whatever I can to right the wrong which is indeed important to me. But my real message today is a celebration of my wife, Erica Abdel-Khaliq.
You may not know her, but let me introduce you to her. She graduated with a Studio Arts degree. She has a wonderful artistic eye! I don’t know what the estimated life earnings or corporate career projections are for someone graduating with a Studio Arts degree, but I’m guessing it’s not the same as those with a Business degree. That didn’t matter because she was born with business and common sense.
After graduating, she dressed mannequins at Marshall Field’s. When you walked by the window and saw the highly fashioned mannequins, that was likely her handiwork. Did I tell you she had an artistic eye?! At the time Marshall Fields was branching off from Target, she joined Target as a Product Coordinator. She was happy for the job, but immediately began to create a positive impact on the business. She was creating value well beyond her position and it was noticed by senior leaders.
In the years following, she was quickly promoted to Advertising Coordinator, Market Analyst, to Lead Manager in Loyalty Marketing. Loyalty Marketing was a new area at the time. Remember those coupons you’d get with your receipts at the checkout at Target? Yeah, that was her and her team. It was a money maker and she played a significant role. The feedback she received was that she had strong business acumen AND she was “aggressive.” At the time it wasn’t exactly a compliment- mostly because she was a woman. Men did not receive the same feedback for being “aggressive.” Yet she still persisted and drove corporate results - and thusly was promoted again eventually became a Director of Digital Vendor Marketing. That team was one of the most profitable businesses at Target.
After 15 years at Target, she sought her next opportunity. She has a growth mindset and continues pushing herself to learn new things which led her to her VP position at a large Digital Marketing agency. After driving growth and business there, she connected with a previous Target leader who offered her a perfect senior-level Marketing position, only a few minutes from our home. She was in a happy place professionally and personally. Then the upheaval!
I was given a wonderful opportunity to work overseas. We discussed as a family and in the end, she put her career on pause for the opportunity to live and learn. She sacrificed her career for mine and a great opportunity for our family.
Once there, we were able to maximize maybe her first love after art, travel. We visited 50 cities in 15 countries in 2 years! While she was not legally able to work there on the particular visa she had, she threw herself in volunteering at the kid’s international school - fundraising and fun raising. She even coached a soccer team - never having coached or played. Quite an amazing woman if I didn’t tell you before!
When we returned back to the US from my overseas job, it took her 10 months to find a job. Here was this superstar who paused her career for mine and it took her nearly a year to find a job. It was painful to me personally that she had to think of how to explain her “career gap” while overseas. In the end, she just owned it and reflected her resume accordingly. Turned out to be a great business decision- no surprise there!
Now she’s at her current company, driving value. That’s just what she does.
She has raised the performance bar every place she’s been. She’s led an enviable career and continues to write the story on what it means to be a successful woman.
You want to know a few key themes of her ascent from a Studio Arts major, to a Sr. Director of Marketing at a Fortune 20 company? First, she worked her butt off! Second, she was business savvy - she got results. Third, she, at times, was pushy- she advocated for herself. Finally, she had men and women in positions of power who recognized her talent and advocated for her. Some of these men and women pushed her out of her comfort zone and into positions not immediately identified as a normal succession to her position at the time. In addition, they were her champions. She was always awesome, they just saw it and made sure others saw it as well.
In the Book, “Lean In,” Sheryl Sandberg references women will sometimes hold themselves back because they don’t meet every single job criteria and how men don’t (generally) have that same reservation. Generally, I have found that phenomenon to be true. That’s why when I see amazing women in business, I try to point out their awesomeness in hopes it’s the boost they need to take the next step in their careers.
On Women’s Equality Day, I celebrate all women, generally - and my wife, specifically. If you are in a position to make a difference in the lives of talented women, do it! I want to live in a world where talented women don’t need to explain their career gap or experience a pay gap for raising a family, taking a mental break, or <insert reason here>.
Today and every day I celebrate my wife. She is blazing a trail with other women to make the world better for our daughter!
Erica Abdel-Khaliq, I salute you - strong, amazing, talented business leader.
Your husband,
(Coach) Ha-Keem Abdel-Khaliq
