Leader Journeys: Keys to Growth from Atlanta’s Women in Business
Given the gains women continue to achieve, it’s appropriate that we’ve spent much of the year highlight the accomplishments of women in business. In addition to events in Chicago and Phoenix, Arizona, we recently spoke with four business leaders in Atlanta about their career journeys:
- Katie Cawrse, Senior Manager, Executive Leadership Development at Amazon
- Ann Curry, Chairman and Chief Client Strategist at Coxe Curry & Associates, a fundraising firm for nonprofit organizations
- Candace Klein, President and Co-Founder of Klein Contracting Corp., a re-roofing firm; and Co-Founder and CEO of Meta Team, Klein Contracting’s large-scale commercial roofing company
- Emily Morris, CEO and Founder of Emrgy, a clean energy startup focused on generating renewable power from water infrastructure
As BMO’s Head of U.S. Diversified Industries, I was thrilled to moderate this lively and informative discussion. Here’s a summary of our conversation.
Access to capital
Emrgy has been impressive in its efforts to change the face of clean energy technology, and one of the keys to its success has been its ability to raise capital. But that only underscores the fact that women-owned businesses garnered only 2% of venture capital funds in 2023
.
Morris attributes Emrgy’s success in VC funding to having investors who understand the company’s vision.
She’s also encouraged by the fact that more women-led VC firms are funding startups owned by women.
“The hardest due diligence we go through is when a woman is funding a woman because we know what to look for,” she said. “I'm encouraged to see the ecosystem growing.”
Navigating male-dominated spaces
Klein pointed out that about 0.1% of all commercial roofing companies are owned by women. She still faces skepticism from the men in the industry.
“When I go in front of a general contractor or I go in front of a client, it doesn't matter what level they are, they absolutely do not believe that I do what I do,” Klein said. “I literally have to bring up pictures. We’ve done a lot of work in Atlanta. We'll open up the curtains when we're downtown and I'll say, you see that building and that building and that building, and they still will not believe that I do what I do.”
Even networking opportunities can be a fraught experience in male-dominated spaces. After all, women have been taught by men about how to network with men. That’s why Klein stressed the importance of taking a different approach to networking with other women. Specifically, adopting the attitude of “we.”
“If you go into a group that is mixed men and women, the men will say, ‘Do you want to join me for a round of golf?’” Klein said. “They do all of these social things, and their personal and business lives overlap. That's not the way we like to lead our lives. We want our lives, and we want our careers. So anytime I go into a networking opportunity, it is a ‘we’ opportunity. You bring another woman, know what their goals are for that moment, and you go and attack together. Then you've got a team, and it's much better because men network very differently than women. There's nothing wrong with that. But we can do it in different ways where we're comfortable and we do it together.”
Male allyship and advocacy
When Cawrse began her tenure at Amazon in 2014, she was the only female manager in her building. Today, the senior team she belongs to is 70% female. That kind of change comes in large part through advocacy for other women, and that requires male allyship. What does it take to inspire men to advocate for female leadership?
“The best way I have found to do this is to build the bridge and be the person you want to have as a partner,” Klein said. “If you emulate what you're looking for, men see you as who you are, not just as a female. Also, if you want to bring in men and continue to be empowered by them, you have to ask: Can you support me? Would you believe in me? Would you recommend me? And I find that they're happy to do it, but we don't ask. You build the bridge, you ask, and it's amazing what you can do with your male allies.”
Cawrse noted that recruiting male allies requires women to advocate for themselves. “You have to be clear on setting boundaries for yourself as a leader and whatever work that you do. I've been really fortunate at Amazon for the men that I've worked with; they've been some of my biggest cheerleaders along the way. But when I think about myself, I'm going to be my strongest advocate. And then I need my boss to do that on my behalf when I'm not around, and I feel confident that he does that because we have that relationship.”
Pushing forward
Women have a larger representation in the C-suite than ever, and it's been proven that companies with diverse leadership teams perform better. In this context, it’s worth asking how attitudes over gender diversity in the workplace have shifted.
Curry noted that when she started her career, companies were up front about hiring women at lower salaries than men. “It was just the way the world worked,” she said. While we still haven’t closed the gender pay gap, laws and attitudes have changed.
“The world has come so far since then, and I have had enormous luck within that,” Curry said.
It’s been 31 years since Curry purchased Coxe, and it’s safe to say she’s seen it all from the perspective of a women business owner. I asked her what is one thing she would have wanted her past self to know as she began her career journey.
“Don’t underestimate what you can do,” Curry said. “Have really high expectations for yourself, and when those doors of opportunity open, just take a big step and walk through them.”
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Jennifer Guidi
Head, U.S. Diversified Industries, East
Jen Guidi leads the U.S. Diversified Industries-East team, bringing extensive experience working with mid-market private and public companies on strategy, financing…(..)
View Full Profile >Given the gains women continue to achieve, it’s appropriate that we’ve spent much of the year highlight the accomplishments of women in business. In addition to events in Chicago and Phoenix, Arizona, we recently spoke with four business leaders in Atlanta about their career journeys:
- Katie Cawrse, Senior Manager, Executive Leadership Development at Amazon
- Ann Curry, Chairman and Chief Client Strategist at Coxe Curry & Associates, a fundraising firm for nonprofit organizations
- Candace Klein, President and Co-Founder of Klein Contracting Corp., a re-roofing firm; and Co-Founder and CEO of Meta Team, Klein Contracting’s large-scale commercial roofing company
- Emily Morris, CEO and Founder of Emrgy, a clean energy startup focused on generating renewable power from water infrastructure
As BMO’s Head of U.S. Diversified Industries, I was thrilled to moderate this lively and informative discussion. Here’s a summary of our conversation.
Access to capital
Emrgy has been impressive in its efforts to change the face of clean energy technology, and one of the keys to its success has been its ability to raise capital. But that only underscores the fact that women-owned businesses garnered only 2% of venture capital funds in 2023.
Morris attributes Emrgy’s success in VC funding to having investors who understand the company’s vision.
She’s also encouraged by the fact that more women-led VC firms are funding startups owned by women.
“The hardest due diligence we go through is when a woman is funding a woman because we know what to look for,” she said. “I'm encouraged to see the ecosystem growing.”
Navigating male-dominated spaces
Klein pointed out that about 0.1% of all commercial roofing companies are owned by women. She still faces skepticism from the men in the industry.
“When I go in front of a general contractor or I go in front of a client, it doesn't matter what level they are, they absolutely do not believe that I do what I do,” Klein said. “I literally have to bring up pictures. We’ve done a lot of work in Atlanta. We'll open up the curtains when we're downtown and I'll say, you see that building and that building and that building, and they still will not believe that I do what I do.”
Even networking opportunities can be a fraught experience in male-dominated spaces. After all, women have been taught by men about how to network with men. That’s why Klein stressed the importance of taking a different approach to networking with other women. Specifically, adopting the attitude of “we.”
“If you go into a group that is mixed men and women, the men will say, ‘Do you want to join me for a round of golf?’” Klein said. “They do all of these social things, and their personal and business lives overlap. That's not the way we like to lead our lives. We want our lives, and we want our careers. So anytime I go into a networking opportunity, it is a ‘we’ opportunity. You bring another woman, know what their goals are for that moment, and you go and attack together. Then you've got a team, and it's much better because men network very differently than women. There's nothing wrong with that. But we can do it in different ways where we're comfortable and we do it together.”
Male allyship and advocacy
When Cawrse began her tenure at Amazon in 2014, she was the only female manager in her building. Today, the senior team she belongs to is 70% female. That kind of change comes in large part through advocacy for other women, and that requires male allyship. What does it take to inspire men to advocate for female leadership?
“The best way I have found to do this is to build the bridge and be the person you want to have as a partner,” Klein said. “If you emulate what you're looking for, men see you as who you are, not just as a female. Also, if you want to bring in men and continue to be empowered by them, you have to ask: Can you support me? Would you believe in me? Would you recommend me? And I find that they're happy to do it, but we don't ask. You build the bridge, you ask, and it's amazing what you can do with your male allies.”
Cawrse noted that recruiting male allies requires women to advocate for themselves. “You have to be clear on setting boundaries for yourself as a leader and whatever work that you do. I've been really fortunate at Amazon for the men that I've worked with; they've been some of my biggest cheerleaders along the way. But when I think about myself, I'm going to be my strongest advocate. And then I need my boss to do that on my behalf when I'm not around, and I feel confident that he does that because we have that relationship.”
Pushing forward
Women have a larger representation in the C-suite than ever, and it's been proven that companies with diverse leadership teams perform better. In this context, it’s worth asking how attitudes over gender diversity in the workplace have shifted.
Curry noted that when she started her career, companies were up front about hiring women at lower salaries than men. “It was just the way the world worked,” she said. While we still haven’t closed the gender pay gap, laws and attitudes have changed.
“The world has come so far since then, and I have had enormous luck within that,” Curry said.
It’s been 31 years since Curry purchased Coxe, and it’s safe to say she’s seen it all from the perspective of a women business owner. I asked her what is one thing she would have wanted her past self to know as she began her career journey.
“Don’t underestimate what you can do,” Curry said. “Have really high expectations for yourself, and when those doors of opportunity open, just take a big step and walk through them.”
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