Katherine Hardcastle

I grew up with a really hardworking mom, a single mom who was working in a male-dominated field, and watching her navigate that was really inspiring to me. I also wouldn't be able to have the career that I have without a supportive spouse. I have a partner who's very supportive of me and what I want to set out to do or accomplish, and he really makes space for me to do that. So I think having that example of my own mom, and then having a partner that's supportive, is quite important for me.

I grew up with the saying that the days are long, but the years are short, so I try to take things one day at a time. But I think some of the best career advice I've been given in this season of life has really been about the power of reaching out and creating a network of folks, a committee, and really getting your voice out there. I'm a huge fan of LinkedIn, and I think you're the maker of your own trajectory and your own career path, and what you want for yourself. I think it's important not to shy away from that. I'm a big LinkedIn poster and I believe in sharing what you think with folks. I think when you're a woman, we get told to be more humble publicly, so I had to get over that. That wasn't a comfortable space for me, but it's been a really wonderful space to be in.

I would say that when I look at my mom's experience and my experience of working, especially on the tech side in a more male-dominated field, progress is not always as fast as we wish it was. I think it's important to recognize how important it is to have conversations about what it means to be a woman in the workplace. There are a lot of things that haven't changed that we wish had, but we haven't quite gotten there yet. Progress is slow, but progress is being made, so think about how you can support other women along that journey with you. I still talk to the direct reports that I used to have at other workplaces, and I look to women that I really admire for how they have navigated their careers as working moms especially. Make sure that you create your own community and your own network, because without that, it can be quite daunting. I look to other working moms that I admire, who are either my peers or farther along in their career than I am, to give me advice on how they're navigating things. It would be way more difficult without that support. Don't be shy in networking, don't be afraid to ask for what it is that you need. Ask your community for what you need and create meaningful relationships with folks. Don't be afraid to ask if someone wants to have a coffee chat with you to just talk through anything.

I think some of the biggest challenges right now is just continuing to make the business case for why corporate impact is necessary within corporations, and why corporations should consider continuing to invest in those programs. In terms of opportunities, I think when that business case is being forced to be made, there's also the flip side that there is opportunity to pivot and shift and change the way you've done something before, to think about something differently. I'm a big believer in divergence and convergence of ideas, and I think when things can feel like they're diverging from how they've normally been, there's a moment to ask a lot of what-if questions. Right now there's a great opportunity in asking, well, what if we did it this way instead, or what if it looked like this instead? It's a good time to kind of imagine what the future of CSR is.

I definitely value integrity. I think that's very important to me. I really value that when folks say something, it aligns with the actions that they take, and I try to hold myself accountable for that as well. I think always being curious is important. The older I get, the more I realize I don't know, so really taking a posture of curiosity and abundance are things that are really important to me.