The Bradley University Alumni Association’s first Leadership Summit is underway. The event began Thursday and runs through Saturday on campus. The goal of the summit is to motivate aspiring leaders working to advance their careers and enhance their leadership skills.
A number of successful alumni are speaking at the Summit including 1981 graduate Marietta Davis. Davis is a District General Manager for Microsoft, and spoke about the glass ceiling women face in the workplace. She says women are limiting themselves to middle management because they believe they can’t be committed to their families in greater roles. Davis says some women also worry they can’t compete with their male counterparts.
"Competition is based upon ourselves, and we don't have to compete just like our male counterparts. We can compete using our own set of skills, and I think sometimes we get tripped up that way. A lot of it just has to do with a network and understanding what is it going to take to get to the next level and doing that."
Davis says she stepped down to a lower position from a Vice President role to make time for her two children with disabilities. But she says she was able to move back up the ranks quickly. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is the keynote speaker of the summit.