She is an author, a speaker, and, in her own way, the face of empowerment for women through the symbol of the Red Shoe. Why is that you may ask? Mariela Dabbah will tell you that women have a ways to go in the business world and was the group that she targeted as having the greatest need in reaching their ambitions. “I have been working for twenty years working in education.” Mariela explained,
“My focus now is helping Latinas succeed in this country by connecting their aspirations with their achievements.”
On Nov 9th, Mariela will be holding their annual Red Shoes Woman’s Signature event in New York, displaying the methods women have at their disposal to improve their business standing. “It’s a leadership and career development company,” Mariela described it, “To help women grow in their careers and social movement of women who support each other for career success.”
The event will have between 200 and 250 men and women get together to have discussions on these issues. The highlights of the conference will revolve around the following topics.
-Engaging men to propel your career forward
-Discover your passions
-What is executive prices and how to develop it
-Winning negotiations strategies
-Embracing assertiveness
-You are the CEO of your own career
“Supporting other women’s ambitions always opens up other doors, learning how to negotiate, how to design your own brand opening up more opportunities.” Dabbah pointed out,
“In this event you are the protagonist.”
Mariela has proven this by branching out by writing her first non-fiction novel.
Women have always been shortchanged in business financially and after writing six books previously, she hit on something in her seventh, “Finding your inner Red Shoe.” Dabbah explains the theme of the book, which through social media, helped it explode and start the movement. “It talks about success and how women can define it for themselves.” Mariela explained, “By changing cultures within the organization. On Tuesday’s where we wear red shoes and ties. It’s meant to keep the conversation going.”
The level of compensation between men and women are far from equal. It’s a glaring problem that has never been resolved. Mariela eyes this as one of the movement’s key issues.
“The salary gap has not really changed that much in decades.”
Mariela admitted. The numbers say women make 77% of what men make unless you are Latina, where it drops to 54%.
“I wanted to speed up the percentage of women in key, high level positions. There isn’t one answer and it’s a multi-pronged approach.”
This event attempts to provide those outlets of interaction and inspire women to take action beyond that evening, thus empowering themselves and making a dent in the business world. It’s the road Mariela took to reach this destination. “I had no clue. I only knew I wanted to be a writer,” Mariela recalled,
“I evolved into what I am today by learning about myself, following my intuition, and having a lot of mentors, and being very curious, and not taking no for an answer.”
