It’s no secret that women have historically faced an uphill battle to secure corporate leadership roles. Among the 33 largest multilateral institutions, only 47 of 382 leaders in their history were female — evidence of a longstanding disproportionate gap that still exists across corporate suites and boardrooms alike.
Today, I serve as the chief product officer of Planview, but as a former professional tennis player, my path to the C-suite was anything but conventional. After 30 years of climbing the corporate ladder, I can attest to the fact that there’s a direct correlation between athletic and business success. A recent Ernst & Young study also found that 94 percent of C-suite women previously played sports, highlighting how athletic participation can propel us into sustainable business careers.
When it comes to leveling the playing field for women, don’t sleep on the world of sports.
I didn’t get my start in business until I was 31, when a reference call from Billie Jean King helped me land a product marketing internship with a small startup technology firm.
Up until then, I had dedicated my entire adult life to tennis. I was fortunate enough to reach the pinnacle of the sport, appearing in all four Grand Slam tournaments with a third-round finish at Wimbledon in 1983. I had ranked 60th in the world and trained alongside some of the fiercest competitors tennis has ever seen — like Billie Jean.
