March is a special month because it is Women’s History Month. There are many women who have made history for various accomplishments, including politics, activism, and the workplace. It is a good thing we have the whole month of March to recognize some of these women because there are too many notable women to highlight!
The History
President Jimmy Carter instituted the first Presidential Proclamation during the week of March 8th, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. In 1987, Public Law 100-9 was passed and March is now recognized as “Women’s History Month.”
As we reflect on notable women, there are many who come to mind. Some examples include Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani female education activist and the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate; Rosa Parks, who fought segregation laws on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950s; and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the second female Supreme Court Justice of the United States.
Madeline Albright was our first female US Secretary of State, Kamala Harris serves as our first female Vice-President, Amanda Gorman is the first female National Youth Poet Laureate of the US, and Greta Thunberg is an 18 year old environmental activist. These are just some of the women who have significantly contributed to and changed history, which required each of them to overcome discrimination with courage and perseverance.
Elizabeth Ryan
Here In New Jersey, Elizabeth Ryan made history by becoming the first female CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) from 2008 to 2017. NJHA is New Jersey’s oldest and largest nonprofit trade association dedicated to hospitals, health systems and patients. Ryan was the first woman to lead the 98 year old healthcare trade group and was awarded the Special Achievement Award from the Healthcare Planning and Marketing Society of New Jersey. I had the honor of interviewing her about about her career path.
Q: Can you tell me what it was like being the first female CEO of NJHA?
Ryan: It was a real honor to be named the first female President & CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association. It was not something I had envisioned. I had joined the association a couple of years prior as a General Counsel. I kept my head low and worked hard. While that was a senior position, it was one of many – so I was very honored to be selected when the time came. It is a very difficult job, and I worked hard at it each and every day. I had to manage a team of around 144 people, make sure our broad and diverse membership was relatively happy, oversee our legislative agenda, and make sure we made a budget each year. People told me it was a “big job” and I felt pressured to perform.
Q: Did you face any discrimination?
Ryan: Professionally, I recall being at one job where there were a number of lawyers working and we realized that although we had all graduated the same year (roughly), the men were getting paid more than the women. One of the gutsier women in my office spoke to our supervisor and the situation was immediately rectified. I don’t recall any other such explicit forms of overt discrimination.
Q: Did you have any mentorship?
Ryan: Yes. Neither of my parents went to college. My oldest brother Bill is about 12 years older than me and was out of college as I was deciding what to do with my life in high school. He really urged me to go to college and to become a lawyer. He really encouraged me, and told me I could do it. I listened. He has always provided me with advice during critical times in my life. I have had a couple of professional mentors that have guided me along the way, with invaluable advice and counsel – sometimes things I didn’t want to hear, but needed to hear. My predecessor at NJHA – Gary Carter – was a great mentor. He gave me a lot of good advice. I also have a close circle of friends who provide advice. Lastly, as a young professional, I would watch more senior people in meetings handle a difficult situation and try and learn from how they responded.
Q: What is your fondest memory as CEO?
Ryan: Strangely enough it was during Hurricane Sandy. NJHA’s building had a generator so we established an Emergency Command Post there to help the hospitals and liaison with the State of New Jersey and federal officials. Some of our employees were coming in to shower at our HQ as they had no running water at home. We manned the phones, answered questions, pushed out information and really helped I think. And those of us present really felt such a sense of camaraderie as we worked together during an intense time. I vividly recall that a hospital in NYC was transferring a whole unit of patients, along with the doctors and nurses treating them to a Bergen County hospital. I got the call to ensure that the health care professionals were licensed in NJ by the time they arrived in Bergen. Because I had very good contacts with the State Department of Health (who were exceedingly competent people working seemingly round the clock at the time), I was able to make it happen. And that is one small example of some of the work we did.
Q: Were there any issues managing work-life balance while you were CEO?
Ryan: There were many many issues managing work-life balance. It was a week to week struggle that my husband and I managed. My husband was an FBI Special Agent, and we had our son just before I joined NJHA as General Counsel. When I became CEO of NJHA, the demands of the job began to press more and more into my morning drop offs and my after school pick ups. It could be an early morning legislative breakfast I had in Somerset County, or an American Hospital Association 3 day conference in Washington, DC, or a political fundraiser at the Meadowlands. As I became more comfortable as CEO, I began to delegate things and events where possible so I could spend more time with my family. It is interesting that when I announced my retirement from NJHA, one of my hospital CEOs told me that some of them speculated that I wasn’t really married because they hadn’t met my husband during any of our dinners or conferences. I don’t know what the CEO intended, but I knew that I was married, and I knew that my husband would rather be home raising my son so that I could be away when I had to do so for work events.
Q: What advice would you give to young women hoping to be CEOs one day?
Ryan: Choose a field you love and work hard. You may not always be the smartest person in the room, but you can always be the hardest working. Show up for things a couple of minutes early to socialize and get to know people where possible……work the room. Be honest. Don’t be afraid to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, or who excel at things you don’t excel at. Read, and learn constantly. Go to conferences to learn from presenters and your own colleagues. Make sure learning is lifelong. Have a cadre of friends who can support you in good times and bad, and who will always tell you the truth about how you look!
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