Schekina Israel: Making Self-Advocacy Less Scary
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Schekina Israel, VP Marketing & Communications
The Young Women in Business (YWiB) Toronto team recently announced our next networking+ learn event, focused on self-advocacy. We’re beyond excited to have two successful women from our community speak to this topic, Sunandini Verma and Schekina Israel!
Read more about our other speaker, Sunandini Verma
Schekina is a fairly recent addition to the YWiB team, taking on a leadership role in our marketing department. As an aspiring community leader, Schekina leverages her focused ambition, extensive professional experience, and background in psychology to impact meaningful change in her community. She also recognizes the importance of self-advocacy.
We chatted with Schekina about her professional experience and how honing the skill of self-advocacy has impacted her career. Here’s what she had to say;
What does self-advocacy mean to you?
Self-advocacy is a means through which people can take ownership and control of their lives. People have a lot more control than they think they do. Challenges and difficulties are some of the constant certainties of the human experience. I believe that people can choose how they react to challenges. More importantly, they can act proactively to avoid said challenges or set themselves up to overcome them with more ease. That's what self-advocacy is all about; asking for what you want to reach your goals and overcome challenges.
Can you tell me about a time you had to use this skill in your professional life?
It's funny you would ask because nearly all of my greatest accomplishments have been obtained by employing this skill! One of the most pivotal moments in my career occurred when my compensation review came up. My boss at the time told me that the compensation they offered was fair and even competitive given my experience and the salary range for similar roles in the market. I wasn't a huge fan of the offer because when I signed on, I was told that I would get at least X amount if my performance was up to par. After a year of late hours, completing extra projects, and plain old hard work, I was shocked to find that what I was offered didn't match what I was told when I signed on. Granted, I never got it in writing which was my fault, but to me, it was about the principle. This organization wasn't a huge corporation, but I knew they could afford what I was asking for because I found out through the grapevine that my male colleague was making a fair amount more than I was.
When I voiced my concerns about the offer, my manager had the gall to say "well we feel this is a fair offer but if you feel you can get better elsewhere, feel free to do so". I was shocked and appalled. But I recognized what I deserved and I advocated for myself. I left the company and instead of getting the 2% raise I almost settled for, I was able to get six times that amount.. Because I asked for it and didn't accept less than what I wanted and deserved.
“Life is way too short for regret. I would rather try and fail, than not try and wonder; what if?”
Advocating for yourself at work can be scary, especially when there is potential for conflict or unfair repercussions. Are there any small things young women professionals can do to build up self-advocacy skills in advance of tense situations?
My number one fear is the unknown. Not spiders, not death. Not knowing what will happen. Especially when risk is involved. One thing to remember is that if you don't know or if you're not prepared, you're less likely to succeed. If you want to advocate on your behalf, come with the facts. Research salary ranges for the role you have or want. Take an online course to enhance a skill you're not the strongest in. Volunteer ( volunteer for YWiB here! ) or attend events to expand your network and speak with industry experts. If you're not proactive about learning and growing your skillset, not only will self-advocacy be scary, you may encounter some disappointment because you weren't prepared. Remember; success is where preparation and opportunity meet.
Another tip to overcome the fear that sometimes lies in self-advocacy is to think about the long-term impact. If that person says no; if you don't get the promotion; if you don't get accepted into the program; will it have a big impact in 1 year? 5 year? 10 years? If the answer is no, then self-advocacy is less scary. And bonus? Now you know what you need to work on for future opportunities. If you don't know? Ask. Risk is scary. But if you don't take a risk, you may not get a reward.
As a leader, how do you encourage self-advocacy within your team, especially for those under your guidance?
It's important for people to realize that employer-employee relationships go both ways. As a compensated employee, you need to bring value to your employer, team, or organization. However, the employee also needs to derive value from their employment. After all, anyone who works for a person or organization is choosing to dedicate time at that place of employment, foregoing other potentially more lucrative jobs or career opportunities.
As such, employees should be accountable for their own professional development. They should aim to get what they want out of their work. If the organization is not proactive about professional development by reimbursing staff for courses or procuring free workshops led by experts, employees should seek out free courses, workshops, and other learning opportunities to pursue on their own time. If the opportunity arises within the workplace, they should self advocate to be considered to take the lead on projects or initiatives.
As a leader, I try to emphasize this. I talk with my team about what they want their career to look like and together, we devise a plan to get them there. Not only do I get better quality work out of my team, but they are also able to have more of an input into their work while simultaneously building themselves up to advocate on their own behalf. When opportunities come up, they'll be ready.
Closing thought?
Self-advocacy doesn't guarantee success, but the cost of not trying is much too high not to.