A letter from OfficeSpace CEO on International Women’s Day

This Sunday, March 8th, is International Women’s Day.

For most of my career, I didn’t celebrate this day.

Early on in my career, I internalized that being a woman was something I needed to work around — not emphasize. I didn’t want my gender, or being a mom, or being the first in my family to go to college, to be part of the story. I wanted to be known for my work and to neutralize anything that set me apart. No one told me to think that way. I just did. It felt easier.

Years ago, something shifted.

While I was the CMO of Dell, after a town hall in Beijing, a woman approached me. I had met her years earlier in Slovakia, where she led a small team. She told me she had uprooted her family and moved halfway across the world to step into a global leadership role she wasn’t sure she was ready for. She said watching me — a woman, a mom, an outsider — had given her the courage to raise her hand and compete for the opportunity.

This photo of me with my two sons was taken in 2007 — the same year I met her.

The way she saw me wasn’t how I had framed my own story. But clearly, it wasn’t only mine to frame.

For years, I minimized the parts of myself that felt different. What I hadn’t considered was that those same differences might make something feel possible for someone else.

Not long after that conversation, I heard a phrase that has stayed with me: lift as you climb.

I realized I hadn’t really been lifting. I had been avoiding — avoiding the visibility of those parts of my story, and the responsibility that came with it.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #GiveToGain. It resonates because “giving” isn’t always formal mentorship. Sometimes it’s simply visibility — allowing your full story to be seen, even the parts you once tried to edit out.

There’s an old Chinese proverb that says women hold up half the sky. For a long time, I focused on proving I could carry my share without drawing attention to it. What I understand now is that we’re all holding up a piece of that sky — and when we choose to lift as we climb, we make it a little lighter for someone else.

That’s what I’m reflecting on this week.

Happy International Women’s Day, everyone!