Shelley Zalis is a feisty, courageous, curious, rule breaker who in her own words takes on the role of Chief Trouble Maker. She says “I no longer wanted to be the exception to the rule, I wanted to create the new norm” and has devoted her career to supporting and bringing visibility to women. As founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, she unites leaders across industries to collaborate around advancing equality. Her goal is to close the gaps that continue to hold women back across parity, pathway, pipeline, and policy.
This episode is packed full of quotes that I love from Shelley such as “It’s not going to fix itself, we have to actively close one door and open another. If we keep talking about things and admiring the problems we will continuously widen the gaps.”
We discuss the zig zag path that got Shelley to where she is today. The things that made her who she is, her parents who she describes as incredible role models. From a father, the adventurer who encouraged Shelley and her sisters to live in the moment and experience everyday with wonder and curiosity. To a mother who taught all of the girls to believe in themselves and to have confidence. Shelley describes her upbringing as being ‘remarkable’ and all about ‘values’. The result of which being she lives her life with a no regret policy to life – no should of, would of, could of. Believing in saying yes or no to things but never saying you don’t care about something. “Do everything you do with purpose and passion.”
Zalis is an admired speaker and member of the Washington Speakers Bureau. She is a skilled moderator who has interviewed influencers such as Katie Couric, Halle Berry, Sheryl Sandberg, Gabrielle Union, and Arianna Huffington on the subject of equality and leadership. Zalis authors a Forbes column that mentors women in the “messy middle” and helps them reach the next level in their careers. She is co-founder of #SeeHer, a movement led by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) to increase the percentage of accurate portrayals of women and girls in advertising and media, and sits on the board of directors for MAKERS and ColorComm.
For more about the Female Quotient and the amazing work they do go to:
https://www.thefemalequotient.com
If you are curious about who you are, your brain and the influences in your life then please dip into my most recent book Mirror Thinking – How Role Models Make Us Human.
Or my award winning first book Defining You – How to Profile Yourself and Unlock Your Full Potential
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