For Jennifer Bradway, senior vice president and corporate controller, International Women’s Day is a time to think about how we are empowering and supporting women as an organization. As we move into Women’s History Month, we celebrate Jennifer and the many leaders and associates driving growth and development opportunities for women at Ecolab.

In the second episode of our IMPACTful Dialogues series, Dexter Davis, vice president, Human Resources, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, spoke with Jennifer about her role as an inclusive leader, executive sponsor of our E3 employee resource group (ERG) and the significance of International Women’s Day. The series, hosted by Dexter, features leaders exploring their experiences and leadership within different markets and functions.

Here are some highlights.

Dexter: What advice would you give to a woman coming in, especially in a field like finance or within our businesses, where they may not see many other women in senior leadership positions?

Jennifer: Be you. That took me a while to figure out. I tried to do certain things to fit in, perhaps in ways that weren’t exactly who I am. What I found was that more success came the more I was who I naturally am, because it’s just easier to be who you are.

If you’re looking for a sense of belonging that is somehow missing from the area that you’re in, find a tribe. Sometimes that can come through our ERGs, sometimes that can come through just networking, and you’ll eventually find some people who you really click with. But I think it’s important to find those people in the organization that can be a community for you.

Dexter: As executive sponsor for E3, how has your experience with inclusive leadership impacted your role in driving growth through the empowerment and advancement of women? And how does it inform your involvement in Ecolab’s Executive DE&I Council and Finance Talent Council?,

Jennifer: If you're an inclusive leader, you will get the absolute best ideas and best performance out of the teams. And the leaders of our ERGs are some of our most amazing emerging and current leaders in the organization. So sometimes for me it's just sitting back and taking in all of their great ideas and being a cheerleader and an advocate for them. Clearing the path for them tends to be my job in that space. It's not me directing or coming up with ideas or things like that. It's listening. It's asking questions and then it's clearing the road.

Dexter: As you're talking about that it just reminds me of all the impact E3 has made in our organization and your leadership in helping, supporting and partnering is such a big piece of that. As we're moving out of Black History Month, what does Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day mean to you, and why is it important that we recognize it?

Jennifer: I love that it’s this thing that comes around on an annual basis, because it allows me to take stock. Where were you a year ago? Where are we today? Where do we want to be?

So I like this sort of annual scorecard, and it’s qualitative for me — how does it feel like we’re making progress as an organization? We’re making progress, but I think we’ve got a journey yet to go. So that’s what I love about it. It’s just this moment to step back, celebrate the successes that we’ve had so far, and recognize that there’s more work to do.