In many ways, the two of us are like real-life versions of Mattel’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Barbie. We represent two of the largest companies in the world, Microsoft and Google, and are leading programs that support private sector action in solving the climate crisis while helping drive the business. A few months ago, in a nod to the eco-leadership line of Barbies that Mattel launched in partnership with longtime conservationist Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute, one of us (Kate) posted on LinkedIn that in the 1980s, we had Malibu Beach Barbie. Now, it’s Chief Sustainability Officer Barbie–and this can be seen as one measure of progress. Since then, we have been getting myriad questions about our vision for the CSO role and how environmental sustainability is touching every corner of our businesses.
But one of the persistent questions we have received is one that leaves us feeling conflicted, conjuring both a sense of pride but also of concern: What it means to be a “woman leader”–in our industry, in the sustainability space, in the C-suite.
