PORT HUENEME, Calif. –
Retired Rear Admiral Kathleen Paige, once the chief engineer at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD), recently spoke to a packed auditorium about career barriers and challenges she faced and her personal experiences as a woman in leadership as part of the command’s celebration of Women’s Equality Day.
The Aug. 29 event, called Leadership in a Diverse Environment (LDE), sponsored by the command’s LDE II Cohort, promoted diversity and inclusion in the workplace as well as the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote.
While Paige spoke in the event’s first half, the second half took the form of a talk show called “WEtalk.” There were no giveaways or prizes under the audience seats a la Oprah, but some good advice was gifted and a lively discussion took place.
Paul Mann, NSWC PHD technical director, introduced Paige, and told the audience that he worked under her leadership during their tour at the command in the early 1990s.
Paige’s successful naval career continued after she left PHD, and included serving as the first Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.
“I have served in a number of leadership positions in the Navy,” Paige said, “and I happen to be a woman.”
Women are also leading large corporations, she noted, including major defense contractors Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman Corp.
“So, women are showing this ain’t no anomaly,” she added.
She credited her success to leaders who saw her potential.
“I wouldn’t have had the success I have without the help of my mentors,” Paige said. Rear Admiral Wayne Meyer, another alumnus of NSWC PHD, supported her work.
“He encouraged me to work hard, but he also believed I could succeed,” she said. “But I needed to believe I could succeed.”
Through his leadership and others, she eventually was able to see she could.
And she proved it in her career, becoming the Navy’s first Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System technical director, the principal advisor to the Missile Defense Agency director on all matters related to the planning and technical performance of BMD. Paige has also earned the affectionate title of “Mother” of Aegis BMD by those who have worked with her over the last couple of decades.
“Can WE Talk?”
Following Paige’s keynote address, the event segued to a more casual, engaging discussion on women’s equality.
Jamie Jones, an attorney in the command’s legal office, hosted the “WEtalk” talk show and welcomed guests who addressed the impact of equality within the command, the Navy and the world.
Jones started the discussion with her experiences as one of few women leaders at the command.
“I love my job, and I work with a great team of professionals at PHD,” she said. “But so many times, I am the only woman in the room during meetings and discussions.”
She added that women are making headway into the higher ranks right here at PHD.
Her first guest was Pam Lisiewicz, who, before retiring, was director for strategic and corporate planning at Naval Undersea Warfare Center headquarters. In addition, she played an important role in creating and standing up the LDE campaign to which she continues to contribute.
Lisiewicz said she first started her LDE campaign about five years ago after attending a conference of women leaders, many of whom complained about common issues in the workplace.
“My biggest challenge through much of my career is that I haven’t felt heard,” she said. “And at that conference, it struck me that all the women were saying the same thing. It occurred to me that I couldn’t contribute as much as I could because I wasn’t being heard.”
Lisiewicz said men would say the same thing she just said, but were given the credit when it was a good idea. It was then that she decided to start discussion sessions with women at all NSWC divisions.
Guest James Watkins, an NSWC PHD division manager and a prior participant of the command’s Lean In Circle program, spoke on women-specific challenges.
“During these sessions we address issues women go through in the workplace, such as facing the hard decision about choosing family over careers, which most men do not have to face,” he said.
He encouraged men to join a Lean In Circle to help them better understand some of these important issues.
“Understanding these issues will also help men become better leaders,” he added.
Joyceanne Sim, a mechanical engineer at PHD and another “WEtalk” guest, said she represents several aspects of diversity—being young, a woman of color and a woman working in a male-dominated workforce.
“We have to put out the word that we are not going anywhere,” she said. “We’re staying here. I say, ‘It’s 2019. This is what leadership looks like.’ Things are improving. We’re getting there, but we have to have an equal platform for our voice.”
Ramona Armijo, Lead for the NAVSEA Enterprise Inclusion and Engagement Council, also joined the talk show, and said her goal is to change the culture across the warfare centers and the shipyards.
“We have to address and support the workforce through our Employee Research Group,” she said. “The bottom line is to make this a better place to work.”
“Behavior change is challenging,” she said. “Some people are stuck in their habits. We want to like the people we work with, but the most important thing is to get the mission done.”
Rounding out the morning, Michelle Heaton, the command’s strategic communications director and LDE II Cohort lead, coordinated the event and summed up the problems discussed during the program.
“We’ve talked about diversity a lot, but this is different,” she said. “It’s about treating people with kindness and respect. We want to work at a place where everyone feels included so we can go forward with our mission, which is to support the fleet.”