Overoming Challenges and Empowering Women in the Security Industry
Antonia Elliott: For me, really being a newcomer to this industry, I think the challenge for me has just been really wrapping my hands around all that we have to offer to not only our clients, but also our employees... And how really trying to figure out how we can help our employees, build careers,and what those learning pathways look like for them.
Silvia Portillo: Coming in as a woman in the industry, you're sometimes underestimated... So you have to really prove yourself and show that you, you know, you know what you're talking about to earn that respect from your peers and to your clients.
Misty Savage: The nature of the work that we do, the twenty four seven operation, you know, early in my career, I think it was really just figuring out that balance of... and then I think the key is creating the high performing teams that can help support you during the after hours. And I think that the challenge for me would definitely be the the twenty four seven nature of our business.
Antonia Elliott: I think that Securitas creates an environment where women can thrive by the women in this organization looking out for each other. I really feel that I was welcomed with open arms whenever I joined... by women. And I had that support. I had a safety net. I had people that were so open and willing to share information with me and really help me learn. So I am so grateful for the women in this organization for helping to lift me up, and I take it as a great responsibility for myself to help lift up others as well.
Silvia Portillo: I've been fortunate enough that I felt very supported by my managers. I've been given the opportunity to promote several times. So I feel that just with my hard work and dedication, I've been able to move up and I felt empowered by my managers.
Misty Savage: It's a combination of a number of things. It's unconscious bias training, it's inclusive hiring practices. I think it's having programs like, childcare support, right, that Securitas offers to their employees, discounted childcare. I think those are things that a company can offer that really help women thrive in the workplace. This is more of a personal story, but, you know, I started with Securitas when I was nineteen years old and for fifteen years, Securitas had been my number one priority. And then, my wife and I were expecting a a child... And so in my mind, I was kinda struggling with how am I gonna continue to be this rock star employee while now having a new priority in my life? And I came home from the hospital, and I found a gift basket from Securitas, waiting for me. And I think for me, that just made me feel so supported and that the company understood the position I was inand supported me in in this new journey.
Antonia Elliott: A pivotal moment for me at Securitas was when I was able to get that leadership buy in to truly invest in our employees and truly invest in leadership development... When I came in, I came in with a lot of big ideas. I was asking for a lot of money. I wanted to grow and expand our team, and I wanted us to truly invest in employees. And it was a hard sell, but we had leaders that really leaned in and were open to listening and open to, thinking about new and different ways to support our employees in their development.
Tommy Zarna: Yeah. I think that through this experience, you know, I'm sitting next to three, very intelligent women in our industry, in our company... But, giving another perspective, another voice at the table, that has predominantly been a a male voice, bring in other perspectives... We all come into every conversation with our own perspectives that are based on where we came from, the life, and how we grew up. Right? And so bringing in other voices, other perspectives, I think that's only going to push this industry farther,only gonna push Securitas farther.
Misty Savage: The advice I would give young women, entering this male dominated industry is tospeak up. Right? I think women often have the tendency to be a little, less assertive in the workplace. So I think I would encourage them to speak up... Their perspective, their ideas truly matter.
Antonia Elliott: I would just echo what what Misty said. Speaking up, raising your hand, not holding back, really realizing that we deserve to be here. Right? So before joining the security industry, I worked in hospitality and specifically in the casino industry, which is also male dominated. And I constantly, constantly had to claim my seat at the table and show that I do have ideas to share. So definitely speak up, take up space.
Silvia Portillo: I would say to not get discouraged. Work hard, learn as much as you can, and opportunities will present themselves, and people will see that, you know, you wanna move up to that next level.
The Power of Support and Inclusivity
Misty Savage: I love the global network. Right? While we're working, you know, in our individual business units solving problems, it's easy to forget that there's a whole global network of folks kinda running through the same challenges and and solving the same problems. So I personally love that I can network with folks internationally and they can help me solve various problems for clients and situations.
Silvia Portillo: I enjoy just working with my team and everybody that I met the last twenty five years, from people in the office, to clients, to security guards. I've seen some security guards that, you know, were supervisors and now I see they're my clients. So I think that's always, for me, I take pride in that because I see that they grew, from a security guard to now being somebody that I'm working with as as my client now.
Antonia Elliott: I love the level of commitment that people that have been here for so long, employees with so much tenure. I love what their commitment to the organization... They're committed to our purpose. They're committed to making Securitas a better place. There's so many people that are invested in problem solving and strengthening our offerings that we have for our clients and also building career pathways for employees. So I love that commitment, I love that energy. I love that, you know, you can talk to someone that's been herefor twenty plus years, and you can ask the question, why do we do things this way? And they might say, I don't know. But what ideas do you have? So, that openness for change and doing things differently is just a beautiful thing.
Tommy Zarna: Securitas gives us all the ability to go as far as we want to go. So I say it allows us to break through the glass ceiling that sometimes exists... Securitas gives us opportunities... Being part of a worldwide global company, has tremendous responsibility for us, but also gives us tremendous reach as well. Also, it allows us to get really close to our clients. So, we're able to connect with our clients at a very deep level to truly understand what our clients want, what our clients are needing, and how to solve needs for those clients. I look at this conference here, and I think that contract security is poised for greater growth than we've seen in a very long time. I look at the convergence of security, whether that be a physical officer and technology and how those two worlds combine. And I think the the future is very bright for Securitas in the industry.
Misty Savage: I think diversity plays a huge role. Right? I mean, everybody comes from different backgrounds and different experiences and when they bring that to the organization or to the team, you get a lot more new ideas and different perspectives.
Silvia Portillo: And it helps to get that different aspect, even when it comes to talking to the security guards, understanding them, understanding your clients sometimes, because that culture does play a factor on how to deal with certain clients, employees, in the workplace.
Antonia Elliott: We all have the opportunity to learn from each other. We create opportunities where maybe someone on our team who's, actually been in the role of a district manager has the opportunity to share with us about their experience as a district manager, and we are all learning. Despite our titles, we're all sitting there taking notes and learning together. So we have our different perspectives to share. Obviously, our our different backgrounds, play into how we may view situations, and we are so curious on our team... constantly asking questions. Well, how did you arrive at that? Well, how do you see this? So, that intellectual curiosity to understand different perspectives is super important, and it's great to have the diversity on the on the team.
