What is Boston doing to keep top non-tech talent here in Boston and Cambridge? What are we doing wrong to lose WomenPreneurs to NYC!?!?
My sister, Lauren has always been the creative type. She didn’t have to work as hard as I did for an A in History, but her passion has always been on the artistic side. She liked art class more than I did. Women like her deserve all the world has to offer them, but does Boston do a poor job at keeping these type of women here? I think that answer is a clear yes as we sit here in 2010. What are we going to do to change this mentality and get more companies like Rue LaLa and gemvara to open their doors here in Boston? The Boston world has fostered the tech and innovation economy but what about other forms of business that women are driven towards? Not to burst everyone’s tech bubble but not ALL women love technology and geek out as much as you and I do about it.
From when I was a little girl to going through high school and then college I always thought Lauren was doing better than I was at accomplishing our dreams. That could be because she always knew what she wanted to do. It started out with creating amazing paintings, transforming over the years into the idea of going into fashion design to actually pursuing that dream.
What I remember from our early days was Lauren always holding me by the hand, forcing me around the yard, telling me what to do and where to go. Guiding me in her directions. Were those the right directions? Looking at the situation from the now and looking back, I wonder if this driven and strong mentality is one that Boston cannot handle or hack for people with her goals in terms of fashion and art. Even though Boston WomenPreneurs are stomping ground and unsettling the pavement beneath us, New York City still holds a candle to Boston in the fashion space.
So what does this have to do with you? My sister graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Marketing and Management. Her heart has always been in creation, in fashion and in design. Not necessarily the business world but she went to Tulane to make my parents happy. Lauren then made the choice to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology and follow her innate dream to pursue artistic creation through fashion design.
After she graduated from FIT she moved back home to design for Reebok in Canton, MA. For about 4 years she worked at Reebok as a top designer for Women’s Contemporary Sports Wear. Creating passionate and innovative designs, creative and modern sports wear for us WomenPreneurs to wear during our work outs after a long, hard day at the startup. 🙂
Lauren made the jump to New York City about a month ago, took the chance, quit her job and yet again has followed her dream of moving back to the concrete city. Her ideal stomping ground that has been known to foster this type of talent. New York is awesome for a lot of different careers. Boston couldn’t offer her what she was looking for in the fashion and design world. I hope that we don’t lose women like her as we move forward in creating Boston as a Tech Mecca. We need to gain traction in the areas of fashion and art to sustain different kinds of women pursuing careers here in Boston in all areas of business.
What are some of the areas of business that Boston could do better at sustaining to create open environments for growth opportunities? Let’s work together to help women like my sister stay in Boston or Cambridge to pursue their dreams. Is Boston and Cambridge focusing all their efforts into one niche area? How can we help change this stigma? Let’s do it together.