Judy Marks, CEO and president of elevator giant Otis, said she had one big tip for students in school to keep their options wide for careers.
The boss of the $38 billion firm that manufactures elevators and escalators told Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen in a recent podcast episode that she would encourage all children to pursue STEM subjects.
“I would tell anyone — girl, boy — stay in math and science,” she said. “I mean, you know, it’s the only career you can actually, at 10 to 12 years old, take yourself off an entire future career path, whether it be in STEM or something else, by just getting off the math and science path.”
Marks said she advises students not to make such a significant decision so young.
When asked how she could encourage more women to enter male-dominated fields, Marks, one of a small handful of female leaders in industrial companies, said, “I don’t think it matters if you’re a good leader.”
She explained that in her almost 41 years in the industry, it has always been a sector more attractive to men.
“To me, this is just my normal,” Marks said. “I don’t think I’ve experienced things different than, you know, if you’re in retail or consumer packaged goods, or telco [a telephone company].”
“There are problems to be solved, there are businesses to be led,” she said, adding that there are opportunities from pretty early in life for STEM programs, which women should be taking advantage of.
Marks said she cares about women having opportunities in industries where they’re underrepresented.
“They need to perform, but they can, and I don’t understand how some companies or other organizations would not want access to half the world’s talent,” she said.