Episode Description
This episode is part of the DEI Symposium Series, developed from the DEI Symposium presented at the 2025 NCDA Global Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Debra Sgro and Dr. Karen Ingram discuss barriers to women’s advancement in male-dominated careers and the concept of the “broken rung,” noting representation drops sharply at higher leadership levels in technology and education. Dr. Ingram describes intersectional challenges as a woman of color, the politics of advancement, and earning a doctorate to meet credential expectations and strengthen her leadership voice. Debra recounts being denied an expected promotion, pushing for an off-cycle promotion, and learning self-advocacy and visibility. They also discuss gender bias and offer tips including assertive boundary setting, documenting contributions, building reciprocal relationships, thinking entrepreneurially, and pairing self-advocacy with amplifying other women.
Deborah Sgro is a certified career professional with a private practice, Beyond The Glass Ceiling, LLC. She specializes in coaching technology and business professionals at all levels to achieve their envisioned career. As a former senior financial technologist professional, she worked on Wall Street for over 40 years developing technical solutions addressing business objectives for the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, and BNY Mellon. Throughout that time, she also groomed emerging talent by establishing and running mentoring programs, providing on-the-job training sessions, and personally coaching to assist people with their career advancement goals. Deborah holds a CCSP certification from the National Career Development Association. She is also a certified project manager and certified Agile Professional from the Project Management Institute. Deborah holds two master's degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology, one in Computer Science and the other in Technology Management. She is on the Board of Advisors for Women in Big Data, and is the Global Mentoring Director for that non-profit professional association. Deborah also addresses corporate women resource groups, university audiences, and presents at NCDA conferences on all aspects of career advancement. For more information: www.linkedin.com/in/deborahsgro
Dr. Karen Ingram is the Career and Technical Education Director for Davidson County (North Carolina) Schools and current President of the North Carolina Career Development Association.
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