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DORIS SUMNER: DEI CONSULTANT EMPOWERING GENDER OPPORTUNITIES
OVER A DECADE OF GENDER DIVERSITY ADVOCACY AND TRAINING
FROM COMBATING OVERT SEXISM TO FOSTERING GENDER DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
36 years of military service teaches you a thing or two about gender equity — or the lack thereof. In my role as Equal Opportunity and Diversity Manager for the Vermont National Guard, I was the advocate of the Equal Opportunity process and was involved in more reports of harassment than I care to count. And, as a woman in a male-dominated environment, I was subjected to it too.
Gender bias. Sexism. Sexual harassment.
These sound very clinical and sterile but describe events and situations that can carry a lifetime of trauma for those who experience them. How employers approach prevention of and responses to instances of harassment and discrimination are critical to not only corporate fiscal health, but employee wellness, motivation, and loyalty too.
Hi, I’m Doris!
I joined the Army at 18—completely unaware of the paths that had been paved for me. I integrated successfully into the male-centric culture, joining active-duty as a truck driver. I transitioned into the Vermont Army National Guard and was encouraged into an administrative position. A decade later I was assigned as the Equal Opportunity Officer for the Vermont National Guard. Then I began to recognize and understood disparate, gender-based treatment and outright sexism. I retired in 2019 as a Chief Warrant Officer Four with awards and accolades for my work to combat the sexism which our team concluded was the cause of sex-based harm and gender discrimination. I wanted to combine the leadership skills I developed in the Army with the passion I have for equality, so I launched my business Empowering Gender Opportunities, LLC.
AWARDS + ACCOLADES
- Legion of Merit: awarded to me by the Vermont National Guard for my work promoting diversity and inclusion
- National Chairperson for the National Guard State Equal Employers Council: appointed for my expertise and dedication to equal opportunity and diversity
- My memoir, Life At Camp, was endorsed by US Adjutant General., Martha T. Rainville Maj Gen (Ret), USAF
IS GENDER BIAS REALLY THAT BIG A DEAL?
No. It’s BIGGER. For individuals gender bias leads to gender pay gaps, decreased morale, marginalization, isolation, increased stress, physical illness, depression, burnout, systemic inequality, and cultural entrenchment. For employers, gender bias results in reputational harm, legal action, fines, compliance issues, high turnover, decreased productivity, stifled creativity and innovation, low trust, diminished collaboration, more infighting, lower sales, and customer alienation.
WHY "EGO?"
Empowering Gender Opportunities (EGO) is a reference to individual ego – a person’s sense of self. We all know that person who thinks too much of themselves and disregards others. We also know folks who have little self-worth and diminish their value and contributions. A large part of this lack of self-confidence comes from the implicit biases and sexism in society as a whole. In marketing, health care, career opportunities, political office, and more.
I founded EGO once I retired from the military because I wanted to continue serving women and female-identifying individuals, lifting their voices, and shining a light on the gender inequities that continue to exist in all industries.
LIFE AT CAMP: COMBATING THE SEXISM WE TOLERATE AND WHY THE MILITARY SHOULD TAKE THE LEAD
Life at Camp is a memoir interwoven with women’s stories of humiliation, shame, and triumph over sex-based violence and discrimination in the military.
It offers detailed strategies to change the culture that research has shown is the cause of sex-based harm.
And it offers a message of hope for any young person embarking on a dream, helping them develope the coping skills to be themselves despite the lure of assimilation.
"Life at Camp is essential—if not required—reading for anyone/everyone interested in a military career and deserves to know certain minuscule facts—that don’t easily come to light—which contribute mightily to the quality of the experience one might have.
"Chief Sumner’s provocative story unpacks what often feels like never-ending transgressions towards women soldiers—and unabashedly reveals the reality of male privilege—within the national guard."
~ Dr. J.W. Wiley
Empowering Gender Opportunities, LLC is registered with SAM.gov, which streamlines government contract awards, plus workplace harassment, diversity and inclusion, and employee harassment training.
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