Red Wing CEO Allison Gettings on the Power of Representation: Women Who Rock
Growing up in Red Wing Shoe Co., Allison Gettings spent decades preparing to be the fourth generation of her family to lead the iconic boot company.
But the significance of also being its first female chief executive officer caught her off guard.
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“I hadn’t given a lot of thought and attention to the milestone that I would be the first woman,” she told FN last month. “I was much more focused on how do we grow the business? How do I continue to steward this amazing company with the same integrity as my predecessors.”
So it came as a surprise when colleagues, partners and family members began to share what it meant to them. For instance, Gettings recalled, women would stop her as she walked through the hallways to talk about the impact on their daughters: “They’d say, ‘I can’t tell you what it means to me to say, Yeah, my boss a woman. You can do this too.’”
She said that’s a clear example of the power of representation. By her just being in that role, it helps other women believe in the possibility of carving their own path.
But there are other ways Gettings works to empower women at Red Wing, including being vocal in hiring and leadership development conversations, to ensure the same opportunities are available to women as to men.
“To be fair,” she added, “our previous leaders did a great job of this as well. I’ve just felt a heightened sense of responsibility to make sure it remains clear to the organization that this is important.”
Red Wing offers company-wide learning opportunities, which Gettings said are especially popular among women. “We have a strong cohort of female leaders at the director level who have really embraced this,” she said.
On the more personal level, Gettings said she feels accountable for creating awareness among men in the company about the unique challenges women face as working mothers.
“I came into this role off of maternity leave, so you can imagine the constraints that I had in terms of feeding my baby and getting home at a decent time. How would I travel?” Gettings recalled. “This became an open conversation with my male colleagues.”
And though that experience felt awkward and uncomfortable, Gettings said, “I felt a strong sense of responsibility to make sure that all eyes are open to the issues women face when they come off a maternity leave — or as they go through any new chapter in their lives.”
A version of this article appeared in the Feb. 3 print issue of FN, as part of the “Women Who Rock” special section. On Feb. 4, FN and Two Ten Footwear Foundation will honor these women at the annual live event in New York City.
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