Balancing Challenges & Opportunities: Reflecting on Leading Through Crisis with WBC

Like most companies, CME Group had to adjust to the pandemic overnight – running an essential business with a global workforce working remotely. Despite the challenges we face, our employees haven’t missed a beat and we continue to find new ways to solve problems and innovate without meeting face to face. 

Keeping our markets open and running smoothly throughout the crisis isn’t the only challenge we’ve faced. The boundaries we set between work and home have blurred, as living rooms became offices and classrooms, and the very real stress of the living through a pandemic continues to weigh on our shoulders. 

This dynamic puts us all at risk of burnout, but it also creates circumstances that may disproportionately impact women and the progress we have made in the workplace. This is an issue that is close to my heart, and one that I recently had the privilege of discussing among other women leaders and entrepreneurs.

I was proud to join the Women Business Collaborative (WBC), an alliance of women’s business organizations, for an executive roundtable discussion on leading through a crisis. I encourage you to listen to our discussion to hear from other women leaders around how they are tackling the crisis head on and continuing to advance their businesses forward. 

So many have suffered as a result of the impact of COVID-19 on our health, economy and individual families. That said, it is hard not to be optimistic about the future after we have demonstrated what we are all capable of, even in the most strenuous times. The challenges today will accelerate change and will offer new and exciting ways to approach our lives and our businesses, but we must work equally hard to ensure that the pace towards equality accelerates as well.