| | CAREER OUTLOOK
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Cynthia Cody, director of process and finance governance at Macy’s Systems and Technology in Johns Creek, Ga., and Shirley White, IT senior manager with J.C. Penney in Plano, Texas, are veterans of the information technology field who say their industry now offers women more career options than ever.
“When I started my IT career in retail in 1980, I recall that about 40 percent of my programming certification class included women and about 40 percent of the entire IT department consisted of women,” says Ms. White. “To- day, I think that the percentage of IT women in retail is comparable to the IT industry as a whole.”
According to IT industry analysts, women make up about 10 percent of IT management and 1 percent of top management but over the years Ms. Cody has observed the numbers steadily increasing and moving from primarily first-line management into senior level mana- gerial positions. “It’s been proven women can prevail in the IT environment,” Cody said.
She notes also that women comprise the retail industry’s largest customer segment and Macy’s is keenly focused on figuring out how women think; why and when they spend as well as what motivates and inhibits their spending. Cody added that Macy marketers are continually trying to understand and meet the needs of its diverse customers through My Macy’s localization initiatives.
Part of Cody’s day-to-day responsibilities in- volves developing processes that enhance the customer shopping experience and corporate profitability. “If you think about it, everything we do is all about sales and profit,” she said. “In order to stay market- able, we have to have top-line systems.” Those systems involve everything from scanning the right price on merchandise to “having the right merchandise in the right location to meet the needs of that specific customer.”
Cynthia Cody, Director of Process and Finance Governance, Macy’s Systems and Technology
experience in buying and store management coupled with store reporting and analysis has proved beneficial in the development of IT systems.
Cody, who earned her MBA in finance from Atlanta Uni- versity, has been recognized for her work in IT including, a Macy’s Star Leadership award and the Chairman’s award. She offers the following advice to young women who are interested in the IT arena of retail. “... make sure you are prepared academically, don’t fear speaking up, and learn to think independently and not go along with the crowd.” She says being innovative, creative and thinking beyond what one is currently working on is critical to being successful.
She is excited about the future for her industry, particularly about the growing platforms consumers soon will be able to use to make purchases and receive goods with minimal delay. She shares that she antici- pates that in less than five years, customers will be able to go to a Macy’s store and use technology that will al- low them to “virtually” try on clothes.
Likewise, White, who
Cody has been with Macy’s for 30 years, and her ten- ure includes various areas of Macy’s business. She was recruited from Spelman College for Macy’s executive train- ing program. Starting as assistant buyer, she rose to buyer, sales manager and merchandise information officer. About 15 years ago she moved into IT as a business analyst. Her
30 WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2011
began her career with J.C. Penney in 1980, remains en- thusiastic about what’s ahead. “I’m really excited about the changes that I see in mobile technologies,” White said. “J.C. Penney has been aggressively leveraging mobile devices to enhance the customer shopping experience and connect with new and younger customers.” Major retail functions — integrating new apparel brands into the mer- chandise mix, opening new stores, or setting up in-store smart fixtures — all require IT involvement, White said. “The retail business is innovative and always evolving. IT is constantly transforming to meet new challenges, and it’s an exciting time for our industry.”
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