COLGATEPALMOLIVE

Location: New York, NY

Company Revenue:

$17 billion

Employees: 34,000

Industry: Consumer goods products

Anne Tate Bedarf

Senior Manager, Packaging & Plastics Sustainability

Tell us about your background and how you got into the packaging industry. A trash obsession started when my second grade teacher had us put our trash for a week onto the oor. I can literally see that classroom in my mind! Zero waste drives my professional and personal life. We don’t have home trash pickup.

I started as an environmental consultant where I worked on everything from hazardous material to wetlands delineation. After graduate school doing eld explorations in Nicaragua, I worked for the local government where we managed a recycling center and land ll. [It was] invaluable to witness the ow of waste and interact with the public.

What are some of the challenges that you have faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry?

I’ve had people — not always male — explain things to me that I know well, and I’m always fascinated by those assumptions. I’ve never been harassed but have de nitely been dismissed to the point of tears. I’ve had a male boss many years ago apologize for his behavior, which felt like progress. Being direct about negative experiences takes courage and is necessary.

What is required for more women to advance in this industry?

I think we have to think in terms of better representation of women in positions of leadership and decision-making authority, and to root out unconscious bias. That means a stronger pipeline of talented women entering the eld. We need to be aware of bias in recruiting, interviewing, and collaborating. We need to ensure every team is well-represented. Normalize stay-athome dads and treat family support as essential care. Colgate has a program where you can take a few hours off for your child’s rst day at school. How amazing is that?

What do you think are some of the key factors that have contributed to your success in the industry?

Tenaciousness. I don’t consider “no” to be a nal answer. Also empathy. I always try to see things from somebody else’s view and how it might affect them.

Finally, the discipline to think through a literal life cycle of a product or material. Where is it sourced, how is it used, and where and how is it disposed of? It’s important to consider the impact of everything we do, buy, or dispose of.

What advice would you give to young women who are considering a career in packaging? De nitely do a hands-on internship, or several, to see what you really enjoy. At Colgate, we really invest in our interns and many of them have come back post-graduation, so keeping up those connections can lead to great things.

These days there are many specialty areas within packaging — materials, life cycle analyses, classic packaging engineering, design, policy, public communications, and of course sustainability. Product design also is closely linked. Figure out what you enjoy then focus your training on that topic. I personally think sustainability will underlie all business models as well as the product/package interplay, and recommend everyone have solid background there.