International Women’s Day was Monday, March 8.  We will be celebrating accomplished Ford women throughout the month of March with a special series of conversations on @FordOnline.    

A Conversation with Courtney Bryant

What is your role at Ford?
I am a member of the Office of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. My role mainly focuses on the metrics and measurements that we use to create and evaluate our progress in the DEI space.

What’s the most valuable experience that shaped your career?
In my very young career, graduate school has been so incredibly valuable. The process of earning a PhD taught me how to think critically and deeply about a topic, including systems thinking which requires a mindset shift for how to view the world. This way of thinking has shaped my ability to contribute meaningfully and I’m so grateful.

If you were able to go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self? 
Don’t feel pressured to choose a path. Sometimes, you have to walk many different paths to end up where you are supposed to be so don’t stress the journey so much.

What do you think is the key to achieving work/life balance? 
The question is really “where is the key” and I think it must be hidden somewhere mysterious along with the fountain of youth and pandora’s box (if you find it, let me know!). Instead, I have decided to choose joy. I try to prioritize what I need to in the moment to maintain a happy life. Along the way I’ve learned that sometimes you drop the ball, but you have to know which balls are rubber (it’ll be ok) and which balls are glass (unrepairable).

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I would want the power to control time. It would be great to freeze time when I need some extra hours in the day, speed through uninteresting events, and go back in time to do some things differently.

The theme of 2021 International Women’s Day is “Choose to Challenge.”  How will you help forge a gender-equal world? 
My entire career is dedicated to forging a world of equality. I will help forge a gender-equal world by facilitating the change of everyday behaviors that contribute to systems of oppression. Eventually, I want to tackle inequality at the systems level and create new types of organizational structures and policies that would prevent bias from creeping in. Outside of career aspirations, I hope to raise the next generation of system breakers by being a role model in the community.