Maggie Miller, celebrating women in business
Maggie Miller is the President at the Stevie® Awards, a global, all-encompassing business awards organisation that hosts eight awards competitions annually. Stevie Awards are proud to offer award categories for every type of organisation, whether it is a two-person startup, a mid-size company, or a Fortune 500 company. We sat down with Maggie to find out more about how she has achieved her career successes.
Share with us your career journey, how did you get to where you are today?
I think it’s important to share that my dad, Michael Gallagher, founded the Stevie Awards when I was a kid. He had previously worked in television awards and wondered why there were barely any awards to recognise business people like you and me.
So, I was able to do little tasks for him and clerical work to get my first taste of the business world. After I graduated from college, I took the first job offer I got, which was probably a mistake. Six months later I wasn’t really enjoying it, so I interviewed for the role of Communications Manager at Stevie Awards. I accepted and have been with the Stevies ever since. I completed my MBA in 2019 and was given the role of President to take some of the load off my dad, but he still works as hard as ever.
As the President of The Stevie Awards, can you share with us the importance of recognising women in business?
Supporting women is huge for me. I consider myself an advocate for all women but specifically those in underrepresented groups. Though women in the workforce have made great strides, there is still a lot of work to be done.
In 2021, only 2% of venture capitalist funding went to women. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business programme is particularly special to us because the women, usually small business owners, who win are so ecstatic. Their acceptance speeches are very personal and emotional compared to our other competitions. Because women-owned businesses are typically smaller, this programme puts them on an even playing field when they submit nominations and allows for awesome networking opportunities at our ceremony and at the Women|Future Conference.
The Women|Future Conference has recently passed, what are the core values behind the event?
The Women|Future Conference celebrates women in business, professional and personal development, and progress. The conference tagline is Cultivate Your Tomorrow. Attendees explore a variety of topics including mental health and financial wellness, imposter syndrome, entrepreneurship, and preparing for the changing business landscape through keynotes, panels, and educational sessions. We created this conference four years ago to be presented in conjunction with the Stevie Awards for Women in the Business ceremony, so those flying in for the event could have further learning and networking opportunities. COVID has made the conference virtual, but this allowed for women all over the world to join.
What is the importance of working with communities, such as March8, to share success stories?
The more you hear about how others are achieving success and happiness, the more it inspires the reader to do the same. It has been a tough few years for everyone and I hope stories like these let people know they can really do anything they want to. We always tell potential Stevie Awards entrants you can’t win if you don’t submit a nomination. I think that goes with anything in life – you can’t reach your goals if you don’t put yourself out there.
