Poker is known as a game of focus, strategy, and determination. Those are all qualities that are also prevalent in the workplace, writes Kayla Webster for The Wall Street Journal. 

In Fortune 500 companies, women are glaringly underrepresented. Those qualities can be a catalyst toward closing that gap. 

Jenny Just, a fintech founder, helped launch Poker Power, an organization to teach women how to play the card game.

Those who have participated have been able to benefit in the workforce, due to some commonalities.

According to Erin Lydon, a former day trader and JPMorgan vice president who helps run Poker Power, the similarities include learning to read people and playing to win. 

“Anytime you are undermined, or someone thinks less of you or that you’re not capable, you’re in a position of strength,” said Lydon.

The option to fold is another commonality in poker and in the workforce.

In the latter, it means to give up until the next game; in the workplace, it can mean taking time to think before making a decision. 

“Women are so eager to please, we don’t let ourselves pause,” Lydon said. “And pausing in poker is the only way you’re going to win the game”

Read more about how poker can be a catalyst for helping women succeed at work at The Wall Street Journal.

_____