Showcasing the value of women
After speaking to each of the women featured in this magazine, I was inspired. We need more women like them in leadership!
This immediately led me to question, why aren’t there more women like them in leadership?
After all, good leaders are empathetic, good listeners and communicators, excellent negotiators, and talented at conflict resolution. They need to be productive, multitask, juggle responsibilities, and prioritize. They must be intuitive, inquisitive, and intelligent.
Frequently women have played all of those roles in their lives, as they’ve navigated homelife and work responsibilities. And they’ve done them well.
But is that part of the issue? Unless women can be perfect at everything, do they sell themselves short?
Many of my women friends in leadership have expressed that they believe different expectations are placed on women than men. A woman who is vocal is considered pushy or aggressive, whereas men are deemed assertive. Even as women are smashing glass ceilings everywhere, many women continue to feel talked over or invisible.
I don’t mean to negate the talents of men in leadership. I have worked with many men who were and are excellent leaders; but this issue isn’t about them. Our goal should be to create symbiotic teams where both men and women are heard, respected, and empowered. And, as long as we’re on the topic, paid equally.
Research has shown that men are often seen as more competent and capable of leadership that women, even when they have the same qualifications (Forbes). According to the World Economic Forum, women occupy just 33 precent of leadership positions globally as of 2022. Only 31 percent of CEOs are women.
How do we begin to break down those barriers? It’s going to take a while to chip away at long standing gender biases. It’ll take a concerted effort to examine pay scales and hidden prejudices. Women need to support women. And women also need to cut themselves a little slack.
There probably isn’t a woman alive who didn’t wish at one point or another (maybe every single day) they could be in two places at once; soccer games and band concerts compete with conferences and stressful workloads. Home cooked meals frequently turn into drive-through dining on the go. And there’s never been five straight minutes where there wasn’t laundry to do.
Like America Ferrera said in “The Barbie Movie,” (discussed inside by Nadia Effendi B’09, who works for Mattel)
“It is literally impossible to be a woman … we have to always be extraordinary but somehow we’re always doing it wrong.
You have to be a boss, but you an’t be mean. You have to lead, but you cant’s squash other people’s ideas. You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the … time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men’s bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you’re accused of complaining. You’re supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you’re supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and no one gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.”
Women need strong role models because as Dawanna Wit B’07, M’13, Hennepin County Sheriff, says, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” And women (and men too) need to work for organizations that support better work-life balance.
Businesses and organizations need to spend more resources training and mentoring women in leadership.
And as Chrissy Downwind M’17, the first American Indian women to hold a vice president position at a four-year university campus in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, says, if women need to shatter glass ceiling standing in their way – they need to walk around with a big hammer.
Enjoy this issue! These alumnae have some amazing things to say.
Deb Nahrgang
Saint Mary’s Magazine Editor
