Wilson, Chap 3-5

In this week’s reading from Wilson’s book, she states that in order for women to saturate the workforce as leaders they need to “be seen as commanding and powerful…” (p 33) While I agree with this statement wholeheartedly, it is easier said than done. In my experiences and from what I have observed, women walk a very fine line between being “in charge” and being a bitch. So often I have heard people call a woman who knows what she wants (and gets it) and is in a position of authority a bitch. All of the sudden because a woman has power or is in charge she is seen negatively. Yet, when a man takes on this same role he is to be swooned after because he’s “so powerful” or because he’s assertive. Why the double-standard?

Furthermore, not only are women faced with this name calling, many people expect it. For instance, in my previous school I was on Student Government and was Chair of the Assembly. Running meetings and making sure the board did what they were supposed to was my responsibility, so essentially I ran the board. I was told time and again, if I was doing my job well most people wouldn’t like me and I would hear people calling me a bitch. And I did, while I got along with everyone I did not walk away from that role having many close friends from the board even though I worked closely with them. And they voted me into that position! Many people resented my job even though they all knew it was necessary for the board to run smoothly. However, when I first joined Student Government a man was in that position, no one ever called him names. They just said he was doing his job, and part of that job was being assertive and telling people they had to accomplish certain tasks.

After I left that position, even while I was in it, I realized just how much people need to change. At least half that board was women and instead of getting support I faced resentment. And the men on the board were constantly challenging me even though I knew more than most people on the board about the way our university ran. Unfortunately, I don’t think people even realize what they are doing. They didn’t notice that I was doing the same job as the guy before me and saying the same things. They only noticed that I was a girl in power, and apparently something about that needed to be challenged time and again.

This leads me to comment on something that Shannon pointed out from the reading: that women need to work together. Even though the majority of the people on the board were women, I got little support. If the women who worked with me could have seen past my authority they could have learned a lot. I could have taught them more about the university so they too could have reached a position within the University where they had a strong voice, as I did. I wanted to work with them and teach them, but most of them wouldn’t let me because of that resentment. So, even in a position with power, it’s hard to get women to work together. But that is, I believe, the key component in getting more women into leadership roles.