A New Day for Women's Leadership? Obama's Chance to Get it Right

Last week in Parade Magazine, Barack Obama published a moving letter to his daughters--one that expressed not only his hopes for them but also his dreams for the rest of our nation's daughters. "I realized," he wrote to Malia and Sasha, "that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation."

It was a letter that resonated with me deeply, not just because I am a parent, but because the same rationale Obama lays out for what inspired him to run for office is what lead me to co-create The White House Project in 1999. In the seven preceding years I had received letter after letter from girls around the country who had participated in Take Our Daughters to Work Day (a venture I helped launch while at the Ms. Foundation for Women), who told me, among other things that they wanted--yes, expected--to be president one day. And I soon realized that if we adults didn't get serious about putting women into the leadership pipeline, we would have raised the aspirations of a generation of American girls without doing enough to actually make their ambitions achievable.

And while the enormous challenges of the national economy, health care and the dire international problems he faces will challenge President Obama to make good on his promises, I hope he will also remain focused on how vital it is, for his daughters and for all our children, that he continue to enlist women across this country in achieving his goals. He's gotten started by placing a few good women in his cabinet, particularly in the positions that deal with our nation's security: Secretary of state, Secretary of Homeland Security and a cabinet level appointment as US Representative to the United Nations. But these challenges will only be adequately met if he insists that all institutions begin to use all their resources-- especially those represented by our nation's women. That means filling leadership positions from the town councils on up with a diverse and critical mass of women who can govern alongside men and bring the new solutions to the table that we so desperately need.

I know there will be those who say we can't afford to be distracted by issues of gender when the crises we face loom large. But it is precisely BECAUSE we are in crisis that we must take immediate action to get more viewpoints to the table. As a wise colleague has consistently pointed out, if you are planning a trip to the moon, and leave out a vital coordinate, you'll get somewhere in space, but not to the moon. And that's what I fear: that we'll start on a path to solving these problems on earth--problems that are as challenging as the first moon voyage--without utilizing one of the most important assets at our country's disposal: our nation's grown up daughters.

Research by major national and international institutions shows that women bring important innovations to decision-making tables, are more apt to gather more data from those effected by decisions and to think more broadly and long-term about the effects of the solutions being proposed. Men are certainly able to do this as well, but history has made it more necessary for women to think and act in these ways, and their presence at tables of power encourages and supports the men to do the same--especially if women are represented in numbers large enough to make their presence "normal" for both genders.

If you're looking for examples of how women's perspectives have helped shape good policy in the past, here are but a few: it was local women who began the living-wage campaigns and micro-enterprise initiatives that are keeping many people from sinking into poverty at this moment. And they invented new ways to deliver health care, driven by the AIDS epidemic, as well as new approaches to safety through campaigns dealing with seat belts and drunk driving. What motivated them to push for these innovations? The same powerful force that compelled our soon-to-be new president to run for office: the promise of their children's future.

Which brings me back again to where I started. The first women who inspired us to begin Take Our Daughters to Work Day as a national program were the numbers of women from homeless shelters who responded to an early article, published, like Obama's letter, in Parade Magazine. These women pleaded with us to take their daughters to places and expose them to possibilities that would help them build lives different from the ones they were living--lives complete with jobs and homes, and of course, hope.

As he steps fully into his power as the 44th President of the United States, Obama and this administration must follow the lead of the more than 60 countries who rank ahead of us in women's leadership, and honor dreams of those women, and so many more, who want their daughters' futures to look as bright as their sons'. What a legacy that would leave for Sasha and Malia--and for all our nation's children.

Comments

[venturegirl]

It should be the best person for the job. However, the statistics and the facts show that in practice in business this is not the case. Going even further, statistically women get better grades in school, finish school more than men and get a larger number of advanced degrees than men. The statistics of women in business, in many finance fields and in senior mgmt are horrible. Women are paid less than men for the same job too.

[UKOH]

In politics as in the corporate work place the way forward is to pick the best people for the job, regardless of gender, race, religion or any other external factor. This is the principle Barack Obama has clearly used in chosing his administration.

The way forward for women is to BE the best person for the job. With all due respect to the recent revalations about Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton demonstrated for all who are not blind to see that she is clearly the best person for Secretary of State and a massive upgrade on the previous incumbent.

Where I would like to see men, women, all races, religions and orientations work together is to make certain that ALL people, regardless, have an equal chance to develop and demonstrate their skills, and that they are given an equal chance to prove they are the best.

That way diversity in politics and in the work place will take care of itself.

[KarenDuncan]

Either you don't work or you are new to the world of work!

[girlwild]

I remember when the Help Wanted ads were segregated by sex with the job categories. In some cases, there weren't any ads for women. This practice still continues although not overtly because of discrimination laws. It's practiced by not interviewing and then hiring women and minorities for the jobs that white males have traditionally held. Until this practice changes, there will still be underutilization of talented women and minorities.

[Rockerbabe]

Ms. Wilson, you sound as if you think only a man can advance women's status in our culture?! We have women in all levels of society, government and most levels of business - most got there by the trail-blazing efforts of other women, not men. Sadly, the best way for women to get to the CEO job is to suceed her father, but hey, advancement it is on some level.
I think it would have been spectular if so many of the "women leaders" of our country would have supported Senator Clinton's bid for the Presidency, but they refused and chose another member of the boy's club to be their standard-bearer. I realize he has a great tan, nice build and is silver-tongued, but as 51% of the population, if we don't support "our own" for office, we will always be left asking for what we want, need and deserve. We one has to ask, the possibility of no is always an option for the grantor of the request. I realize, that Obama, like Dubya, has 2 daughters and a lovely, well-educated wife, but I don't think that is going to improve my status in society or work. To do that, we women will have to get and use our own power.

[KarenDuncan]

I absolutely agree with you. If history has taught us anything it is that women are the only group who will stand for women; and, men will do so when it is politically expedient for their own gains and once their gain is accomplished it's business as usual with the majority of business being conducted with other men. My view of this historic event is not that once again a man was elected to be the President, but that an inexperienced man was chosen over an experienced and gifted woman. I look forward to Hillary Clinton's accomplishments, but her accomplishments alone will not change the sexist beliefs of this nation. Frankly, I am overly tired of Barack Obama already. He is not keeping his most important promises. The paltry tax cut he offers to the American people is nothing more than a crumb--I cannot even call it a bone, while stalling on raising taxes for the wealthiest 10%! His stimulus package reads like a line from the song "My Favorite Things" rather than a focus on immediate economic stimulus and rescue for the American people. Jobs across industry sectors, significant tax cuts, rebate checks, lowering interest rates on credit cards, increase unemployment benefits, providing healthcare for the unemployed and underemployed, a raise in minimum wage for those over 18, and addressing foreclosures--these are actions Americans need. I don't see anything new--just the same old male rhetoric coming out a new mouth.

[RadicalRepublican]

...That means filling leadership positions from the town councils on up with a diverse and critical mass of women who can govern alongside men ...

Ms. Wilson,

I understand the point you're making and fully concur with your arguement that women are under-represented in governmental decision making positions. Futher, I believe society will be better served once the power is balanced between men and women. What i don't get is how is President Obama supposed to "get it right" at local levels.

Respectfully,
mike

[KarenDuncan]

Leading by example and stating right out loud that sexism is alive in this country and will no longer be tolerated.

[venturegirl]

Are some of the people who commented kidding? There are vitually no women on Wall Street in management positions, a tiny percentage of women insenior mgmt in F500, women are not paid equally in most jobs, private equity doesn't hire women (please someone tell me the percentage of female partners in pe! It's a very small number) and there are less than 2 dozen minority women in venture capital in partner positions out of estimated 9,300 partner positions (See June 2007 article in the New York Times "In the Venture Capital World A Helping Hand for Women and Minorities"). Women suffer silently in bsuiness...even those with top 10 MBA's...they flat out don't get the same opportunities. i like to look at the problem this way. A prudent man would think that it would be irrational, a waste of time and a waste of an investment to send women to medical school if when they graduated they couldn't practice medicine. However, no one seems to find it irrational, a waste of time or investment to graduate women from MBA prgrams who are not hired into the fields they trained and studied for becuase they are women. They are also not present in mgmt jobs that they are statistically better prepared for than men. (Women are more highly educated, get better grades and graduate more than men). Wake up America. This is a complete waste of human capital and a sad story of institutionalized discrimination against women.

[SethBLiNK]

Does anybody really think this is going to be a problem in an Obama Presidency?

[mperry129]

Hmmm, let's see, to which positions of senior leadership has Obama appointed women?
Secretary of State, UN Ambassador, SEC Chair, Homeland Security Director, Council of Economic Advisors Chair, Communications Director, Intergovernmental Affairs, Energy and Climate Policy Coordinator, Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Labor Secretary, Domestic Policy Council Director.
Oh, we've also got a woman speaker of the house, not to mention female advisors to the president. Plus a woman got over 17m primary votes in an historic run for the presidency, and proved that women are qualified and able to be this country's president.
Am I missing something? Should we require that all senior-level positions be filled with women? Maybe, instead of just appointing the most qualified person, we should limit the field to only those individuals of the female gender?
The facts speak very clearly that Obama is willing to appoint the best person for the job, period. Ms. Wilson's prescriptive editorial sounds an alarm against the kind of politics that led to affirmative action. Rectifying inequality by artificially creating opposing inequality does not solve the problem; indeed, such measures only exacerbate the issues we face by creating resentment, doubt, frustration, anger, and other unwholesome feelings. The only way to achieve gender (and other forms of) equality is to provide the same opportunities and hold everyone to the same standards. Thus far, this administration lives up to that bar.
And by the way, equality is Take our Daughters AND SONS to Work Day.

[eshalom]

MPERRY129,

Your final statement reveals your ignorance of the effects of sexism and misogyny in America. Take your daughters to work was a program designed to help balance the playing field between males and females. The little boys were already able to identify with their dads in the work force and also had many other advantages over their little sisters. Apparently you've never heard of compensatory justice.

[kjo46]

I just flashed on the time in high school-- 1962-- we got to talk to professionals in the field we wanted to enter: I wanted to talk to a physician because that was what I wanted to be. I was told that as a female, I would be better off talking to a medical records clerk-- and that's who came to speak to those of us audacious enough to want to enter a man's profession.

[kevinw]

Obama's administration has a good number of women in it. Some are in very high profile cabinet and advisory capacity. Hilary Clinton is Secretary of State. He is supporting Caroline Kennedy for Senate. It does not get much higher profile than that. I am not sure from your article what exactly you are looking for. Is there a specific number or a certain position you want filled. Obama so far has made fairly diverse selections while also selecting the best and brightest for a particular area.

[eshalom]

Kevinw

As Georgetown law professor Heidi Li Feldman has pointed out at her blog:

"This is the person {Obama} who has retained Jon "The Groper" Favreau as his chief speechwriter; installed Tim "I'm not really for serious guarantees of Roe v. Wade" Kaine as the DNC Chair; appointed far fewer women to his cabinet or to cabinet-level positions than Bill Clinton did and barely the number that George W. Bush has (more on that here and here and best of all here). Between the choice of Rick "Women who exercise their right to abortion are like Nazis" Warren to give the invocation at the Inaugural Ceremony itself and total silence with regard to how the economic stimulus package he is proposing will aid those likely to be hit hardest - yes, women..."

[KarenDuncan]

We need more of a focus on the leadership and ideas of women that goes far beyond the female elite. I am disappointed in the lack of leadership that prevails in today's media in particular. It seems to be that the success of a minority of women is somehow taken as the success of the majority. Frankly, it is the values of women who have brought men like Obama to the possibility of being President of this great nation. He, like so many men, have a responsibility to acknowledge the great women who have supported them and to do so without subjugating women to a supportive role in the world of the United States. Frankly, Obama did not put enough women in his Cabinet and he needs to continue to make sure that women are included within leadership roles. I have to say that I am not convinced that Obama is not another sexist male in disguise and I am more inclined to see him as part of male establishment than a change in establishment. I for one will hold him accountable to his promises regardless of the economy. He knew about the problems when he ran for office; so I am surprised he would use the problems as excuses not to prevail. Perhaps he wasn't ready to lead. We'll see.

[Skylarstar]

Excellent article. I was fortunate to come of age in the 1970's when women knew the meaning of sisterhood and worked hard and long to open doors not just for themselves but for their sisters. Women remain the largest and most oppressed group in the world. Sexism is as prevasive as the air we breathe and almost as invisible. So few comments in response to such an important article. That alone says it all.

[Docbcs]

Thank you for this article. Women are probably the last minority, even though we are a majority. I'd like to add to your list of women's perspectives that Women Strike for Peace was among the first, if not the first, group to stand up against the Vietnam War. I am in complete agreement with you that we must be vigilant against a "we have too many other problems to focus on right now" orientation when it comes to women's rights and opportunities. As women, we've long been schooled to put our needs last: I'll do it after my husband finishes school, when the kids grow up, when Mom and Dad don't need me any more. If we don't count women as over 50% of our national resources, we are failing ourselves as a nation. Brava to the White House Project.

[dunlow]

Women don't support women: Ferraro, Clinton, Palin. A man will have to appoint them.

[Mari X]

Men don't support women. either. If you look around and ask questions, I think you will find that women would LIKE to support other women but we are so overburdened with everybody else's needs and wants that there aren't enough hours in the day for us to get together and help each other out.
This is what has been referred to as the feminist "backlash". I, personally, am not nor have I ever been a self-identified feminist. The label has been stuck on my back (much like the N-word used to be stuck on African Americans) because I have HAD to work in order to survive. No choices in the matter. It's a very unbalanced and unjust culture in the USA right now. Correction time!

[Mari X]

Mine is the first generation of women, in the entire history of humanity, that has been REQUIRED to find jobs outside of the home. As many of us have married and been divorced (it's not always our own choice, either) we have been put directly in competition with males for our own, and our children's, survival.
We are paid less for doing more work. We are responsible for the care of the elderly and the young, as well as for ourselves. Nobody is looking out for us. We are on our own to be tougher than, stronger than, faster than, smarter than, better looking than and better organized than any man, anywhere, with little or no support. There is still very little respect given to us for a job well done.
I submit that women are the new slave class in America. This is something I would like to see addressed, seriously, in the Obama administration.

[Skylarstar]

Mari_X, Generation X is not the first generation of women to be required to work. Poor, working class women have always had to work outside the home. Only they did so with even fewer protections than we have today. I grew up in a poor family. My father was a farmer; my mother worked in a garment factory for minimum wage and raised three kids. All the women I knew held regular jobs as well as taking care of their families.

I realized early my only way out was to get an education. Fortunately I entered the workforce in the 70's when I had many more options than my mother. I was there to watch the doors open for women, and I was there when the vicious backlash against feminism (which simply means equal opportunity and freedom) began. One by one I watched the doors close.

Women always have supported other women. Please read your history. Women fought and died in the early 1900's to earn the most basic of rights -- the right to vote. Read about the conditions most women have lived in throughout U.S. history. Then tell me how bad you have it now. Explain to me why any self-respecting woman would be ashamed to be called a feminist.

Racism is finally being taken seriously. Sexism is still ignored and those who fight against it are all too often ridiculed and demeaned.

A new age will not dawn so long as women remain oppressed.