On Sept. 4, at publisher Fred Gabriel’s request, I gave remarks at Crain’s “Women of Influence” luncheon, reflecting on how far women have come during the 57 years since I entered the professional workforce, but also noting that we have yet to achieve a truly level playing field.
Growing up in the ‘50s, our professional female role models were teachers, nurses and secretaries who rendered essential services but were not in charge. As a kid, I sat by the radio in Madison, Wisc., and listened to Pauline Fredrick broadcast the world news from her post as the voice of the United Nations. She was the first and only female voice in the news media at the time. When our class was assigned to write to the person whose career we wanted to emulate, I wrote to Pauline in New York City. And she wrote back, encouraging me to become a journalist. In response, I reported for and edited every school newspaper, from junior high through college.
As college graduation approached, I applied to become a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, only to be informed that, if hired, I could start as a typist and work my way up to the society page. Not my thing! So, upon graduation, I took a bus to New York City and got myself a job in public relations at a broken-down community hospital in Brooklyn.
I never achieved my dream of being a political journalist, but I found a city where women were beginning to assert themselves and move into leadership positions. I met Shirley Chisholm and Carol Bellamy, Marcia Kramer and Rosanna Scotto, then a few years later Chief Judge Judith Kaye, Mickie Siebert (the first woman with a seat on the New York Stock Exchange), Donna Shalala (the Hunter College president who went on to be the first woman to lead a Big Ten university in the town where I grew up). In the labor movement there was Sandy Feldman and Lillian Roberts. In 2000, Hillary Clinton became our first woman senator from New York.
In the years since, we have elected Kathy Hochul as our first woman governor and Tish James as our first woman attorney general. Women are leading most of our major universities, and there are 55 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.
Women have come into their own during my professional lifetime, but our influence is still nowhere near equal to men and, sadly, we seem to be losing ground. Much to celebrate, and much cause for concern about the future.
Our last three presidential elections were proof to me that male chauvinism still trumps feminism in American politics. Take one look at the current president’s cabinet and tell me that women are no longer judged on their appearance. Consider the fate of our city’s first woman police commissioner, who had the talent and the title but was unable to run a department still driven by testosterone.
When Chris Quinn looked like she was going to be our first female mayor, news coverage of the campaign focused on what she was wearing or how shrill her voice could be. Her wedding got substantially better coverage than her policy positions. The women of influence in the media, as well as those at companies that advertise, have got to stop putting up with this stuff.
If we are to achieve gender equity, the women’s movement needs a new strategy that does not depend on new laws, executive orders or court decisions, which are likely to be reversed or not enforced. The days of progress based on government action are over. Yes, we still must advocate for adequate public funding of childcare and elder care, for education and reproductive health services. But our focus should move toward a more profound culture change – something that government cannot and will not deliver.
Unlike when I started my career, women now occupy enough positions of power that we can drive culture change. But we are not exercising our collective power. We have become accustomed to asking city, state and federal government to fix things for us.
The “Me Too” and “Times Up” movements were attempts to move in the direction of citizen action, but both lacked multi-sector leadership and were too narrowly focused on negative issues to inspire broad engagement. The vocal outpouring of support that Jessica Tisch is receiving for her efforts to reform the NYPD is a clear example of how we can advance culture change in our most chauvinist institutions. Hopefully this is a sign that we have learned something since the resignation of Keechant Sewell.
As a side note, my message to younger women is, if you intend to be a woman of influence in business, government or the nonprofit world, do not expect to achieve work-life balance. On the contrary, it’s a 24/7 scramble, requiring a great support network of family, friends and colleagues. The biggest mistake I have seen women make as they climb the ladder of success is thinking they will make it on their own. These women tend to get isolated and are often taken down. And it’s not enough to have a great sponsor or mentor, or a cooperative house spouse, or a strong team and good professional and political networks. You need all the above.
I will end on another personal note. My first job at the Partnership in the 1980’s was to develop affordable homeownership housing in burned-out neighborhoods. The Partnership CEO at the time was threatened by the success of our program and determined to fire me. Three women with top jobs at Chase, JP Morgan and AmEx intervened with their bosses, who were leaders on our board. With the help of Preston Robert Tisch (Jessie’s great uncle), my job was saved and that insecure Partnership CEO lost his.
On my own, I would never have gone on to an amazing career at the Partnership. From that time, I have done whatever I could to make life difficult for those men and women who do not support the advancement of women. I urge everyone within earshot to do the same!
The writer is the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City.
