Let’s hear it for the Ladies!

Full disclosure, I wrote that title for clickbait… but I really don’t mind being called a lady.  Most of the time, I am one.  I am also generally alright with being called a girl depending on the context and the speaker (although girlie will send my blood pressure through the roof).  And some day, in the grand tradition of Rose Mofford and Bea Arthur, I hope to be a “tough old broad”.   

But whatever term is used to identify our fair sex, it’s a nice time to be a lady in Arizona.  Sure, as a State, we’ve got a lot of issues (see my previous post) and there’s still a ways to go with equality, but Arizona has better than average history of women leaders. Perhaps it began at the beginning, where soon after we became a state, Arizona's women gained the right to vote; a full eight years before the 19th amendment. Then, two years later, we elected Rachel Allen Berry to the State Legislature, the first woman elected as a state legislator in the United States.  In fact, Rachel led the way of many of Arizona’s women to hold office. Polly Rosenbaum, the longest serving State Senator and Margaret Hance, the first female Mayor of Phoenix were both trailblazers.  Who could forget the Fabulous Five of 1998? The girls (their term!) consisting of Governor Jane Dee Hull, Secretary of State Betsey Bayless, Attorney General Janet Napolitano, Treasurer Carol Springer and Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham Keegan, were elected - for the first time anywhere - to hold the Arizona’s top five offices.  And of course, there’s probably the grandest woman of the Grand Canyon State, the first woman Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor.

But beyond politics, Arizona hasn’t done so badly for women in business either.  In many industries normally dominated by men, Arizona has proven to be an early adopter. There’s Jay Parry, a veteran sports executive who went from working for Phoenix Suns to serving as the CEO of the 2015 Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. Early this year, we celebrated Jen Welter’s hire by the Arizona Cardinals, the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL.  From Pam Conboy, the spitfire leading Wells Fargo, to the no-nonsense Mary Martuscelli of U.S. Bank and many more, we see a bevy of women heading up some of Arizona’s largest banks and financial institutions.  Have you heard of Kim McWaters, the Chairman and CEO of Universal Technical Institute, the largest technical academy for professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians? St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has Patty White, a trained cardiovascular nurse, as their President, and she was the former protégée of Linda Hunt, the current President of Dignity Health Arizona.

In my field of philanthropy, women have always either created or helmed some of the most impactful charitable organizations.  Pat Petznick and Beverly Stewart started the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, and Christine Scarpati, the 35-year founding CEO of Child Crisis Center just announced her retirement.  Amy Gibbons oversees the nearly 100 person Board of Directors and the $33 million budget of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix. A networking maven, Laura Capello, President and CEO of Brothers Big Sisters, is one of my long-time friends in the charitable world and I am sure half of Phoenix could say the same.  

The lists and accomplishments of Arizona women could go on and on…  But what this tells me is while Arizona has some challenges, we are probably years ahead on this one.  No offense to our menfolk, but I’ve often thought of the saying “Men start wars.  Women start movements.”  when I try to wrap my brain around what we can do to solve the education, immigrant, or environmental problems of our state.  Maybe with continuing growth of women leaders in Arizona we might be able to hear all sides of the issues and come to decisions that build coalitions rather than tear apart.   Sure, that may be the Pollyanna in me talking. In any case, I am proud that I live in Arizona, a state that has women leaders that my sons can look up to and someday hope to emulate.