Winning

Winning

What we've already won is huge

It’s often been observed that anyone who would write a book about women leaders back in 1990 and title it The Female Advantage must be optimistic, if not downright deluded. And I do plead guilty to being a glass half-full type.?

But this passion for looking on the bright side has kept me going through decades when many saw only incremental progress for women, and when the plaintive question “Why so slow?” dominated conversations about women in the workplace. Focusing relentlessly on the positive has enabled me to keep setbacks in perspective, maintain my spirits and the spirits of those around me, and discern the shape of a more hopeful future.?

Recently, women’s progress in the workplace has seemed at odds with setbacks in the political arena, especially in regard to reproductive rights and the kind of casual public misogyny that tries to pass itself off as free speech. But my habit of looking for positives has become too ingrained to permit the kind of pessimism and fear I hear many expressing about next week’s election to cloud my perspective. Women have simply come too far to accept going back. Finding our voices, we’ve lost the habit of submission. And too many men support our aspirations.

Male support has become a major workplace theme, starting in 2014, when UN Women announced its HeForShe initiative, spurring organizations large and small to follow in its wake. The guiding idea was that, since men as well as women benefit from women’s empowerment— at work, at home, in public life— they should make common cause to improve women’s standing. Whereas women had previously been urged to engage male colleagues primarily as mentors and sponsors— a relationship that implies a difference in status— the program urged both men and women to engage one another as allies, a more reciprocal form of relationship.?

I was thinking about this as I watched Barack Obama, Tyler Perry, Bruce Springsteen, and Senator Raphael Warnock take the stage with Kamala Harris at her October 24 rally in Georgia. Warnock made the theme of alliance explicit when he proclaimed that “Our individual location isn’t as important as our collective destination. We are one people. Let’s rise together. Let’s win the moment together!”

This obviously struck a chord with me, as Rising Together is the title of my latest book. And as Warnock rightly pointed out, our ability to rise together depends on our ability and readiness to build alliances broadly. Not just across the gender, but across race, ethnicity, age, sexual identity, religion, interests, class, beliefs, and values.?

This is what Harris has been doing with extraordinary skill since July 21, when she began her unexpected campaign. In that short time, she has managed to build as broad a coalition as we have seen in our lifetimes, with supporters ranging from Liz Cheney to Bernie Sanders. And she has done it by exercising leadership, giving allies a platform, and articulating a vision for a positive future

This is why I remain optimistic, both about the future of women and the outcome of this extraordinarily consequential election. Yes, the possibility remains that November 5 could go a different way. But the activation of so much passion in the service of “winning the moment together,” as Warnock says, and the extent to which Harris has put gender cliches about female leaders to rest, suggest that one key long-term battle has already been won.?

Like what you’re reading? Click here to order my most recent book?Rising Together , or How Women Rise, both are available from Amazon or from your favorite bookseller.


Dr. Lucille Maddalena, Executive Coach

Empowering Leaders To Excel and Inspire | 20+ Years in Executive Coaching For Pharmaceutical, Construction, and Manufacturing Industries

1 天前

To think of all she accomplished in the short period she had to campaign!

回复
Andrea Plebani

Director, B2B Delivery Experience at TruStage

1 周

Your point that we've "come too far to accept going back" really resonates with me. Every time I'm overwhelmed by the political setbacks, I think about the generations of women coming up behind me. I marvel at the confidence of these young women that seem to approach their partnerships with men from a much more confident and secure position. Seeing how the young women of today relate to society in every aspect of their lives reassures me of just how far we have come, even while acknowledging that we still have quite a way to go. When I am discouraged, I look to these young women and the way they are living their lives and pursuing their dreams and I am immediately reassured about the future.

SIMMA Lieberman

I help leaders build inclusive cultures where employees love to do their best work, and customers love to do business

1 周

Sally, Thank you for that reminder. I needed that today

回复
Darlene Roy-Johnson

Leadership Coach | Career Consultant | L & D Leadership | Team Development | Workshop Facilitator | Assessment Consultant

1 周

Well said Sally!

回复

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Sally Helgesen的更多文章

  • Men On Board

    Men On Board

    Will solidarity replace sexism? It’s been thrilling to watch the demonstrations of solidarity between men and women…

    6 条评论
  • Pricing Your Work

    Pricing Your Work

    Life lessons to help you stop second guessing Those of us who are self employed or independent contractors often…

    6 条评论
  • Freedom from Free

    Freedom from Free

    Aligning your intentions with your pricing A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how I handle requests, mostly from…

    4 条评论
  • Eyes on the Prize

    Eyes on the Prize

    Who you calling humble? I don't often cheer out loud except for the Yankees or MSU basketball, but Kamala Harris'…

    7 条评论
  • You Can't Give It Away

    You Can't Give It Away

    Or rather, you shouldn't Last week, my friend and colleague Ruth Gotian sent a note to the women in our 100 Coaches…

    3 条评论
  • Disrespecting our leaders

    Disrespecting our leaders

    And undermining our classrooms Noise about non-existent pet-eating has obscured one of the most pernicious assertions…

    2 条评论
  • Making Hay While the Sun Shines

    Making Hay While the Sun Shines

    The Hay Festival of Literature and Books started in the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye in 1988 and has spread to locations…

    2 条评论
  • Language as Brand

    Language as Brand

    I’ve had the chance to meet a range of extraordinary leaders in my work. One thing they have in common is a commitment…

    5 条评论
  • What I Saw

    What I Saw

    Key Leadership Strengths Michelangelo Signorile is one of many excellent writers I follow on Twitter, all of whom make…

    2 条评论
  • Solidarity Starts with Self

    Solidarity Starts with Self

    Practices for creating an inclusive mindset and workplace Inclusion and solidarity are in the air these days, so I…

    5 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了