In 2016, the New York Times told Americans that there was an 85% chance they were about to have their first woman president.[i] It was a time of high hopes – and some complacency. After the struggle for the vote and the feminist waves of the twentieth century, the natural progression seemed to show that there would finally be a First Gentleman. Yet that election and the following years showed that change is not easy to come by and is by no means guaranteed. It was discouraging to see a highly qualified woman overlooked for a less qualified man. Although that particular glass ceiling was not cracked, in 2019, the country is entering an era of unprecedented female leadership. The House of Representatives has a record-breaking number of women – and one of them is the Speaker.[ii] And while there isn’t a woman holding the title of president on the national level, the College of William & Mary will soon inaugurate its first woman president: Katherine Rowe.
For students at the College, some of whom remember being on campus for the election of 2016, this is a promising step towards the inclusive society that students have been striving for. The inauguration of President Rowe is an example of a change that cultivates new ideas and upsets the normative expectations of what society, and leadership, should look like. As President Rowe herself said, this change in the College’s leadership is a time to reflect on old traditions and values and decide on what to bring into the future.[iii] Upsetting the status quo of male leadership allows for uncomfortable, yet necessary growth in curiosity, learning, and acceptance within the William and Mary community.
It is empowering for young women everywhere, but especially at the College itself to see a woman as the face of William and Mary. President Rowe represents the College to the world, highlights William and Mary’s strengths, and is responsible for managing its flaws to create a better institutional future. Inaugurating President Rowe at this time is a positive change in the dynamic of women in leadership positions and a sign of progress on campus at the highest administrative levels. While William & Mary inaugurates President Rowe, it also celebrates the hundredth anniversary of women attending the College. The first twenty-four female students were not exactly welcomed on campus in 1918, but quickly became part of the intellectual fabric of William and Mary.[iv] Today, women are 58% of the William & Mary student body[v] and attend college at higher rates than men on a national scale[vi] – a stark change from what came before.
Although American society has come a long way since the breakthrough of women in higher education, there are still residual influences from traditional gender roles that make it difficult for women to break the glass ceiling. In the early 1900s, women were typically expected to become housekeepers who cared for the family unit and by cooking dinner, doing housework and taking care of the children. While women ruled the sphere of the home, men were dominant over the outside world, the primary actors in the political and business worlds. When they entered the workforce, women generally held jobs such as nursing, teaching, and secretarial work – those deemed appropriate for the naturally caring and gentle feminine mind. Even today, those female-dominated fields and others garner less pay than similar male-dominated fields for both men and women alike.[vii] However, with the beginning of WWI and WW2, women became a huge component of the military industrial complex through manufacturing work while men went off to war. As women were adopted into the workforce, there was hesitation as women were considered inferior to men, unable to perform the same tasks. There continue to be struggles to reconcile society’s concept of femininity in the traditionally male workplace. Gender roles stereotype women as physically and intellectually inferior to men, creating obstacles for women in leadership roles when they do not fit the normative expectations for their gender.
Female leadership often faces resistance because it clashes with the behavior prescribed by traditional gender roles. Strong leadership is characterized by quick decision making and ambition. When women try to adopt a leadership stance, their actions, while effective at accomplishing tasks, are perceived as a manifestation of aggression or abrasiveness.[viii] At the same time, men are rewarded for brusque leadership and are expected to seek more power. In general, ambitious women are considered selfish, while ambitious men are celebrated. Likability is a large factor in promotions, in addition to competency, so women with a strong management style can find themselves left behind in the hierarchy of power. Women’s negatively perceived qualities often lead to exclusion from leadership positions and doubt surrounding their professional judgement. However, when women opt to exercise soft power to exert control, the extent of their abilities is often overlooked. Soft power includes dialogues, mediation, and diplomacy – non-aggressive paths to achieving goals that better match the behavior society expects from women.[ix] Since the effect of these methods is difficult to quantify, female leaders who utilize soft power may not be criticized as unlikeable, but instead as weak and ineffective. These struggles make it difficult for women to reach positions of power such as in politics and business.
The women who do succeed in breaking the glass ceiling, like the women making up a record-breaking House of Representatives class of 2019 which includes Elaine Luria, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Kamala Harris, have overcome many societal obstacles put in place because of their gender. To see them, as well as President Rowe, is to see the enormous progress that the country, as well as the College of William and Mary, has made in acknowledging the capabilities and strength of a diverse array of women. Yet it is essential that no one should forget the lessons of the election of 2016 and how far America needs to go. In this time of government shutdowns, the gender and racial wage gap, and lack of gender diversity at top executive levels, it is encouraging to see such a visible example of what heights of power women can reach – a hint at a brighter future.
[i] Katz, Josh. “Who Will Be President?” The New York Times, 8 Nov. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/upshot/presidential-polls-forecast.html.
[ii] Herman, Elizabeth D. and Sloman, Celeste. “Redefining Representation: The Women of the 116th Congress.” The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/14/us/politics/women-of-the-116th-congress.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage.
[iii] Rowe, Katherine. Personal interview. 13 Jan. 2019.
[iv] “100 Years of Coeducation at W&M.” William and Mary, 2018, www.wm.edu/news/stories/2018/100-years-of-coeducation-at-wm.php.
[v] “College of William and Mary.” US News, 2018, https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/william-and-mary-3705.
[vi] Semuels, Alana. “Poor Girls are Leaving their Brothers Behind.” The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/11/gender-education-gap/546677/.
[vii] Macpherson, David A., and Barry T. Hirsch. “Wages and Gender Composition: Why Do Women’s Jobs Pay Less?” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 13, no. 3, 1995, pp. 426–471. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2535151.
[viii] Paquette, Danielle. “Why ambitious men are celebrated and ambitious women are criticized.” Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/03/why-ambitious-men-are-celebrated-and-ambitious-women-are-criticized/?utm_term=.cf18dc8c2018.
[ix] Nayar, Vineet. “Women and Soft Power in Business.” Harvard Business Review, 19 Jan. 2011, https://hbr.org/2011/01/women-and-soft-power-in-business.