Brand Solutions

Ask: Why Not Me?

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Last year, during her team’s press conference ahead of the women’s basketball collegiate national championship, the University of Notre Dame’s head coach had some hard-hitting words.

Irish Coach Muffet McGraw fielded questions from the media as she does on a regular basis. One reporter asked about the hiring practices in collegiate athletics and how seriously she takes her role as a female in a position of power to blaze the trail for other females.

If you are familiar with my passion for sports (and how much I am missing it right now) it comes as no surprise that I picked up on this sound byte immediately. What you may not understand without watching the two-minute clip is that Coach McGraw wasn’t even talking about sports.

As I watched her speak to the audience of reporters I felt the weight on my shoulders grow exponentially. She spoke about opportunities for young girls and about how they need to see people like them in positions of power and success to become powerful and successful.

She is talking to me. She is talking to you.

The pressure of raising girls is a weight I carry with both pride and anxiety. I want to be the best role model possible and show my daughters how to succeed in anything they choose. Because their reality will be that they can do anything they choose.

They have to put themselves in the running. They can’t win a race they don’t enter.

Coach McGraw and others refer to the number of female CEOs as a benchmark of the growth of women in positions of power. According to the research, that number was up in 2017 but has declined a bit in 2018 where females make up twenty-four percent of all CEOs in Fortune 500 Companies.

I have read much literature and opinion on the hiring practices of females in business and other industries. Much concern about the lack of females in boardrooms, serving in executive roles on leadership boards or winning prestigious awards. Men hire men, or leaders hire other leaders that look like them.

I ask: How many females applied or put themselves in the running for the promotion, the executive job or the award?

The answer: not enough

How can I say that? So many examples but one that sticks out is in the field of education. A profession that has been traditionally female for ages.

Women make up 76 percent of teachers, 52 percent of principals, and 78 percent of central-office administrators in k-12 education, according to federal data and the results of a recent national survey. In 2018, of the 57 teachers of the year state winners, 38 are female. Of the five finalists for national teacher of the year, four are female.

Can it be said that there are more females receiving recognition and moving up the ranks to leadership positions because there are more females in the industry as a whole? Possibly. Are male teachers at a disadvantage as a minority? Possibly. There are more women in the race, thus more women in positions of authority.

I choose to believe that female teachers are going strong because they are confident in their profession. They feel comfortable putting themselves into conversations about promotions and awards. There are other females doing it, so why not me.

Take, also, the example of the US women’s national soccer team. They are fighting for equal pay in their profession. Not for the now but for the future of their sport. If this team doesn’t step up and ask for what they need, who will? They are advocating for what they deserve as athletes, not just as female athletes.

So, why not me?

Opportunities are out there. They exist. 

Opportunities for leadership and recognition exist and are available for females. But you have to do the work and get yourself in the mix. Get in the race!

As Coach McGraw shared, it starts with youth. With our daughters. As teens, they need to see the opportunities available to them. They need to be exposed to educations, vocations and career paths that will allow them the thrive. See women already doing those things.

Encourage your teen to put herself in the running. Even if she is the ‘only girl’, train her now to ask herself: why not me?

  • Student council representative
  • Team captain
  • Prom committee
  • Yearbook editor
  • Robotics team
  • National Honor Society
  • Scholarship Awards
  • Lead in the play or musical

If only boys are doing these things then only boys will continue to be chosen for these things. It takes one person to start a chain reaction.

It might be a small thing that won’t even matter when she is in her 30s (not that there is anything wrong with having your high school awards on display in your 30s) but putting herself in the running now will teach lessons for a lifetime.  

I don’t want to teach my daughters to wait around for the ‘girls team’ to be created for them. It may not ever happen. Nor do I think it should.

Men and women compete in the same pool for the same awards and same promotions and same seats around the C-suite so its best to get used to it now. Or take the initiative to change it.

Just start now by putting yourself in the running. Get in the mix. Start the change. Even if she doesn’t always land the role or win the award, she is forming a habit.

I take my role as a mother of girls seriously. I do my best to instill confidence without adding too much pressure. It’s tough but its a requirement of the job.

What are your thoughts on the comments made by Coach McGraw? How do you help your daughter navigate these tough times? Share your thoughts in the comments below.