Member-only story
As a retired female FBI agent, I take umbrage at the assumption that professional women don’t have what it takes to move their career to the next level. The implications are that women need special assistance, or that standards of the position need to be lowered so they can be hired.
I served on a search committee recently where one of the members of the organization said to me, “We need a woman to fill this position. Whomever you pick, make sure it’s a female.” My jaw dropped. She implied that special consideration should be given to the women who applied.
I responded to that individual with such unfiltered intensity that she started to back away from me. “Do you truly believe that there will be no qualified female candidates?” I demanded. “We’re not doing women any favors if we hire someone just because she’s a woman!”
As it turns out, the best candidate was a woman, and she was hired!
I do not consider myself a woman leader; instead, I’m a leader who is a woman. If I allow my gender to define my achievements, I’ve fallen into the dark abyss of stereotypes. It’s time we all left that sort of thinking behind us and moved onto solid ground based on education, training, and talent.
