Why More Women Don’t Lead and Innovate - Transforming Your STEM Career Through Leadership and Innovation - page 40

of highly- qualified individuals to lead and innovate. If there are systemic issues
that discourage women from pursuing and desiring to advance and lead in these
environments, they need to be addressed because when they aren't, everyone loses.
Getting back to your assessment of our organizations, if we do not directly
address the question of organizational culture and we find that we are not prop-
erly aligned in terms of our vision and the organization, this can become a
daunting situation. If several years pass where we've consistently tried and have
not been given developmental opportunities and our perception is that we're
not accepted, this can lead to personal or professional despair, frustration, and
a sense of hopelessness. A sad but realistic picture of this is captured in the
excerpt from the topic, Smart Women, Smart Moves : [8]
Several years ago one of my friends called me in a panic. She had been interviewing women
who had been in top executive positions for seven to ten years. She said it was as if they
got suited up, got on the bus, and went to the game, but … they never got off the bench. At
first they were hopeful, but after a few years they became resigned to the reality that they
would never quite belong. She said that she found more alcoholism, clinical depression
and anorexia-bulimia in this group of women than she had ever seen.
These situations represent a waste of valuable resources and are an unfortunate
reality that many women face. Rather than internalizing the frustration and disap-
pointment, a healthier response is to take. Take action and recognize that this is an
opportunity for you to take your talents, passion, and vision to another environ-
ment within your organizational or perhaps in another corporation, university or
community. You should consider your options on a global level - perhaps it's time
to work in another country. Yes, the difficult situation you find yourself in can be
a signal that it's time for a change - a change to lead you to your true destiny and
vision. But first you must realize that you can exit. This is an empowering first
step. The next step is to plan an effective exit strategy and finally but most impor-
tantly take action and execute your exit strategy. This exit strategy can include
physical (geographical) moves as well as a change in perspective. For example,
realizing your goals may mean you leave your department, organization, com-
munity, state, or country. It may also require changes in professional or personal
relationships and strategic alliances. However, the most important change will be
in our perspective of what opportunities are available to us. You may have had
some difficult, unfair, and blatantly biased situations come your way. Accept that
it happened. Accept that it wasn't fair, and right now commit to putting it behind
you, taking action and moving forward. The greatest news is you're still here and
things can and will change. Suit up ladies! It's time to get back in the game!
INDIVIDUAL CAREER PERCEPTION ISSUES
Perhaps the areas that impact us most are not global, national, cultural, or organi-
zational but, rather, individual issues that are bound by our perceptions, expecta-
tions, and self-image. The powerful individual category of factors is at the core of