The “Glass Ceiling” Has Already Been Shattered: Guest MINDSETTER™ Renehan

Saturday, March 07, 2020

Guest MINDSETTER™ Ed Renehan

In the wake of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s withdrawal from the presidential race, and the withdrawals of Senators Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand, much discussion has centered on the idea of a “Glass Ceiling” separating females from the White House. In my view, the nature of this discussion points to two things: first, a narrow and self-satisfied view held by many Americans that “until we do it, it hasn’t been done,” and second, an even more narrow view that ascension to the United States presidency (as opposed to executive positions in other realms) is the sole determinator of whether the so-called “Glass Ceiling” has been shattered. This simplistic formulation serves none of us well – least of all the dynamic ladies who have dropped out of the Democratic race, any one of whom I would have been happy to vote for.

The idea that it is gender politics which has denied these strong, brilliant women the top spot on this year’s Democratic ticket is somewhat belied by the fact that four years ago another strong, brilliant woman did indeed rise to run on the top spot of that ticket (and went on to win the popular vote in the general election). So that particular ceiling (the winning of the nomination) appears to have already been smashed. Meanwhile Nancy Pelosi serves determinably and brilliantly as the first female Speaker of the House, and in that role stands third in the presidential line of succession.

Consider the absurdity of the idea that a woman elected to the Oval Office should be the sole indicator of whether the “Glass Ceiling” has been broken through. With regard to this, isn’t it somewhat self-important for Americans to view the ascension of a woman to become our Head of State as some sort of watershed event from the broader point of view? After all, this kind of thing is very old news around the world. Think of Indira Ghandi, Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Angela Merkel, Benazir Bhutto, Mary Robinson, Gloria Arroyo, and more than 50 others I could name. Women have demonstrated again and again for many decades that they are more than capable of not only being elected to, but also deftly handling, the role of Head of State. When, eventually, a woman is elected to the presidency of the United States, she will be joining a club that has already been well-established around the globe.

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Outside of politics, in the corporate world, the supposed “Glass Ceiling” hasn’t stopped Mary Barra from becoming Chair (since 2016) and Chief Executive Officer (since 2014) of General Motors. She is the daughter of a line worker at the GM plant in Pontiac, MI and began her career at GM as a co-op student from Kettering University. Elsewhere, Kathy Warden serves as CEO of Northrop Grumman. Lisa Su heads Microdevices. Safra Katz heads Oracle. Adena Friedman heads Nasdaq. Marllyn Hewson heads Lockheed Martin. Phebe Novakovic heads General Dynamics. Virginia Rometty heads IBM (but will retire in April). Julia Sweet heads Accenture. And Sheryl Sandberg serves as COO at Facebook while also being the founder of the female empowerment organization LeanIn.Org. I could go on. All the companies named, by the way, are in the S&P 500.

According to the search firm Heidrick & Struggles’ 2019 “Board Report,” women filled 40% of new S&P 500 Board of Directors seats in 2018, whereas in 2009 women filled only 18% of new board seats. The rate of progress would even be faster, the report says, save for there being slow turnover and retirement from board seats in general. I should add that, within the S&P 500, women outnumber men on the boards of GM, Viacom, CBS, Omnicon Group, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Of course, much more progress needs to be made in gaining full equity for women both in politics and the workplace. And it is certainly the case that women have had to fight tooth and nail to get where they are today. But the idea that there exists a “Glass Ceiling” in either the realm of politics or business seems to me quite wrong. The glass is already shattered, and the way is open for women to ascend, just as they are doing and will continue to do with I, for one, enthusiastically cheering them on.

 

Edward Renehan’s most recent book is THE LIFE OF CHARLES STEWART MOTT: INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST, MR. FLINT (University of Michigan Press, 2019). He lives in Wickford.

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