Strong Is as Strong Does
Most parents would love their daughters to be invincible. But that’s a tad unrealistic. What’s not unrealistic are strong, self-assured daughters who develop into women to be reckoned with.
Of course, the best way to grow strong women is to nurture them when they’re girls. To encourage them to forge an inner strength and an outward confidence. And, as with many aspects of parenting, the most effective encouragement is to model those qualities ourselves.
All of us at EPI work virtually. Every day our daughters see us staring at computer screens or talking on the phone. Not really a game-changing impression of the working woman! But earlier this month, my teammate Joann Lynch and I read several articles on the gender gap in pay, which started us thinking that a mother-daughter field trip was in order. Not to a museum or a zoo, but to see their moms in action among colleagues.
It seemed a good way to combat the harmful message girls – and boys – receive all too often: that women are less valued than men in the workplace.
We can argue all day long about what’s behind the gender gap in pay that still exists in the U.S. (gender discrimination; lack of confidence to ask for a raise; the impact of gender-based interruptions, such as familial responsibilities, etc.). But there’s no doubt there is one.
The Pew Research Center says that although the gap has narrowed since 1980, women over 34 earn only about 83% of what men earn. The American Association of University Women (AAUW)’s Spring 2017 edition of The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap breaks things down even further. The pay gap is worse for women of color and mothers; it occurs in every state (some are better than others); and it won’t close until 2152.
Still, there is good news for up-and-coming female workers: Women aged 25-34 are now earning 90 cents for every $1 a man in the same age group earns.
Although reading about the gender pay gap was disheartening, our field trip was anything but.
As Joann and I presented our respective sessions at PACT’s Excellence Share 2017, her 12-year-old and my 13-year-old watched. And even gave us some feedback afterwards. We wanted to help build confidence in our girls by putting them in a situation that was manageably outside their normal comfort zones. They would be able to practice skills that would serve them well in any sphere: introducing themselves, standing tall, making eye contact, and conversing with new people. But they would also see their mothers model leadership skills to a professional, mixed-gender group.
It was a success on all fronts.
True, Joann and I probably thought this was way cooler than our girls did. At least right now. But I have no doubt it was an effective leadership lesson. They may not appreciate it fully today, but eventually they’ll realize we’ve given them some truly awesome, mind-expanding super powers: pride, grit, strength, and self-assurance. Women – leaders – to be reckoned with.
Michelle Kelly, CEO (Chief Enjoyment Officer)