-President of the University: Male
-Chairman of the Board: Male
-Dean of the Music School: Male
-Commencement Speaker: Male
-Marshalls for Commencement: Male
Now, there were some women involved. Marie Rolf presented the Doctorate Students, and the two teaching awards went to women. But it did make me think, why aren't women interested in leading universities, music schools, orchestras, and the like? I think women are pursuing arts administration seriously now, and that women between 20-40 are really succeeding in that field. However, presidents and board chairmen tend to be 50+ in their age, and are remnants of a former time. (i.e. the 60's and before!) It was so interesting to think that women haven't really pursued these administrative leadership positions as much, and that only now, have they been able to. I don't necessarily think that the service was sexist- if 11 people apply for a job, and 2 are women, and the best qualified is a man, that's not necessarily sexist...that's just the numbers. The better question is, how can we get women in the fields that they wish to pursue? Then, if there's sexism involved, we can attack and fight. Until then, I just will continue to observe the situations as they unfold, and notice the lack of female leadership in all fields here at Eastman.
Listening to: Rooney. (Yes. This is embarrassingly bad pop music. But let me explain. I was watching "The Princess Diaries" last weekend because I wanted to stay in bed and watch a movie, and that's what I watched. Anyway, Anne Hathaway's love interest was a chap who looked mysteriously like Jason Schwartzman, my life-long crush. It turned out to be his brother, Robert Schwartzman, who happens to be the lead singer for the band Rooney. (Who were incidentally all the rage in 2004, as well, with their super poppy first album). Anyway, I remember Schwartzman having played in Phantom Planet, whose song "California" was all the rage back in '03, and I knew I had some of Rooney's albums, so now I'm listening to some really great I-IV-V tuneage, just to compare. And be entertained. Ok? Don't judge)
1 comment:
law firms have a similar problem - basically the same number of women as men start out at firms after law school, but the number of female partners is drastically smaller than male partners. part of this has been attributed to some women "opting out" - leaving the profession to become moms. but much of the disparity originates in sexism on a subtle scale - for example, women aren't socialized to aggressively seek career-building opportunities so they miss out. another example is old-school male partners subconsciously preferring younger guy buddies who show the same "masculine" characteristics as they do to work with them on important deals or cases. i suspect that some of this happens in university administration, too -- women not being taught to have aggressive attributes that might land them a certain job or important networking, or not getting the chance to gain high-profile experience so that they can adequately compete with other applicants for a position. i don't think it's simply a matter of desire on the part of women, although that may factor in.
this is something i think about a lot...the glass ceiling isn't limited to any one industry.
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