A Month of Gratitude, Day 28 - Those Who Came Before

Saturday, December 28, 2013
I have worked in male dominated fields my entire adult life.

First was the Navy, whose culture we jokingly - and accurately - described as "200 years of tradition unhampered by progress." In those years only 10% of the active force were women, and only 59% of jobs were open to women. It's tough to advocate for equality when the system itself engages in systemic discrimination as a matter of policy.

After leaving active duty, I joined the civilian work force as a telecommunications technician, and moved into the engineering ranks within four years. Women engineering students represent 18% of total engineering students, and 30% of people working in the mathematical and computer science segment of STEM jobs.

I've ranted and raved before about the subtle (and not so subtle) sexism I've seen over my working life, and how it infuriates and discourages me.

And yet.

Things are much better for women in male-dominated fields than they were in years past. The U.S. Navy just named their first female four-star Admiral in its history - and she's the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, the second highest rank in the Navy. Her career path was a traditional one - a Surface Warfare officer who commanded amphibious landing ships.

There's progress being made in the civilian workforce, as well. NASA's CIO is a woman. A woman co-founded VMware. A woman is the CTO of Cisco.

So there's progress, even if I don't see it in my little corner of the world. Go, us.

And it behooves me to remember that this progress has been hard-won by the trailblazers, by the women who refused to conform, who did what they wanted to do regardless of the social norms of their time. These women broke the barriers, they sacrificed, and they plowed the road for those of us who came after. Women like RADM "Amazing Grace" Hopper, my personal hero, a computer science pioneer. Women like Emily Roebling, who finished the engineering of the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband became disabled. Women like Heddy Lamarr, who invented the frequency hopping theory that led to Bluetooth and WiFi technologies.

Today I'm grateful for the women who made my own experiences a little easier, a little more "normal," due to their own hard work and sacrifice.

2 comments:

Anne C. said...

Amen, sister.

Carol Elaine said...

Here's to ill-behaved women making history.