A Woman’s Role in the C-Suite

I scanned the list again and looked at the male-dominated list.

“Women make up such an important part of the management scene. Who are some additional female leaders whom my readers should consider as great role models?” I was trying to be politically correct, but I also thought of all the great women out there.

“Why do you ask that question like there shouldn’t be more female leaders or that just because I have listed many male leaders does not mean that I do not promote female leaders as well?”

I looked again at the list and asked, “but what about Queen Ester or Ruth?”

“What about them…they are some of the greatest leaders of all time. If you closely read the Bible, you will notice that everything is listed in order in a higher form than what preceded it.  Man came after the animals who came after the crawling things correct?”

“Yes.” I answered and then tried to go through the Genesis story in my head to make sure I was not wrong.

“Right, and when was woman, Eve, created?”

“She was made from Adam’s rib, so she came after him.”

“Right again my son…so logic would dictate…….?”

“That women are a higher life form than man?”

“I suggest you tell that to your wife tonight and she will think the world of you. But, no, I would not say that they are a higher life form, but if men had the same inherent compassion that most women have, I think most workplaces would be much friendlier.”

“I agree with that. Can you give me an example though?”

“Sure, you mentioned Queen Ester. She rocked. She started as a lowly woman who was basically a slave. Remember, she was in Babylonia because the Jews had their temple destroyed and were brough in chains to a new land. Yet she persevered. She knew how to play the game of politics. Her husband, the king, offered her whatever she wanted, and she was not greedy. She played the politics game and had only one thing on her mind- saving her people. Did she succeed?  Yes, in a spectacular way that ushered in the rebuilding of the second temple. I think you could safely say that there would not have been a Second Temple without her. I call that real leadership.”

Up on the screen popped up an image of a woman in a pink Cadillac convertible driving down a main street in New York with confetti streaming down from the sky.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“That is Queen Ester. I love celebrating her success and decided to give her a ticker tape parade. I mean we celebrated her then, but I still like to reward her every now and then. What do you give to someone who saves your people…. a nice parade.”

I really needed to get on the Lord’s good side. When he gives lifelong benefits…well he means it. The Lord had a huge grin. He liked that one.

“While priests were exclusively men, they only had one major role which was executing the religious rituals. On the other hand, I had many prophets who were the conscience of society. Prophets could be male or female and did not have to have any special training or abilities. They just had to be able to show the wrong that the people were doing and encourage repentance. I really appreciate and extoll the wonderful female prophets I had such as Sara, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Ester. Their personalities embodied their message and how it was delivered. They were especially upset with sinners who gave sacrifices or acted as pious people in public, but behind closed doors they acted in a repugnant manner.”

Up on the screen popped up an image of me writing a check to Autism Speaks. I had just written them a check last night.

“Let me give you an example Sam. Sometimes people give a lot to a charity in a very public manner to let the world know they are doing something good. Yes, giving is giving, but the best way to give is anonymously as then it is about helping others rather than helping oneself feel better. What I despise is if such a gesture is a public relation stunt and behind closed doors, they do not help the orphan, widow, or the truly needy. Thus, my prophets knew my hatred of such actions and they made it clear to the people around them that they must, as you say, walk the walk. In that vein, women are often better judges of…. what do you call it…shineolla?”

The Lord took out a magic lamp and started rubbing it. Out came a genie with a sign reading “shinolla.”  Then the Lord continued.

“Yes, there can be women who act inappropriately. But over the years I have tended to see more men take advantage of others and that is why I have specified taking care of the widow rather than saying taking care of the widower. That does not mean you should not treat everyone with respect. It just means that I pay special attention to those who have been traditionally oppressed and harmed.”

The Lord leaned in. The way he did that so smoothly I wondered if that is where Sheryl Sandberg got the title for her leadership book.

“Sam, I might have helped her a little. But more importantly, women can be great leaders just like men. Women can be great manager, just like men. Women can also be bad leaders and can be bad managers. Women can be great workers or horrible workers. There is just no difference, nor should there be. I am results-oriented, and I never cared if my prophets were men or women or if the Israelites were led by a king or queen. Everyone should be judged by results and that is that. Excellence should be the yardstick for measuring success.”

The Lord had a stern look on his face. The smile was gone. I could see how disappointed he was. I thought to myself where we had gone wrong. Was it during the caveman days when the strongest caveman dictated what happened and since they were stronger than women, they ruled through an iron fist?  I could see from the Lord’s expression that I was wrong.

“Was it because most of what we know about the world we learn from visual images on TV or in the movies. Since there are no pictures of caveman, we have been conditioned to think about them in a certain way.”

The Lord knew cavemen and from his expression, I assumed that they did not have the sexist conditioning currently harming women in many workplaces. The expression on the Lord’s face gave me confidence in my thoughts, but still left me uneasy about how we have fallen so far and if there was hope.

“Lord, we know that women aren’t paid the same as men in the workplace, would that represent   something you would frown upon?”

“Darn tooting right Sam.  How can anyone say that one is more important than another and more deserving of extra compensation when they both do the same thing?  The Equal Pay Act is a great start- but why do we need a law to do what is right?  It is because what people are doing is wrong…and they know it. Making a law and doing the right thing are completely different.”

The Lord started stewing in his own silence. He crossed his arms and just stared at me.  That was his way of making sure I remembered what he was saying.

I got it. Regardless of background, managers who do the right thing, protect the weak and follow a divine calling for the right cause… well they are doing the Lord’s work.

The Lord once again started smiling.