Women Breaking the Glass Ceiling Isn’t Enough.
Where are the women of color?
We can be more inclusive. Bobby Scott
That sound you hear is another crack in the glass ceiling.
I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Phoenix is in Maricopa County. The county’s Board of Supervisors has chosen Allister Adel, a woman, to the post of Maricopa County Attorney.
Bill Montgomery, a Republican and the previous Maricopa County Attorney, vacated the post last month. Governor Doug Ducey appointed him to the Arizona Supreme Court.
A Citizen’s Advisory Group provided a list of five possible replacements for Montgomery. The Board chose Adel for the post.
Adel is also a Republican and will finish out the term. Word is, she plans on running in the 2020 election to continue as our county attorney.
This is the first time a woman has held this position. Arizona has a strong track record of women in political positions. I find it surprising as our state leans conservative.
We have had four female governors. Evan Mecham was impeached and removed from office in 1988. Rose Mofford, our Secretary of State, took over.
Fife Symington was elected next. He resigned in disgrace. Jane Hull, Janet Napolitano, and Jan Brewer followed. Fun fact (if Wikipedia can be believed):
Arizona has had four female governors, the most in the United States, and is also the only state where female governors have served consecutively. Wikipedia
Currently, both of Arizona’s U. S. Senators are women. In a sign that our traditionally conservative state has become more purple than red, one of them is a Democrat.
The non-profit National Diversity Council recently included two Arizona businesswomen in their list of 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology for 2019.
Arizona is home to two honorees this year: Deanna Wise, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Banner Health, and Nicole Enright, Senior Vice President of Business Transformation for Avnet. Two Arizona executives “Most Powerful Women in Technology”
Hopefully, the advances women have made in Arizona have been echoed in our country’s other 49 states and 16 territories. Actually, include the entire globe in that hope.
We all need to keep it up. It takes more than a village to break through that ceiling for good.
Something troubling became obvious as I researched this article. Each of the Arizona women mentioned here is white. None of the women appear to be women of color.
It is possible I am wrong. I am basing this fact on the photos that popped up and a brief glance at online descriptions of their ancestry. Many people have a more complex genetic background than appears on their skin.
The appearance in Arizona is that the glass ceiling is cracking for women. I celebrate that. It is a positive development. Perhaps understandable.
The 2019 population statistics provided by the World Population Review states the Arizona population is divided as follows:
White: 77.50%
Other race: 6.97%
Native American: 4.41%
Black or African American: 4.30%
Two or more races: 3.49%
Asian: 3.13%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.20%
Reading those statistics, it appears to me that our Hispanic population is included as White. If that is true, it is still a head-scratcher. Living here, it is a constant surprise that people of Hispanic descent don’t appear in the CEO chairs of more of our businesses.
While more and more women breaking through the glass ceiling is welcome and important to note, where are the women of color?
We have a lot of work to do. I dream of a day when none of this is talked about.
Not like in the old days when it was unthinkable that a black man could be president. Think of the young people that are growing up with that shift in thought.
Let’s have more shifts. Let’s live in a world where a woman born in Puerto Rico can be the front runner for President. Where every American citizen actually understands that Puerto Rico is in the United States. (Okay, that is a whole other issue.) Where children will not be held back by the color of their skin or their gender. Let it be more than a dream.
My generation made strides. So did the generation before us. My children’s generation is going to continue the work.
My hope is that their children will see a very different, more just world. That they will look back and marvel that equal pay and opportunity was something to be fought for.
It is easy to say “Let’s keep working to make it happen.” Didn’t our parents say that? Mine did.
Strides have happened. We can celebrate them. We should celebrate them.
It is time, though, to double down on this. To extend a hand, over and over, to help each other over the bumps in the road. One person advancing can help many more take a step up as well.
A lot of work has been done. More is left to do. Keep those sleeves rolled up. There are more glass ceilings to smash.
Note: this has been updated to include all four female governor's names and the Wikipedia fact concerning three of them serving consecutively.
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