Media Curmudgeon

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February 11, 2007

Ramblings About Women Leaders

Today, Harvard announced that historian Drew Gilpin Faust would become its first female president as the successor to Laurence Summers, who had what the NY Times referred to as "tumultuous five-year tenure."

Bully for Harvard. The NY Times wrote that "Faust, 59, recognized the significance of her appointment.

"'I hope that my own appointment can be one symbol of an opening of opportunities that would have been inconceivable even a generation ago,'" Faust said at a news conference on campus. But she also added, "I'm not the woman president of Harvard, I'm the president of Harvard.'" Now, half of the eight Ivy League schools have female presidents. It seems these prestigious institutions of higher learning and knowledge have discovered something from which the rest of the country could benefit--that it's time for women to take over the leadership of our important institutions.

As I wrote in my December 9, blog, it's time for the country to elect a woman president. I wrote, "My point was that ordinary U. S. citizens are ready to vote for a woman for president because as a country we are ready for cooperation and compromise, and a woman president couldn’t possibly screw up the country any worse than a bunch of old white men have in the last couple of years."

I think it's also important to note that even though half of the Ivy League colleges are smart enough to hire women to lead them, no major media company has a female CEO. Could it be a coincidence that no media company appeared in the FORTUNE list of the best companies in America to work for. Media companies need a woman's touch, and don't mean baking cookies, I mean a human touch in which people count and there is an emphasis on cooperation and compromise.

Pepsi announced a nice 15 percent increase in earnings recently at the same time that Coca-Cola is stumbling and where a top female marketing executive recently left, ostensibly because she didn't get promoted due to a male-oriented culture.

When are voters going to learn?

In the December blog I also wrote about Hilary Clinton that "I don’t think she’s electable—too much baggage, too many people who hate her, and because she waffled on Iraq and other things." Well, she's looking stronger than I thought at that time. Especially compared to all of the Republican candidates so far, especially Rudy Giuliani. Women won't like Rudy, who didn't stand by his wife--left her for his girl friend in a messy, well covered affair. Hilary stood by her man in an almost impossibly difficult situation.

Also, my wife Julia and I had dinner a few weeks ago with a dear friend who has been an ardent Bush supporter, ingrained conservative Republican, and Hilary hater. He shocked us by saying that he might vote for Hilary because she as shed her liberal image and moved much more to the center. "She'll keep her eyes on the polls and listen to what the public wants, which is in the center and out of Iraq."

If she can turn around this rock-ribbed Republican, Hilary might be able to turn around those who dislike her. Let's hope, because America, like Harvard, needs a woman as president.

Posted by Charles Warner at February 11, 2007 07:54 PM

Comments

Media Curmudgeon at February 21, 2007 11:16 PM writes:

ParsonJim at February 12, 2007 02:00 AM writes:

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