On the Brink

In my new book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business," I expose many of the myths that for centuries have held women back from achieving what they knew they could. These outdated, inaccurate myths have told women in business what they can and can't do, have shut them out of leadership positions, and have denied them access to venture capital. But, the times they are a-changin.' Women around the globe are stepping out, speaking up, and refusing for their dreams to be denied.

But where did these myths come from? And how can we change them? I offer some ideas here, which I discuss in more detail in my book. You can get your copy here.

In the latter half of the 1960s, a massive disruption was underway in the US fashion industry. Before WWII, America dominated the globe in garment manufacturing, employing over 2 million people. After the war, that all changed, from where garments were made to who designed them. By 2000, only about 2% of Americans' clothing was made in the US. 

Amidst all this change, women in the garment business saw an opportunity. They stepped up and voiced their desire to lead, and if they were told no, they started their own companies. A terrific example of a woman refusing to be held back is Babette Ballinger, whose story I share in my new book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business," and whose chapter I summarize briefly below. When you read Babette's story, you will be amazed, as I was and still am.

Throughout history, men have always been heralded as great leaders. Yet society, not just in America but everywhere, has downplayed the leadership abilities of women. While men have been championed as artistic geniuses, powerful visionaries, brilliant innovators and influential builders (from interstate freeways to the Louvre to the internet), women leaders have been seen as outliers who pushed the boundaries of where they belonged and what they were supposed to achieve. Finally, however, there are signs that this is changing, which is the focus of my new book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business." I share below a brief summary of a section of the book but for the full story, get your copy here! 

As a corporate anthropologist and culture change expert, I am fascinated by Stephanie Breedlove’s story, one of the amazing women I write about in mynew book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business." Get your copy here. I also did an On The Brink podcast interview with Stephanie back in 2017. What makes her story so important, and so relevant for the times, is that her success came in large part from a belief that if you strive to bring out the best in people, that brings out the best in your company. I've heard this many times from women entrepreneurs and I think it is something that women in business do particularly well when they're building their companies. To get the full story of how Stephanie bucked her parents' advice and started her business anyway, then sold it for $55 million, read my book. For a taste, I offer this synopsized excerpt below. Don't let anyone hold you back from realizing your dreams!

Have you noticed? In business, politics, medicine, law, tech, sports...pretty much everything...women today are breaking barriers and smashing glass ceilings in fields that for decades (centuries?) have been heavily dominated by men. And they're not just surviving, they're thriving. This is also the focus of my new book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business," which shares the stories of 11 trailblazing women who refused to be held back from becoming who they wanted to be and achieving what they knew they could. To encourage you on your own journey, I offer below a synopsized excerpt from my book that describes how women have always wanted their own businesses and how they defied the gender biases and cultural norms of the times and got it done. They did it and so can you!

I am thrilled! Not only is my new book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business," published and now out in the world, it's selling like gangbusters. In just one month, it's 9th on Amazon's list of Kindle e-books on women in business. But it's not just the sales that gets me excited, it's the fact that more and more women, and hopefully men, are reading about the 11 trailblazing women whose stories I share, including my own. My hope is that they get inspiration from these courageous, determined women who refused to be held back from becoming who they wanted to be and achieving what they knew they could. They smashed glass ceilings and leapt over barriers, and so can you!

                                                                                                Photo credit: Joshua Roberts of Reuters/CNNpolitics

Finally it happened. 

We now have our first female vice president. Our first Black vice president. Our first South Asian vice president. Our first Second Gentleman. Our first Jewish vice presidential spouse. Such a lot of firsts!

Amazingly, 158 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and 101 years after women were granted the right to vote, Kamala Devi Harris stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with her husband Doug Emhoff as the newly sworn-in vice president of the United States.

At a perilous time when our country is beset by disease and death on a massive scale, economic disaster, unprecedented political polarization, catastrophic unemployment, a climate change crisis, immigration unrest and a host of other issues, who better to stand by our new president's side, ready to work shoulder-to-shoulder, than a woman? And aren't we glad it's this woman?

It's out! My new book, "Rethink: Smashing The Myths of Women in Business," is now published and available wherever books are sold. You can get your copy here. I am thrilled that it's now out in the world, telling the stories of 11 women, myself included, who refused to believe the myths that (male-dominated) society was telling them about their capabilities and what they could and couldn't do. Today, women all over the world are stepping out, taking the lead, and pursuing their dreams and ambitions, not allowing gender biases to stop them. 

Photo courtesy of Texas Monthly

"We didn't hire Becky to make history," Popovich said. "She earned it."

When Becky Hammon joined the San Antonio Spurs pro basketball team as an assistant coach in 2014—the first woman in NBA history to hold this position—Barack Obama congratulated her on Twitter. Boy, have times changed!

And when the Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected from a December 30th game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Hammon replaced him to become the first woman to act as head coach in a regular-season NBA game. More change!

Barriers being broken, glass ceilings being smashed

The women’s national soccer team celebrating after winning the 2019 FIFA World Cup

In the early 1970s, two significant events had a major effect on women’s sports

First, Title IX, a clause of the 1972 Federal Education Amendments, was signed into law on June 23, 1972. Groundbreaking at the time, it stated that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Although Title IX applies to a variety of programs, it has received the most attention for its impact on athletics, especially at the college sports level. 

Second, in 1973 women broke away from the old, structured, male-controlled United States Tennis Association (USTA) and founded the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to "create a better future for women's tennis," spearheaded by Billie Jean King. This innovative organization (which today we might call disruptive) has its origin in the 1970 Virginia Slims Invitation, the first women-only tournament which was held to protest the unfair distribution of prize money at tennis events. At the time, professional women tennis players earned about one-fifth the prize money of men. In fact, at the Pacific Southwest Championships which took place at the same time as the Virginia Slims Invitation, the pay discrepancy was even worse: an 8:1 ratio split in prize money awarded to men vs. women. Starting with nine players, the WTA now has more than 2,500 players from nearly 100 countries competing for $146 million in prize money. As its original tournament was sponsored by Virginia Slims, it really is true you've come a long way, baby!