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Women Supporting Women
July 27, 2022
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I had the pleasure of attending a WNBA basketball game for the first time over the weekend and I absolutely loved it. The Las Vegas Aces, currently #1 in the league, took home a very competitive win over the LA Sparks. As I watched both teams work together to support one another, back each other up, strategize and do everything in their power to win, it reminded me of what its like to be on a team and how important it is to understand that the majority of life experiences require a supportive and inclusive effort to be successful. Having been one of the few successful women in the radio industry to reach VP status in my career, I have long since been a proponent of mentoring and supporting Women who want to break the glass ceiling in a predominantly male industry.
But this mentality came long before I entered the audio business. My Mother was a strong Woman who had five children, three boys and two girls. While teaching Special Education, raising kids, going to school in a city 45 minutes away to achieve her master’s and 30+, and handling the day-to-day extra activities of five very athletic children, she managed to instill in me (and my siblings) that I could achieve whatever I wanted, and not to take any shit from anyone. But I digress…. My point is, I have always been taught to support Women, and to never let anyone treat me differently because I was one.
So, it’s interesting to me to hear horror stories about Women who don’t support other Women, especially in this business. That’s not to say I haven’t experienced it, because trust me, I have, but I just don’t get it. Why do some Women, especially in this business, always have to be the Prom Queen? That’s certainly never going to work if you play on any kind of team, and isn’t that what the audio business is all about? Playing on a team and doing everything to fulfill your role in a strategy to grow ratings and revenue. It’s bad enough to be self-absorbed and throw your ego around, but if you are so emotionally immature that you can’t support your sisters in their efforts to succeed as well, then God bless you when Karma hits.
Sadly, I think a lot of Women who don’t support other Women act that way because they had to fight so hard to get to where they are on the food chain (that, and they lack emotional intelligence). But that just motivates me more to want to help pave the way for more Women to take on leadership roles and earn equal pay in this business. I’ve had a few bad experiences working with other Women, and it made me want to fight harder to help those who deserve it reach the top.
I have worked with a few female PDs over the years, and all of them except one were amazing allies and friends. I have helped (and still help) groom many young female talent over the years who still reach out to me regularly for advice, ideas, and common interests. And oddly, I have worked for three female Market Managers over the years. I say oddly because two of them were absolute nightmares. One was extremely indifferent and wanted to be the Alpha Female over EVERYONE, and the other ran her cluster like she was Regina George in the movie "Mean Girls" and if you didn’t bring her a Kate Spade purse for her Birthday at an expensive steak house, you were instantly on her shit list. Luckily, the other was absolutely amazing, motivational, inclusive and a great leader. I still love her to this day. Perhaps it’s because the guy who gave me a rare shot at being a VP of Programming in a cluster full of “Good Ole Boys” was the same guy who gave her the first shot as a Market Manager in a cluster full of “Good Ole Boys.” He loved strong, smart Women.
So where is this going? The latest gender analysis study conducted by Mentoring and Inspiring Women indicates that while the number of Female Market Managers and Sales Managers are slightly improving, the percentage is actually stagnant and has been for the last 14 years, for Women on the programming side. This is ridiculous. So, while we have left it up to the Male hiring managers in the industry to help close these horrific gaps, it doesn’t appear to be working. But since we are now seeing more Female Market Managers and Women in positions of power, shouldn’t it be a priority for them to help groom, support and promote more Women in the industry? And it doesn’t stop there. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion should be a priority. That means that sometimes you may not always get to be the Prom Queen, but do you really remember that night anyway? And would life be any different for you right now if you hadn’t been? I think not (unless you failed upward).
Take a page from Becky Hammon, the Head Coach for the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. She was the first female full-time assistant coach in NBA history and the first full-time female assistant coach in any of the four major professional sports in North America. And now she’s the highest paid Coach in the WNBA league thanks to Raiders owner Mark Davis, who wanted her bad enough to guarantee her $1 million a year. And there is NOT a person out there that would say “she’s not worth it.” Why? Because she is a winner, and a fighter, and an advocate, but most importantly, she is a Woman who supports and inspires other Women.
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