Posted by: Joan Marsh on November 22, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Last Thursday, I had the privilege of attending the Alliance for Women in Media event, “Honoring the Women of the FCC: Past and Present.” AT&T was the premier sponsor of the program which included a moderated discussion between former and current FCC Commissioners Mimi Dawson, Susan Ness, Deborah Taylor Tate, Gloria Tristani and Meredith Atwell Baker. And what a discussion it was. The Commissioners past and present shared their insights and perspectives, commented on issues about which they are passionate and offered an opinion or two. And, by the way, they all looked marvelous.
The dialogue was free flowing and covered questions about how being a woman shaped the panelists’ views on substantive issue. While most agreed that it did not have a direct impact on their deliberative processes, it often did aid in their understanding and empathy on issues. The Commissioners also answered questions related to diversity in the media and challenges faced by female candidates for nominated or elected positions.
All had wonderful stories to share that revealed both how far women have come in our collective professional lives yet how far we have to go. In the US Congress today, only 17% of the members are women. But as Mimi Dawson noted, it was not that many years ago when she was Chief of Staff of the Senate Commerce Committee in a Congress that had no female members at all. Several of the panelists shared the experience of attending meetings with industry leadership to find that they were the only woman in the room. All the panelists expressed their commitment to challenging the status quo so women continue to have greater opportunities for full participation in both their political and professional endeavors.
The panelists also spoke of the role other women played in their lives — as mentors, as colleagues, as confidantes and as friends. And perhaps that is what I enjoyed most about the event. Women like those honored at this event have the power to inspire other women to dream big and to rise to all that is possible. As Nelson Mandela said, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. The lights were shining brightly last Thursday.
