The above comments are from Trish Regan, a former Fox Business talk show host. So yeah, let’s get that out of the way quickly. She’s a staunch supporter of President Trump, and she was fired from Fox Business after claiming the Democrats were hyping the Coronavirus for political gain. You can Google her all you want to find out the rest. I’m a liberal and feel that my circle is mostly liberal. OK?
Trish wrote. “However, wouldn’t it be more meaningful, and more powerful, if Biden said he just wanted to pick the best *PERSON* for the job? If the best PERSON is a woman, then, great. The best PERSON should be on the ticket. We WOMEN are NOT tokens for this man’s campaign.”
Trish wrote this on LinkedIn. Here’s the post and the ensuing comments…you can imagine the responses from both sides of the political spectrum; we’re talking about affirmative action, tokenism, picking the best candidate / maybe women are better candidates, getting a specific demographic to vote for the ticket, ‘gender and race above qualifications,’ and many not suitable to be repeated here or anywhere.
Now that Biden has selected Kamala Harris, I’ll chime in as it’s tied to why I launched this site…why I’m speaking up. Female led and diverse organizations perform better. HBR, BCG, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Blackrock and other notable management consulting firms and financial juggernauts (that are mostly run by 6′ white males, sadly), all agree. As Blackrock states “We know that diversity strengthens us and an inclusive culture is essential to deliver superior results for our clients.”
This is about expanding the opportunity for everyone because of the incredible potential for value creation that comes with a more diverse and inclusive environment.
So speaking from my liberal bubble, I’d like to hope that the power of diversity is one reason why Joe Biden said he’d choose a woman as his running mate. And I’d like to hope that the power of diversity is one reason for choosing the country’s first Black American and Asian American VP candidate to run an a major party ticket.
And if Kamala Harris becomes VP, I think it’ll help close the leadership gap between men and women. The obvious reason: the second highest political position in the country will be held by a woman and that woman will be the presumptive 2024 presidential candidate.
But also, don’t underestimate the power of looking up the ladder and seeing someone who looks like you. Men, especially white men, if you don’t think this is a problem, let’s chat.
The 2016 Lean In Women in the Workplace report stated, “Women are less likely to receive the first critical promotion to manager—so far fewer end up on the path to leadership—and they are less likely to be hired into more senior positions. Women also get less access to the people, input, and opportunities that accelerate careers. As a result, the higher you look in companies, the fewer women you see. This disparity is especially pronounced for women of color, who face the most barriers to advancement and experience the steepest drop-offs with seniority.”
I’m sure there are 20 reasons why Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate and if one of those reasons was because she is a woman, I approve. Diversity matters. Diversity at the top matters. Diversity makes us stronger. Having more women and people of color in positions of power is powerful and inspiring for so many, now and in the future.
Looking forward to more firsts like Kamala Harris. And really looking forward to seconds and thirds and…well, you get it.