With my best friend riding shotgun and my two dogs in the back seat of my Buick Encore, I made the road trip from D.C. to Chicago last month for the ordination and consecration of Paula E. Clark, the first female bishop, and first Black bishop, of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. She’s also my mom.
I’m incredibly proud of her, but sometimes it amazes me we’re still celebrating women’s firsts.
History has proven that diversity, equity and inclusion are necessary for businesses, organizations and systems to advance and thrive. Studies have shown that, among other benefits, having more women in the workplace improves employee retention and engagement, expands perspectives and enhances collaboration. Having women in leadership roles specifically also has been shown to increase profitability.
And yet, women are frequently missing from the top spots, or are just now arriving. In just the past few weeks, all of these entities named their first female CEOs: Outward Bound, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority, HistoryMiami Museum and many others.
A 2021 Women in the Workplace study by McKinsey & Co. in partnership with LeanIn.org, found women make up a smaller percentage than men in the American workforce overall. And women of color fall behind everyone — white men, white women and men of color — on almost every step of the organizational food chain, from entry level on up. But the differences were the most stark in the leadership positions. Women make up about a quarter of the highest ranking executives, and of that figure, just 4% are women of color.
As a Black woman serving as Under Armour’s chief people and culture officer, Tchernavia Rocker said institutions that exclude women from the helm are missing out on a special and powerful perspective.
“I believe that we’re endowed with certain capabilities, instincts and emotions that equip us for doing the hardest work when the work can’t be explained the way of numbers, when the work can’t be explained with the level of concreteness, but the ability to sit in the abstract,” Rocker said when interviewed as one of The Sun’s 2022 Women to Watch.
Before becoming the first Black, Southeast Asian and female vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris got to know a thing or two about “firsts.” She became San Francisco’s first Black district attorney and California’s first female attorney general. (And, as my sister in Greekdom, she’s part of the “first and finest” sorority of Alpha Kappa Alpha.)
“My mother would look at me, and she’d say, ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last,’” Harris said during a speech at Spelman College in 2018.
In November 2020, after votes were tallied and she and Joe Biden claimed victory in the presidential election, Harris vowed she would not be the last woman to hold the office of vice president, “because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
My mother’s election in December 2020 was also historic. And as I spent the weekend in Chicago proudly and tearfully supporting her, many people remarked on the important perspectives she brings to her new role.
My mother suffered a brain injury in April 2021, right before her consecration was initially scheduled. In her recovery, she had to learn to walk and talk again. As a well-educated, highly experienced Black woman she was already offering a valuable perspective. Now she’s serving as bishop as someone who is navigating life differently abled — another important worldview that will enhance her leadership.
Bishop Clark was consecrated Sept. 17, while wearing sparkling, red Nike Air Jordans, a celebratory choice in place of heels, as she is still working on her equilibrium.
At the end of the service I saw three Black girls taking pictures in spots where my mom stood during the service, rocking “church clothes” with their Nikes — one girl even had on red Jordans.
I now realize how fortunate those girls are to have a role model like my mother. They had a church leader who had braids and brown skin, and who wore sneakers like them.
In order to foster the next generation of female bishops or business executives or vice presidents of the United States, young girls and women must see themselves more widely represented in positions of power.
As Vice President Harris’ mother reminded her, we must look beyond firsts, to create opportunities for seconds, thirds, fourths and more, so that by the time those girls are my mother’s age, having women in charge, especially Black women, is no longer historic.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Micha Green is a content editor for The Baltimore Sun.
