I've had the pleasure of attending two amazing events over the past week or so. The first was the annual Young Women's Leadership Symposium on Friday, March 23rd. The second was the Law School Gala on Tuesday, March 27th. The first event, obviously, is solely dedicated to discussing, educating, and exposing young women in leadership. The second event is dedicated to offering students at Austin Peay a chance to see law schools from around the country and hear from legal practitioners. Both events included amazing women in leadership positions.
Judge Jill Ayers of the 19th Judicial District in Tennessee was the keynote speaker for the Young Women's Leadership Symposium. She spoke about the way her career as a private attorney led her to be a female pioneer in her district. Alongside her were a little less than a dozen female leaders who hosted breakout sessions for students (both from the university and local high schools). These sessions ranged from discussing the history of Wonder Woman to the #MeToo movement and legal due process. This event showcased some of the best women leaders in the community and sought to assist the young women in the audience in their aspirations.
At the Law School Gala, among their male counterparts were many female legal practitioners and admissions personnel who spoke to what it is like being a woman in the legal field. One of the guests was Clarksville City Mayor Kim McMillan. Mayor McMillan spoke about her political career which began in the 1990s when she became a state representative in the Tennessee General Assembly, and about the adversities she faced as a woman in a male-dominated field.
I find the stories of these women and women like them incredibly inspiring. Often times it is not outright oppression (a man saying, "you can't do that because you're a woman!"), but rather societal expectations that perpetuate women being in support roles rather than leadership roles. I believe it is more beneficial for the entirety of the United States, and indeed the world, to have more women in leadership. This leadership doesn't need to solely be political. It is imperative that women increase their leadership representation in businesses, non-profit organizations, international organizations, and so forth. Events like the Young Women's Leadership Symposium are, I believe, imperative in helping young women learn more about what they can do to become leaders in their field(s) of choice.
Women have unique insights into life and are just as likely to have strong opinions about things as men. As men, it is important that we support the aspirations of the women in our lives rather than subvert them. I wouldn't be the same person today if it weren't for the amount of amazing, strong, intelligent women in my life (my mother being among the most important, obviously). Women's increased participation in the leadership of the world could drastically change, for the better, I believe, the circumstances we find ourselves in. We should desire to increase the number of women in leadership across all fields from all walks of life. I believe we would all be better for it.
