Because I inherited the position of publisher at the Register, I feel a greater challenge to prove my worth. —Susan Lynn
Anyone who takes over a family business is in the same boat. Being female can make the burden even greater.
At the Register it’s not an issue, in part because we have a balance of males and females on staff and we all carry a more or less equal workload. I also make sure to hire people who are of a respectful nature.
That’s not to say you can keep bias from walking in the door or having to deal with it in outside situations.
Most men have a knee-jerk reaction to vehemently deny a charge of sexism. For those of you who are rolling your eyes, it may just prove my point.
But for those of us out there, we know otherwise.
“Oh, here comes our esteemed philosopher, the conscience of Iola,” said a downtown businessman in a mocking tone as I entered the coffee shop the other day.
Much to his delight, I turned red. And kept quiet. It’s only a week later I can digest what prompts him to make such a remark.
Disrespect comes from resentment, a feeling of inadequacy, or conversely a feeling of superiority and lack of good breeding.
It’s not the first time I have had men mock my role as editor.
Even though the Register has maintained its status as a profitable and award-winning newspaper and my editorials are more or less philosophically aligned with that of my dad, men feel more free to say disparaging remarks, perhaps because they feel they do not have to be accountable to women.
Sometimes the comments get to me, obviously. I’m not made of stone. But such actions also drive me to dig deep and draw on that reservoir of self-confidence that tells me I am their equal. “I am woman, hear me roar,” sang Helen Reddy, a feminist of the 1970s.
And while it’s not in my nature to raise my voice, I’ll not shy away from what I perceive as unjustified slights.
Women in leadership roles know they carry the extra burden of having to prove themselves above and beyond their male counterparts. The same goes for any minority.
The young, the elderly, the impoverished, and those of an ethnic minority also face discrimination on a routine basis.
The Register is often a first step for graduates of journalism school. Instead of making them feel welcome and helping them understand the dynamics and intricacies of city and county governments, too often my young, and very bright, reporters are made to feel inadequate for the job.
I can remember the frustration my elderly parents felt when personnel would talk “over” my parents when I was in their company, as if I were better able to handle a situation. “When did I become invisible?” my dad said.
And of course, the civil rights leader Martin Luther King devoted his life to social justice.
Respect. That’s what makes us civilized.
Sticks and stones aside, words do the real damage
