Category Archives: Gender

Gender differences, LGBQT

Tennessee’s First African-American Female Public Defender: Ardena Garth — by Deborah Levine

Ardena Garth Hicks was the first African American female public defender in Tennessee’s Hamilton County. When the State of Tennessee created the office of public defenders 18 years ago, it was an appointed position by the Governor. Ardena was the only applicant with both defense and prosecutorial experience. Of the 27 initially appointed public defenders, only two were black females.

Continue reading Tennessee’s First African-American Female Public Defender: Ardena Garth — by Deborah Levine

Chattanooga’s Groundbreaking Women – by Deborah Levine

The Women’s Council on Diversity has inspired Chattanooga since its first meeting the day after 9/11. The influx of international companies led to our community-wide Global Leadership Class six years later, followed by Women GroundBreakers Storytelling. Documented in the American Diversity Report, these projects demonstrate how a small Southern city tackles its growing diversity and internationalization.

Continue reading Chattanooga’s Groundbreaking Women – by Deborah Levine

Having a Working Mother Is Good For Leaders- Harvard Business School

U.S. Women Benefit, Study from a new Harvard Business School Gender Initiative finds contrary to conventional wisdom, growing up with a working mother is unlikely to harm children socially and economically when they become adults, new research by a Harvard Business School professor concludes. The “working mother effect” actually improves future prospects, especially for adult daughters of mothers who worked outside the home before their daughters were 14 years old, according to recent findings based on a comprehensive survey of 50,000 adults aged 18 to 60 in 25 nations worldwide in 2002 and 2012.

Continue reading Having a Working Mother Is Good For Leaders- Harvard Business School

Shattering Glass Borders – by Beth Gitlin

Developing and Promoting Women Leaders in Global Organizations

Promoting women’s leadership in global organizations is really an economic and sustainability issue rather than a diversity issue. Companies must focus on successful outcomes and bottom lines. In this case, the bottom line is earning a profit, creating shareholder value and focusing on economic sustainability. CEO’s can’t afford to continue to conduct business as usual. Globalization has shifted into warp speed leading to limited resources, increasing costs and rising awareness of political and economic instability in certain areas of the world. And, corporate leaders must find innovative and creative ways to meet these challenges head-on.

Continue reading Shattering Glass Borders – by Beth Gitlin

A Mystic Revisits her Leadership Style – by Sharon Riegie Maynard

Having grown up in the 50’s, the female leadership style that I absorbed through osmosis was pretty dated. In fact, I am working hard to think of a time when “leadership” and “female” were together in one sentence.  Accepting assignments, following directions, obedience, and harnessing personal thinking were more the order for women. Ironing, baking, dinner on the table, floor waxed while sewing family clothes filled the hours of every day. These activities indicated a women’s value.

Continue reading A Mystic Revisits her Leadership Style – by Sharon Riegie Maynard

Confronting Gender Inequity – by Dr. Joseph Nwoye

Gender inequity and prejudice usually stems from bias a person forms based on experience. Every so often, we hear, observe, or read about issues associated with gender prejudice, and the extent that it humiliates not only the victims, but also their beloved ones. The victims are tired and are articulating their frustration and sense of oppression in many ways. They are crying out loud and saying, “We are no longer able to tolerate inequity just because we are females.” Their demand for equality and social justice calls for public and private actions to finally address this perennial problem. To that, I offer two strategies – policies and training initiative that will reduce and ultimately eradicate gender inequality in our society.

Continue reading Confronting Gender Inequity – by Dr. Joseph Nwoye

The Vision of an International Woman in STEM Education – by Dr. Neslihan Alp

I was born in Istanbul, Turkey. My father was a retired Turkish naval officer and I grew up on naval bases. My family sacrificed to educate me and my brother who is a medical doctor. Without an education, you can’t do anything. In Turkey, they kill each other to get a college degree. I attended elementary school early and learned to read early, a rarity in Turkey. These were French schools, and I spoke French before I spoke English.

Continue reading The Vision of an International Woman in STEM Education – by Dr. Neslihan Alp

At Least She Was Never Bored – by Dr. Ruth Williams

I am of Black Caribbean, Dutch, French, and British heritage. I was born on the Dutch island of Aruba, and grew up on the Island of St. Lucia in Franco-British West Indies. I emigrated to the United States at the age of 19 years. I was inspired to go into my STEM field by Dr. C.P Shim who was the professor in an introductory psychology course that I took my sophomore year in college. Determined to be a biologist in general and in particular, a proto-zoologist, Dr. Shim opened up the field of human behavior and mental processes in a way that resonated with some longing for service and knowledge deep in my spirit.

Continue reading At Least She Was Never Bored – by Dr. Ruth Williams

The Power of We – by Jemila Morson

I often refer to myself as “bi-cultural” as I was born and raised between two very distinct cultural landscapes, southern America and the British West Indies. Chattanooga TN is my place of birth, and I was raised between there and my island home of Anguilla B.W.I. My father is West Indian and my mother is American of African and Cherokee descent. The dual identity has given me many growing pains finding an identity of my own, but I am proud of the rich cultures combined within me. When I moved back to the US in high school, people would often ask what my “race” was. It was difficult to explain, so being the marketer that I am, I quickly adopted a slogan for myself; “the perfect mix: an Indian, American, Caribbean chick.”

Continue reading The Power of We – by Jemila Morson

It’s a Man’s World – by Alyssa Montague

A STEM Woman in the Commercial Construction Industry

My name is Alyssa ‘Monty’ Montague, and I’m a 26-year-old SharePoint Administrator at Hutton Construction, Inc. I grew up in a town called Normal, IL, which is about half the size of Chattanooga. I wanted to get out of the small town life, so for college, I moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College. It didn’t take long, ­­just six short years­, ­for me to tire of big city life. My long­term boyfriend and I decided to move to Chattanooga to be closer to his family. My mom and dad still live in Illinois, but they come to visit as often as they can.

Continue reading It’s a Man’s World – by Alyssa Montague