3-8-10 The Only Woman

Normally I would avoid discussion about gender issues relative to executives. However, given the industry I recently retired from (aerospace), you can imagine that there were a few gender issues. When you think about the commercial aerospace industry, you will realize that it descended directly from the military. So it shouldn’t surprise you that this has been a male dominated industry for most of its existence. And you know what? For a woman in the industry, that can be an advantage……..

Let’s face it, in today’s EEO environment, male-dominated industries are actively seeking women to promote. I used to tell the young ladies that I mentored, yes, I most likely got some of my jobs because I am a woman. But, and it is a BIG but, I kept those jobs because I learned the job and was good at it…… I did not keep a job because I was a woman.

I started out in Finance, which in this industry is one of the traditional places for women….. Along with HR. I had the opportunity to do a development rotation (part-time…. Still had to do my real job!) in manufacturing. During this rotation, I met regularly with the Operations VP to discuss my observations. Along the way, I got bit by the manufacturing bug and asked to be moved to Operations. I have to tell you that the VP was surprised by my request. He had never had a staff person as to be moved into the line functions. AND he had never had a woman ask him for it.

I wanted a senior factory manager job (oh, the audacity of the young!). Instead he offered me the business manager job in sheet metal. Seemed like a good place to start. And I ended up with a boss that not only taught me about operations but took a big chance on me. After about a year, he moved me to a senior factory manager in sheet metal. In fact, I was the first female to hold this position in fabrication here in the Midwest.

So what are the advantages?

Of course, as a woman, you have the chance to hold jobs that you might never consider. And, along the way, you could possibly discover your passion in life. I was fortunate in that.

And certainly, being a novelty can be an advantage. You could tell that my crews liked being the only ones to have a “lady general or superintendent”. (Back in the old days, that position was called general or superintendent …. The nomenclature stuck with many of the mechanics.) I can’t tell you how many times a mechanic would point me out to one of their colleagues….. “that’s our lady general!”.

Most of my crews were male. And I was in fabrication. Fabrication includes the machine shop. And the union isn’t called the “machinists” for nothing. Being a female allowed me to ask questions, probe into processes, prod production, etc. all without appearing to be “managing”. Because often, in a machinist environment, the first hint of managing will be met with stony resistance. By asking what appear to be innocent questions, I was able to help my crews manage themselves. Could a man do that? Likely not, as any questions would seem like challenges or intrusions.

Another advantage? I come from the school of “ask forgiveness, not permission”. Frankly in a large company, this is often the only way to get things done. As a woman, when I got “caught coloring outside the lines”, I would unabashedly bat my eyelashes and swear that I didn’t know and certainly wouldn’t do that again. Yea, it worked every time.

And what are the downsides of being the only woman in a male-dominated environment?

You always run the risk of not being taken seriously. Some people will believe that since you didn’t grow up in that environment, you can never really know what you are talking about. Or others will assume that, since you are woman, you cannot possibly be tough enough to survive in a manufacturing environment.

Another downside is that it is likely you will only be able to go so far up the management ladder in a male-dominated environment. If you take the time to look around you, it will become apparent how far your ladder might extend. In the aerospace industry, it extends as high as VP (in very limited cases) but never extends to president or CEO….. Particularly in the operations or engineering areas.

So do I regret being the only woman? Heck no. If I hadn’t taken that leap, I would have never discovered how fascinated I am by building airplanes. Because I was the only woman for many years, I got opportunities that would have never appeared had I stayed in my nice, safe, and familiar environment.

Cheers!