Mary Jo White: Standing on the shoulders of our predecessors

Growing up, I was very grateful to my older brother for teaching me how to throw a baseball. Although girls were not allowed to play Little League, no one on the playground could accuse me of “throwing like a girl.” This was, of course, decades before that phrase evolved to be a compliment.

Much like that phrase, the role of women in the workplace has evolved in recent decades. More than 40 years ago, my law school class was only 17% women. Now, women comprise nearly half of law school graduates.

I have had the privilege to be the first woman in a number of positions. I was the first, and so far only, woman to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. As part of my duties, I was chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee under Attorney General Janet Reno — a group of about 15 U.S. Attorneys from around the country.

The year was 1993. For the first time in my career, I was in a high-powered setting where women outnumbered men. Eventually, I realized how dramatically different meetings were when women outnumbered men. Women were the ones who spoke freely and forcefully advocated their ideas, while men seemed more reticent about expressing their views. Because women are still usually outnumbered in professional settings, it is easy to forget what a difference numbers can make in our performance, careers and job satisfaction.

(Women in advice: Check out IN’s inaugural Women to Watch list)

Throughout my career, I have tried to be proactive in expanding the roles and numbers of qualified women. I believe it is our duty as women to support one another and push each other forward. But we also need the help of men in positions of leadership. In the late 1970s, I was a young prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office. The U.S. Attorney decided to fill half the openings with well-qualified women. His decision changed the face of federal prosecutors in New York and made a huge difference in the professional success and stature of women in the legal profession.

Many of the women he hired eventually formed “an old girls’ network.” We look out for the next generation and offer advice. From that network came judges, general counsels of major companies, U.S. Attorneys and other senior leaders. You cannot crack the glass ceiling alone — when you reach that ceiling, you are standing on the shoulders of those who came before you. At the Securities and Exchange Commission, I am happy to say I am not the first woman to be chair. I am, in fact, the third. That is progress.

I recently became a grandmother, and I am excited my granddaughter will grow up in a world where this kind of progress preceded her. A world where she can play Little League, where throwing like a girl is a good thing and where her path will be a little bit smoother because of the generations of women who came before her.

And she will know there is not anything she cannot do or become.

Mary Jo White is chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Related Topics: Securities and Exchange Commission