LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
We ’ ve Certainly Come a Long Way
PHOTO BY TERENCE DUFFY
The theme for this special annual issue of Comstock ’ s is Women in Leadership . But I have to say a big part of me finds that phrase redundant ( almost like “ men in pants ”). Women have always been leaders , even when they were homemakers and stay-at-home moms .
There are 40 women in CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies ( 8 percent ), according to the “ Women CEOs in America ” report from the alliance organization Women Business Collaborative and the nonprofits C200 and Catalyst . That ’ s not a huge number , and most of the gains have been for white women ( less than 1 percent are women of color ), but let ’ s look at it as the glass half full — just three years ago , that number was just 4.8 percent , and there were none in 1995 . Back in 1968 , Virginia Slims cigarette ads were crowing , “ You ’ ve come a long way , baby ,” but that certainly wasn ’ t the case for women as a group in C-suite jobs .
But individual women have come a long way . Women have run newspapers ( notably The Washington Post ’ s Katharine Graham and The New York Times ’ Janet L . Robinson ); eponymous multipronged businesses ( Martha Stewart ); toy companies ( Jill Barad of Mattel ); technology firms ( Meg Whitman of eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ) and auto manufacturers ( Mary Barra at General Motors ).
In my career as publisher and owner of Comstock ’ s for 32 years , I ’ ve met hundreds of women in leadership roles in their companies , many of which , like me , they founded themselves , and perhaps even bootstrapped . The days of someone approaching a woman at a business get-together and presuming she ’ s a secretary are gone . And that ’ s not meant as a criticism of secretaries . Starting in fifth grade , I wanted to be the best secretary in the world . And that ’ s where I cut my teeth in business — working for an irrigation district , a small real estate firm , a prominent law firm and the California Legislature in the speaker ’ s office ( great job ).
In part , women are excellent leaders because of — not in spite of — their innate sense of compassion . I ’ m not suggesting men lack empathy , just that many of them are not raised or schooled to cultivate that sense of caring in the workplace . Women have no qualms about exhibiting human concern for those around them — and the more we achieve , the more we ( and men ) realize it ’ s not a sign of weakness . Being soft-hearted is different from being soft-headed , and some of the toughest bosses I ’ ve met , those dedicated to never compromising on excellence , are women .
The luckier ones of us have been raised to expect more of ourselves . My mom , who blessedly turned 100 last November and still is in great health , wasn ’ t a businessperson . She was a full-time homemaker and mother , and she loved doing that . She always encouraged me in whatever I pursued . She ’ s said many times throughout my life , “ Honey , I just don ’ t know how you do it !” Those words made me think I was more accomplished than perhaps I really was , but those words always compelled me to press on no matter the obstacles — and there were plenty .
If there ’ s something the women featured in this issue and I have in common , it can probably be summarized in three words : Do the work . Isn ’ t that what it ’ s all about ? Most women I know , and most definitely the entrepreneurs , don ’ t go into careers asking how many vacation days they ’ ll be able to accrue . They enter their professions with a determination to handle the present and improve the future . They think less about exit strategies and more about the work in front and ahead of them .
Several years ago , a longtime friend created a career “ reentry ” program for women . He told me over a recent lunch that he hired women who ’ d taken breaks from employment to do the much harder work of raising a family and now wanted a portal back in . Most said they didn ’ t feel they had marketable skills because they hadn ’ t had “ actual ” jobs for a few years . He said that all he could do was think of his own mom , who was the family ’ s in-house juggler — master scheduler , daily bookkeeper and transportation dispatcher — and he would think , “ You have no idea how much more qualified you are than some of the people working here .”
The way I look at it , women have always been in leadership . We got a very late start on business leadership , but our numbers are growing exponentially , and I am very proud of that . Though we have come a long way , we have a long way to go , but everything in life has a long way to go to become its best self . I love that women are being recognized for all they bring to the table , and we ’ re happy to host our annual celebration in these pages . Men in pants are welcome to attend .
What do you think ? Let me know at winnie @ comstocksmag . com .
Winnie Comstock-Carlson President and Publisher
March 2021 | comstocksmag . com 17