Women leadership: a term with many meanings and faces

This article was originally published in McMaster University’s Alumni Blog in 2012.

Walking briskly under the rain on Saturday, I bumped into a dear friend while crossing King St. West. We briefly exchanged "hellos" before he proceeded to ask what brought me to downtown Hamilton. I told him I was attending the Leadership Summit for Women and asked if he was also heading there.

To my surprise, he joked, "Can I attend?" obviously pointing out his male gender.

His remark wasn't appalling. Instead, he showed a genuine interest, with a hint of laughter – and also uncertainty.

Admittedly, I felt the same.

It was a summit for women. My gender instinctively compelled me to register for that daylong event. As a woman, it only felt natural to show up and support other women.

Walking under the rain to City Hall, I found myself questioning my motives for attending. Did I register because I felt the need for women to step up for themselves? By attending, would that mean I am a feminist myself? Will there be other women of visible minority groups like me?

As it turned out, other women shared my doubts and insecurities too. This was most evidently felt in the panel discussion, represented by seven women in leadership and management positions, including highly intellectual professors with PhDs, and also established leaders in their communities, young and old.

You would think they had it easy to rise to that position of power. Like many other success stories, their status as female leaders today was only the tip of the iceberg. Their experiences were both shocking and inspiring. Manager of Hamilton's Settlement Integration Service Organization (SISO), the 25-year old Anisa Mirza, spoke about her fight against stereotypes of feminism. She had a lot going against her as young female Muslim, in her quest to fend off myths related to ideals of feminism.

Mirza shared her uncertainties, as she questioned what being a feminist truly meant.

"What does she look like? How does she talk? What does she wear?" she said, expressing her dilemma to hundreds who attended.

"I just want to be and find myself," she ended.

Despite her success in connecting moms through social media on Suburban Moms Media, founder Julia Rowles herself admitted – it wasn't an easy hill to climb.

"Competition amongst women has been my biggest challenge."

As the day went by, it was clear to me: each of us had our own stories and struggles to share as women. My background as a Chinese woman coming to terms with herself in a North American context was only one of the many diverse profiles we had in the room.

The wide range of panelists, which included women leaders from the transgendered and indigenous communities, was a conscious step to reflect the diverse female voices in Hamilton.

Former MSU president Mary Koziol recognized the challenge in uniting those different voices in one shared space.

"We talk a lot about knowledge, lived experiences. In expanding this conference, we're bringing together different people and experiences," said Koziol, explaining the decision to host the second summit this year in the heart of Hamilton instead of just limiting it to McMaster.

Koziol herself acknowledged her "unearned privilege" as a white woman, ensuring that women from marginalized groups were also represented in the summit. One of the outcomes was the Unseen Leader workshop. New to the summit this year, the workshop aimed to dispel myths and connotations of "traditional" leadership styles.

The decision to include Mohawk, Wolf Clan Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill in the panel discussion was also a deliberate one. As one of the founders of McMaster's Indigenous Studies program, Dr. Martin-Hill's input was integral to highlight issues of women representation and leadership in the non-Western paradigm, Koziol explained.

The passionate conversations and compelling messages about empowering and uniting women under one flagship were just the beginning. As I silently wrote my pledge, my personal promise to help women advance in their community, I thought about the women that whom I've met and touched my life in unique ways. From the grey-haired grandmother wiping cookie crumbs off her grandchild on the street, to my own mother who has been my pillar of strength since birth, the world is filled with hope – and also inequalities. For women, it is both an exciting and challenging journey to realize our full potential.

As McMaster's first female black president Siobhan Stewart said in her closing remarks:

"The world we are living in is not one that is founded by equity. We still feel the need to acknowledge progress made in relation to particular identities," citing race and gender as one of them.

"I'm waiting for a day where this isn't notable."

More about the summit, including photos, over at CBC Hamilton.