By Wally Bobkiewicz – City Manager, Evanston, IL
I recently spoke with a talented female staff member who is a senior member of one of our department management teams. She has an advanced professional degree and has been with the City for several years. Her department director and I had discussed departmental organization and the need for creating a clear number two in the department. This senior staffer was the obvious choice: experienced, very smart, works well with staff in other departments on a variety of projects and always is the staffer in meetings to bring up the important issues to help move projects forward. In short, a clear choice for this new department deputy director position.
Once the decision was made to make this change, I approached the woman with this exciting new opportunity. She thanked me for my confidence in her and told me how much she appreciated the opportunities to work on various projects. She was flattered at the opportunity for advancement, and thought she would be ready for the challenge in three or five more years after she had gained more experience.
Yikes.
I wish I could say this was the first time I have had this conversation with a smart accomplished woman, but it wasn’t. Perhaps this is a classic gender stereotype and I am not the person to provide commentary on the whys and hows this happens in organizations. However, this belief of “not being ready yet” is a clear hurdle to overcome in order for women to advance in local government. Here are some strategies I have used to address this problem:
- Encourage Mentoring Among Women Staffers: Informal mentoring is so important and should be encouraged as much as possible. Encourage senior and mid-managers to connect together and to identify more juniors staffers to get to know. A favorite phrase of mine is “How about you take so and so to lunch?” Managers know that is code for “here is someone who needs some mentoring.” It is also important to identify individuals outside the organization to help mentor women who might not have good role models already in the organization (especially in field departments like Public Works, Police and Fire).
- Use Interim and Acting Assignments: When a position is vacant for a period of time, try to place a women manager in the assignment to try it out. The position may be one that they don’t have much experience in, but going into the assignment and being successful in it, helps people better understand their core skills and abilities.
- Communicate Before and After Absences: Having many talented women managers means that we have had numerous maternity leaves in recent years. When the leave comes, many of these staffers wonder what impact the maternity leave will have on their positions and ability to move forward when they return. Try to make sure all department directors communicate in specific terms that an absence from work or the new challenges after has no negative bearing on the staffer moving forward. Communication during a maternity leave with work can be as much or little as they like. Upon their return, we welcome them and incorporate them back into the life of the workplace.
- Its OK to Think About Next Steps: Start talking with all staffers (male and female) after a couple of years in a position about next steps. Many people need a nudge to think about what is next (and when) for their own professional development. For some, it means staying where they are. For some, it is a change of direction in a career. For others, it may be leaving the organization for greener pastures.
Local government needs supervisors and managers that reflect the community they serve. Men and women of all races and walks of life are needed to serve our communities. This will only occur with the willingness of city and county managers hiring diverse candidates. But there also must be the qualified diverse candidates willing to step up and take on these positions.By the way, the women who thought she wasn’t ready to be the deputy department director took the job, is doing outstanding work and now is actively mentoring women professionals in her field.You are more ready for that next position than you realize. Democracy and our diverse communities depend on it.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
