Get Inspired, Meet Powerful Women at Simmons Leadership Conference

As motivational speaker Mark Victor Hansen says, all of us can come up with excuses for why we can’t (or haven’t) yet succeeded.

I’m not educated.
I’m over educated.
I’m under qualified.
I’m over qualified.
I’m too poor.
I’m too rich.
I’m too fat.
I’m not healthy.
I’m handicapped.
I’m too old.
I’m too young.
I have kids.
I’m not married.
I’m the wrong color.
I’m the wrong ethnicity.

And the biggie — I’m a woman.

That’s the excuse the woman behind the Men With Pens persona used to justify using a male pen name and why she kept her gender a secret from almost everyone, including clients. According to her (him?), she made more money writing as a man than she did as a woman.

When I first read her coming out of the closet post on Copyblogger months ago, my first thought was, “Of course. We all know this.”

My marketing women friends and I acknowledged that yes, it’s still a man’s world. And, yes, you can find lots of data that show women still aren’t filling leadership roles — despite a large pipeline of very smart, very capable women.

Sadly, sexism does still exist, as evidenced by our last national election cycle. No matter what you think of either woman, Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin took a beating in the media — by conservative AND liberal outlets — and were castigated for their clothes, their looks, their body images, and their motherhood.

Male candidates, on the other hand, rarely went through this type of media bashing gauntlet. John Edwards, for example, managed to keep a mistress on the side without too much trouble or media inquiry.

I hashed out my anger and my confusion about this issue after the Men with Pens post came out with my colleague Mark W. Schaefer, who had originally addressed a related topic on his blog, “‘Social Media Expert’: Women Need Not Apply.”

Mark encouraged me to write about sexism in business, but I held off, not wanting to come across as an “angry woman.”

After much grappling, however, I realized that we are what we make of ourselves.

If you want to use an excuse like gender to explain why you haven’t achieved your goals or why you can’t be successful or why you can’t make as much money as male copywriters, then that excuse will hold you back.

On the other hand, you can say, “Yes, sexism (and other -isms) exist, but I’m not going to use it as an excuse.”

You can claim your power the way many of the women did who headline the Simmons Leadership Conference. At this conference, you’ll find women from all industries and walks of life who are making radical changes in their communities and across the globe.

I’m especially excited to hear Sheryl WuDunn talk about how women in the developing world have lifted themselves and their communities out of repression and poverty.

I’ll be attending the conference, Friday, April 30, 2010. I’m looking forward to meeting other powerful and successful women, celebrating my own successes, and getting inspired to make even bigger changes in the coming years.

Will I see you there?

(A HUGE thank you to Mark who encouraged me to overcome my fear about addressing the topic of sexism and who thoughtfully responded to my lengthy emails. Mark, you’re the best. I hope we’re able to meet face-to-face one day.)