The Realization

The Egotist article upset me my first read. I felt two things, first that someone finally said out loud how I feel, and two deflated. I have been trying to fight against this exact mentality my whole life with not only work but school, friends, etc. As the daughter of a very independent strong woman, I have always heard her voice in my head "you can do anything a man can do". It's amazing how I chose one of the industries that this still does not stand true. After my second read of the article I focused on my mother's quote again, and I realized, yes this article might be true, but there are ways around it. That the one woman out of fifteen men who is a C/VP director ended up there somehow, so I can too.

At nine years old someone decided I should sign up for baseball. Here's the catch, there was no female team. So I was signed up for little league with every other boy in my town.

The key to my short lived baseball career was a specific event that occurred when I was in the outfield.The boys on my own team started throwing rocks at me. I was really quiet when I was little, so I can't imagine I was being loud and annoying. So why were they throwing rocks at me? And why did no one tell them to stop? And then I started crying, and came off the field.

When we went back to the bench, I sat by myself, like usual, waiting my turn in the batting order. I was upset and confused. All I wanted was to be a part of the team and do well like everyone else. That's when Paul a "boy of all boys" character came and sat next to me. I will never forget what he said, "you know, you just have to play the game, go with it".

That was it, from that day on I realized I was in a boy's, not man's, but a boy's world. The only way to get in with them was to play. I did not pursue baseball, but I made sure I was always as quick as them with jokes, music, movies and being "chill". Like the Egotist article points out, this industry is a fight for woman, and If I am going to keep up, I am going to have to play my cards.

Welcome to Playing with Cards: A blog about being female in today's Advertising World.