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Good morning, Fearless readers:
I’m proud to tell you about the amazing women who will share their journeys with you in our upcoming Fearless panel about leadership and mentorship.
We will hear from Bridget Cravens-Neely, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa; Monica Friedman, chief human resources officer of LCS; Emilia Marroquin, board member of Salud!, a multicultural health coalition in Storm Lake; Mollie Ross, vice president of operations at the Technology Association of Iowa; and Barbara Wilson, president of the University of Iowa. What will you learn from them?
The panel is from noon to 1 p.m. on Oct. 3. You can register here.
In this week’s Fearless e-newsletter, you will find:
- An excerpt from the recently released book "When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories" by Ruth Harkin. Did you know that Ruth was elected to public office before her husband, former Sen. Tom Harkin?
- A column by Suzanna de Baca, president and CEO of Business Publications Corp., about why women should apply for jobs even if they don’t perfectly meet all of the qualifications listed.
- In the headlines: Polk County Health Director Helen Eddy, whose firm voice led the county through the COVID-19 pandemic and who shepherded other key public health initiatives since 2017, has announced her upcoming retirement.
- In case you missed it: A $63,000 grant will assist the Des Moines Art Center in presenting its 2027 exhibition "Whisper to a Scream: Women Artists and Minimalism."
- Lots more!
– Nicole Grundmeier, Business Record staff writer
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An excerpt from ‘When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories’
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Many Iowans may not know that Ruth Harkin was first elected to public office before her husband, former Sen. Tom Harkin. Ruth Harkin was the first woman to become the Story County attorney, and she worked to bring more women into the profession. Her new book, "When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories," was published in September. In it, Ruth Harkin explores her early life, children, the women’s movement and careers, culminating in her and her husband founding the Harkin Institute and the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center at Drake University.
She has an upcoming book-signing event from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 26 at the West Des Moines Public Library.
In August of 2018, Harkin was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, at the State Historical Society building in Des Moines. This is an excerpt from her speech at the ceremony, and in her new book it’s titled "Women Helping Women."
Thank you for your kind and generous words! I am thrilled to be honored by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, which has been such an effective voice for women in our state. I want to thank my husband, sister, aunt, cousin and niece for traveling to be with me today. Also, thanks to so many good friends who are here today.
Women recognizing women, helping women and celebrating women has been a passion of mine throughout my life.
My first job was chopping corn out of beans in rural Minnesota. I was 14 and had to ask for the job, and I have been working at something ever since. I am among the first generation of women who pursued full-time careers outside the home and juggled career and family life. It was a debate among us, and many promising and well-educated women decided not to risk it — especially if it was not the economic necessity it increasingly is today.
Early on, I was motivated by a couple of guidelines. One, you have to be in the room to make a difference. A second guideline was to do what I wanted to do. Most of the work and jobs I have done, people told me I couldn’t do. I never listened to them. This has been liberating.
As a lawyer just out of law school, I was hired to work as a legal aid lawyer in Polk County beginning in November of 1972. In May, as I was studying for the Iowa bar exam, the Story County Democratic chair came to our house in Ames. Story County Democrats were notorious for not filling the ticket for county offices. She wanted to change that, and she asked me to fill the slot of county attorney. "I haven’t even passed the bar yet, and besides I am going to be a legal aid attorney," I protested.
"That, my dear, is irrelevant. You couldn’t possibly win this race. There are no women county attorneys in any of the 99 counties, and in Story County there are no women attorneys except you. Not to mention that Story County in over 100 years of existence has only elected one Democrat, who was promptly defeated two years later. I am just asking you to help fill the ticket."
That pretty well nailed it, and I said, "Sure, sign me up." Well, against all odds, I won! The attorney general sent us letters titled, "Lady and gentlemen."
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I was now in the room, and it was a very good room, but I determined from the start that other women join me. Happily, more women began attending Iowa law schools in the 1970s. A male student once said to me, "I would really like to intern with you, but I hear you only hire women." "That is absolutely true. I am the only woman out of 99. If I don’t hire women, who will?"
Over the next six years, women began joining the prosecutor ranks. My sister Sherry graduated from the University of Minnesota law school and became Winneshiek County’s first female assistant county attorney. When I completed my two terms, another woman succeeded me, and since 1972, women have been in the prosecutors’ rooms throughout our state.
When I moved to Washington, D.C., to join my husband with our 3-year-old daughter, Amy — daughter Jenny was born 2½ years later — I was told that whereas I might be a big deal in Iowa, my resume did not translate to a federal-level job. I became deputy general counsel at the Department of Agriculture. The secretary said he didn’t want me. "When I look at you, I see my wife, and she could never do this job." I took the job anyway. After a couple of months, he apologized to me and said he had been wrong, and we became pals.
During my tenure, I got a call one day from the United States Office of the General Counsel in the vice president’s office. "I see that you have lawyers working part-time in your office." "Yes, we have some extremely talented women lawyers who are mothers or becoming mothers. They are a bit daunted by parenting, work, traffic and child care but don’t want to leave the workforce, so I agreed they could work part-time."
"Well, no one else is doing this in any of the other general counsel offices." "It isn’t against federal regulations, is it?" I asked. "Well, no." "That’s a good thing then, isn’t it? I will keep doing it."
I was offered a presidential appointment to become president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) in 1993. Composed of lawyers and bankers, this is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports private sector business investments around the world in politically unstable countries. No woman had ever headed this organization. OPIC did business with chief financial officers, heads of U.S. corporations and heads of state around the world — all men. But I had a big advantage: I had the authority and the money.
We were wildly successful by any measure due to our talented team, support from the White House and newly expanded jurisdiction, primarily because of the breakup of the Soviet Union. But the statistic I liked best was at the end of four years, 50% of our lawyers were women and 50% of our bankers were women.
Corporate America can be a difficult culture for women because there are so few at or near the top. I was offered a wonderful opportunity by a just-appointed chairman and CEO of a long-established New England corporation. Honestly, I thought I was on another planet. No woman had ever been part of senior management or had a direct report to the chairman.
I was told that even though I was now in the inner circle of senior management, they were not interested in bringing in more women at my level. I could hire women if I wanted, but that was it! It was tough, but I am delighted to know that within our worldwide corporate network, many capable women have achieved high-ranking executive positions within the businesses, some from Iowa.
One moment does stand out. I was boarding one of our corporate helicopters in Hartford to fly to New York for a meeting. I walked over to meet the pilot and copilot on the tarmac. They turned around. They were beaming. They were women! "Mrs. Harkin, what do you think? It’s just the three of us." I loved it! And I smiled all the way to New York.
Now we are in this room. It’s the right place. I am looking at my 33-year-old lawyer niece, Carrie. She is in the room. Like many of her generation, and our own daughters, she works full time, is raising a family, maintains a household with her husband and she is helping women. They get it!
Women helping women.
Thank you again for this recognition.
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Leading Fearlessly: Women: You don’t have to check all the boxes to be the perfect job candidate
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BY SUZANNA DE BACA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS CORP.
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I once turned down a plum offer to start a new division at an investment firm. At the time, I didn’t think I had adequate experience to take on the challenge. Looking back, I wonder why I didn’t believe in myself, especially when the leaders who approached me believed I could do the job. I can now see that I sabotaged myself with self-doubt. They subsequently hired a guy who had less experience than I did, a fact that apparently did not deter him from the opportunity. Today, that business is worth billions.
I can kick myself now for feeling I wasn’t qualified to do that job, but unfortunately, this reaction is common among women. Research shows that we tend to let self-doubt get in our way when considering new roles.
"Talented women are more likely to shy away from applying for job opportunities, particularly more advanced, higher-paying positions, because they’re concerned they aren’t qualified enough, whereas men don’t seem to worry about their skills matching the specific job requirements as much," said a study by Harvard Business School Associate Professor Katherine B. Coffman.
The inspiration for Coffman’s research was a commonly quoted statistic from a decade-old internal Hewlett Packard report that showed men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, whereas women apply only if they meet 100% of them. Subsequent research, like a more recent LinkedIn Gender Insights Report, still indicates that women apply for 20% fewer jobs than men despite similar job search behaviors.
Is this all a confidence issue for women to work on? Certainly, women can benefit from addressing and working through self-doubt when applying for new roles. We can turn to mentors for help and learn to navigate the interview process, asking more questions or for clarification along the way. But it shouldn’t all be on us.
Employers have a role to play as well. For employers seeking to broaden their applicant pool — especially for high-level positions — making some adjustments to the recruiting process can help. Knowing that some candidates might be hyper-literal, employers could consider steering clear of vague qualifications such as "several years experience in the industry" or "demonstrated excellence in the field," and instead state the amount of experience and detailed skills required. Employers can also be proactive and work to recruit qualified female candidates rather than waiting for them to apply.
I turned to local leaders for their input on how to encourage women to apply for roles even when they don’t have every single qualification.
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Renee Hardman, president and CEO, Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI)
There is research that states that women are less likely to apply for roles when they do not meet every single qualification. Women often spend considerable time second-guessing themselves, particularly if they can’t check off all the boxes. From my executive level human resources experience, most candidates rarely do. I encourage women to write down two future career moves they desire to consider. Develop a checklist of everything those jobs require. Start positioning yourself to take advantage of every future opportunity that may lead to you fulfilling your aspirations. Learn to market your transferable skills that align with the job. You must be proactive and stay ahead of the game. Always take time to invest in your professional development, and most of all, find a mentor who may be several steps ahead of you. Try new things and get out of your comfort zone; that is when growth happens. And, lastly, always believe: You are enough.
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Ashlee Vieregger, senior lead adviser, Foster Group
Model it! Tell your own "60% story" and engage proactively, especially with women in the early phase of their careers. My career in financial advising began with an "out-of-left-field" job application where I had few job-related qualifications but a strong education and a willingness to learn. I was afraid that my lack of experience would hold me back — but on the flipside, it was easy to train me because everything was new and I had nothing to un-learn!
If you’re searching for your next role, embrace that you have absolutely nothing to lose by applying for something outside your exact skills or experience. Even if you don’t get offered the position, don’t be shy — ask the hiring manager if there are other open roles that could be a better fit for your skills and experience. We recently hired a candidate this way!
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Therese M. Wielage, chief marketing and communications officer, Merchants Bonding Co.
To encourage women to apply for roles even if they don’t meet every qualification, I would ask them to start with "Yes, I can," and emphasize the value of their transferable skills and potential for growth. Roles are rarely filled by candidates who check every box, but society has pushed women to be overly critical of themselves and prized self-deprecation for women while prizing self-recognition for men. To start from a place of "Yes," I advise women to reflect on past roles, examining how they successfully took on new challenges or responsibilities they had never encountered. This highlights their competencies in problem-solving, learning agility and resourcefulness. A woman’s ingenuity is more valuable than meeting specific qualifications. Listing your competencies can give you the joy of that ah-ha moment when you realize all of your capabilities and build your confidence to say: "Yes, I can."
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"STARTING A BUSINESS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE HUMBLE. BE AS BOLD, LOUD AND FEISTY AS YOU CAN, BECAUSE YOU WILL NEED IT TO WIN."
TAMI GARCIA
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Doctors give Black women unneeded C-sections to fill operating rooms, study suggests: Healthy Black women with low risk factors were far more likely to get cesarean sections than white women with similar medical histories, a large new study found. That’s the conclusion of a new report of nearly 1 million births in 68 hospitals in New Jersey, one of the largest studies to tackle the subject. Even if a Black mother and a white mother with similar medical histories saw the same doctor at the same hospital, the Black mother was about 20% more likely to have her baby via C-section, according to this in-depth story by the New York Times.
Polk County Health Director Helen Eddy to retire: Polk County Health Director Helen Eddy, whose firm voice led the county through the COVID-19 pandemic and who shepherded other key public health initiatives since 2017, will step down from her role early next year. Eddy has been the county’s top public health official since January 2018, overseeing an office of 45 staff members responding to the needs of more than 500,000 residents. The Polk County Board of Supervisors will take on the effort to replace the health department’s top administrator, according to this story by the Des Moines Register.
Former ISU employee’s lawsuit claims age, sex discrimination: Iowa State University and former Vice President for Finance and Operations Shawn Norman are facing a lawsuit from a former employee who alleges she faced discrimination on the basis of her age and sex, according to this story by the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Former ISU Director of Facilities Services Christine Maduro filed suit July 31, claiming that she has "suffered immense mental, physical, and emotional distress" as a result of actions taken by Norman during her employment and when she was let go without justification or evidence of wrongdoing, according to the lawsuit.
Ratio of women’s median earnings to men’s has widened for the first time in more than 2 decades: The inflation-adjusted median income of U.S. households rebounded last year to roughly its 2019 level, overcoming the biggest price spike in four decades to restore most Americans’ purchasing power. The proportion of Americans living in poverty also fell slightly last year, to 11.1%, from 11.5% in 2022. But the ratio of women’s median earnings to men’s widened for the first time in more than two decades as men’s income rose more than women’s in 2023, according to this story by the Associated Press.
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Job rate for women in tech has hardly budged since 2005, EEOC finds (Washington Post). Teen girls’ brains aged rapidly during pandemic, study finds (New York Times). Women just broke a job-market record. That may be a warning sign. (MarketWatch). Why a mammogram isn’t always enough to rule out cancer (Wall Street Journal). Alice Walton just became the world’s wealthiest woman. Plus: Is the idea of ‘male allies’ holding women back? (Forbes). A venture capital grant program for Black women officially ends after court ruling (NPR).
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Grant supports expansive Art Center plans for ‘Women Artists and Minimalism’ exhibition
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A $63,000 grant will assist the Des Moines Art Center in presenting its 2027 exhibition "Whisper to a Scream: Women Artists and Minimalism," according to a news release.
The Art Center said that works from its permanent collections inspired the plans and that "Whisper to a Scream" will feature a multigenerational group of female-identified artists, mostly American.
"Moving beyond the traditional definition of Minimalism, which has long centered around a group of predominately white male, New York-based artists, this exhibition will instead consider a continuum of women painters, sculptors and more who have often been overlooked or underappreciated in the narrative of art history," according to the news release.
The money is a Collections Grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art. It will be used to support planning and development.
The project will include research on Louise Rosenfield Noun, the Des Moines philanthropist, activist and historian who is a pivotal part of the Art Center’s history, the news release said.
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At its core, Fearless exists to help empower Iowa women to succeed in work and life. We believe that everyone has a story to share and that we cannot progress as a society unless we know about one another. We share stories through featuring women in our reporting, featuring guest contributions and speakers at our events.
We are always looking for new stories to share and people to feature. Get in touch with us!
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