This past Sunday, February 11, 2007, Harvard University appointed its first female president, Dr. Catherine Drew Gilpin Faust. The New York Times published a good article about Dr. Faust and her appointment.

In her remarks, Faust stated, “I hope that my own appointment can be one symbol of an opening of opportunities that would have been inconceivable even a generation ago.”

The appointment is a particularly redemptive action on Harvard’s part after its previous president, Lawrence Summers, suggested the lack of advancement of women in science and engineering is because women have less innate ability than men in some fields. 

I found two of Faust’s comments interesting. She shared advice received from her mother: “This is a man’s world, sweetie, and the sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be.” Faust explained the advice was perhaps “a bitter comment from a woman of a generation who didn’t have the kind of choices my generation of women had.”

However, I would argue that in spite of the choices available to women today, it’s still a man’s world … and the sooner we women learn that, the better off we are. It’s been precisely that recognition of the true state of affairs that has allowed us to have such choices.

Her other comment I found interesting was, ”I’ve always been surprised by how my life turned out. I’ve always done more than I ever thought I would. Becoming a professor — I never would have imagined that. Writing books — I never would have imagined that. Getting a Ph.D. — I’m not sure I would even have imagined that.”

She’s not THAT old. Okay, she’s 59, which might seem old to 20- and 30-somethings. But I’m only half a generation younger than Faust, and I always imagined I could do anything if I wanted it.

I remember my father telling me I was lucky to be female, because I had the choice of either a career or staying at home (presuming I married a man who didn’t). Implied was that males didn’t have that choice. That fatherly advice hasn’t turned out to be true; housing prices necessitate two incomes, and I know several women whose husbands have decided to be stay-at-home dads.

The irony, though, is that Faust never imagined she had so many choices and has reached the pinnacle of her profession. Whereas I imagined my choices were limitless, and have been quite content to remain in the middle of the pack.

Following up on yesterday’s post, I find Gavin Newsom’s recent media attention interesting. His affair made the front page, above the fold, of yesterday’s San Jose Mercury News, and was covered on the local CBS news two nights in a row. I’m sure we could have a lively conversation about how or whether Mr. Newsom’s love life affects his leadership. Personally, I’m inclined to agree with Arianna Huffington; there are many more important and news-worthy events happening in the world today (global warming, Iraq, Iran, to name a few). Why spend air time and column inches on some sex scandal, the San Francisco mayor’s or someone else’s?

But what I find most interesting about media coverage of Mr. Newsom is that it tends to be typical of the way the media covers women in public positions. Case in point: the comments about whether he’s using mousse on his hair, and who he’s dating (San Jose Mercury News, March 2, 2006, page 1B).

Is it just that youthful, single, good looking men get the kind of coverage most women get? Or is it something special about Gavin Newsom?

Either way, it’s drivel.

I’m on the email list of The White House Project, a non-profit that advances women’s leadership in both the public and private sectors. The name of the organization refers to the goal of having a woman as U.S. president.

The following question comes from one of their recent emails.

Which of the following headlines appeared in national and regional newspapers the week of January 21, 2007?
a.  Obama Announces Exploratory Committee in Powder Blue
b.  Sen. Brownback Cuts Hair Prior to Formal Declaration
c.  Stylists Interpret Messages of Senator Clinton’s Accoutrements
d.  Richardson’s Suit Choice Reveals True Colors

Did you guess C? Yep, thank you New York Sun and writer Christopher Faherty. Here’s the link if you want to read Mr. Faherty frivolous, vapid, stupid column:  http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/v2/press/2007/January/20070131-NYSun.html. Not a single word about the content of Senator Clinton’s video announcement, or the issues she raised, such as restoring respect for America, ending the deficit, becoming energy independent and free of foreign oil.

When Katie Couric became the first female anchor of the nightly news and had an exclusive interview with President Bush the first week on the job, the media wrote about Ms. Couric’s appearance. Read Marie Wilson’s Op Ed in the Chicago Tribune.

The same thing happens when women take the top jobs in industry. Think Carly Fiorina. In Ms. Fiorina’s words, “After striving my entire career to be judged by my results and my decisions, the coverage of my gender, my appearance and perceptions of my personality would outweigh anything else.”

To quote from The White House Project, “Research shows that when it comes to female candidates, media tend to focus on the superficial – women’s hair, hemlines, and/or husband. Only by increasing the numbers of women in leadership will we prevent this kind of negative coverage. When we have numbers of women in power, more attention will be paid to their agenda, not their gender.”

If you’re as incensed by the media’s double standard as I am, then take action and get your voice out there. Be a careful reader and listener. Write a letter to a journalist who “speaks first of an outfit and second about agenda,” and tell him what you think about his pathetic reporting.