I did not realize how much this subject was stuck in my craw until recently. More and more I began to hear about how women still struggle for respect while in leadership positions. This morning my memory took me back to a time when I worked in banking and had to turn down loans. I was young, and maybe I looked like I was too young to make the type of decisions I was making, but I certainly was not stupid! I especially recall one very special moment when an “ah hem” gentleman pretty much let me know how he was not going to let some dizzy young blonde determine his financial future! Much to his disappointment no matter who he talked to the decision remained the same. The man just did not know how to handle his finances. He did not handle women very well either. Part of that memory included him bellowing for a man to look at his application. Hmmm. That ruffles my feathers just thinking about it again.
If you ever get the chance, take a look around in your bank. The mass majority of banks are ran by women in many positions. If you are involved in any organized church regardless to the gender of the pastor, women are the ones who really cut into the depth of how the church is organized. Women work hard in pharmacies, doctors offices, medical fields, and are attorneys. Gee, women are even judges, hold congressional positions, and yes, we have infiltrated the senate.
This is not going to be a women’s rights post. Women have rights, sometimes they are just not respected. When I think back to that loan decline experience I often wonder why blondes are suddenly considered dizzy if a man does not get his way. I have even a better one. Why is it that a woman who has a certain breast size it suddenly makes her a bad choice to preach the gospel or Pastor a church? Yep, it happens. I hate to have to break it to the fellas out there; our brains are not in our cup size. In fact, in business, or in ministry, the only cup a man should be concerned about should be the one he holds his coffee in or he might be treading on a slippery slope.
I do realize boys will be boys. That’s just the point though. Men who focus on things that are not important in either business or ministry, such as body form, age, looks, or whatever have you, are still boys and need to grow up. WOMEN make great bosses, business leaders, Pastors, counselors, and law leaders. Women fight for our country and serve in our military. Some risk their lives and some have lost their lives as well. I don’t think any of their family members thought of them as dizzy blondes while burying them in the ground.
Honestly, this is more than just a rant. It is ILLEGAL to give a woman a hard time in the workforce simply because she is a woman. I can’t say that every woman is a good leader any more than every man is, but I can say that many women are GREAT leaders and are under a lot more pressure than they need to be. My message to the fellows out there who think that joking about women’s bodies in the work force is a great idea, “I wonder what your mother would think of your behavior?” Not to mention sexual harassment in any form is, like I said, ILLEGAL. It should be illegal in the church as well. Oh yes, I did in fact go there.
I’m going to be a little blunt here fellas. Women have not “arrived”. We have always been here. You sometimes just did not want to accept that we are good leaders and we have brains that work just as well as any man’s brain can. We are not going away any time soon. After all, we give birth to your babies, grand children, give love to you, and provide a home. I’ve always heard it said, “Buy a woman a house and she will make it a home”. We also head very successful corporations and deal with huge financial decisions on a daily basis. I’m sure some of the great female executives in this country are not real interested in your comments as to whether we are on our period or not. We just want you to know, even if you don’t want to respect us; we WILL respect ourselves!
For all the men out there who are too immature to accept how proficient we can be and all the women who rock this world!
Pastor Jenine Marie Howry
Life Lessons by Jenine Marie 