Last week, I spoke to a group of students at my alma mater, Mississippi University for Women, which has been coeducational since the early ’80s. My talk focused on things no one tells you about leadership. I’m good at speeches, but I’m not a big fan of running monologues. I asked one of the students to ask me questions in a kind of fireside chat. The interviewer turned out to be the daughter of one of my friends.
The talk was in the library at 4 p.m. in a room just past the Starbucks that I marvel at every time I visit campus because I still remember getting yelled at for smuggling a Coke into that same library more than 30 years ago. I wasn’t expecting much of a turnout because who wants to hear some middle-aged lady gab on in the late afternoon? When I was in college, this was prime napping time.
I was so surprised that the room filled up with students from the newly formed Women’s College that I asked if they had to be there for credit. They didn’t. The hour flew by, and at one point the student tasked with “interviewing” me asked if journalism was still a male-dominated profession. The answer is complex.
There’s Still a Ways to Go
When I go to conferences, I see a lot of women running newsrooms around the country. These newsrooms are usually independent, focused on one region, city or topic. Many are nonprofits like ours, and many of those women founded the newsrooms themselves—like Donna Ladd and I did with the Mississippi Free Press in 2020 after working together for years at the Jackson Free Press. Still, there’s a long way to go.
Being a woman, any leadership is usually fraught. I’m incredibly fortunate to work at a place where pay equity is part of the ethos, and I get to work with badass women like Director of Revenue Operations Tami Jones and Systemic and Education Editor Torsheta Jackson, , while much of America still lags behind. Statistics show that the average woman earns 85 cents for every dollar a man earns. That’s come a long way, but there’s a ways still to go.
Talking to those young women made me think a lot about my own life. I reminded them that now is the time to start thinking about what kind of life they want—whether that means living in a big city or a small town, or traveling before settling down. Whatever their vision is, it’s going to cost money. They need to figure out how much it’ll take to live the life they imagine. I told them that every employment contract should be treated as a negotiation, because frankly, they’re usually being lowballed. There’s almost always more a potential employer can offer—more money, more time off, maybe even tuition for a second degree. These are things I wasn’t taught. I’m not sure my mentors and loved ones even considered the opportunities.
Ladies, Take The Lead
“Wild” Bill Sorrels was our journalism professor at MUW after a storied career across the South and Midwest. If you’d told him I’d actually be able to make a decent living with full benefits running a nonprofit newsroom in Mississippi, he’d have thought it wasn’t the dangedist thing he’d ever heard. Still, he’d be so proud of everything Donna Ladd, my co-founder, and this incredible team have accomplished. Frankly, as I think about it Donna would probably be his favorite of the two of us.
I also talked to those women about the importance of finding space to fully be themselves. My hope for everyone is that they never feel the need to hide who they are at work. But the truth is, that’s not always the case.
I remember years ago, when Osama Bin Laden was killed, seeing a photo of Hillary Clinton in the Situation Room looking visibly distressed. I cringed a little—not because of her reaction, but because of all the messages I’d internalized over the years about women showing emotion in professional settings. I mentioned it to my boss at the time, someone I trusted enough to be candid with, and he said something that stuck with me: “You need some of that energy in the room when lives are at stake. No good comes from everyone acting like a man.”
That moment reminded me how vital it is to make room for humanity, especially in high-stakes environments.
And so I’ll end where I began. Being a woman in leadership is complex, challenging, and often fraught—but the world needs us more than it even realizes. Ladies, take the lead. Take charge. Give your best. And if you’re lucky, you just might find yourself working alongside your own team of brilliant, badass folks like I do.
This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
