It's been said that time gives perspective, and last night, Canada's first female prime minister, Kim Campbell, shared some of hers with students and faculty in a talk titled "Leading as a Woman -- What I Wish I'd Known Then."
Campbell, who served as prime minister in 1993, discussed "the contexts in which we apply leadership," placing additional emphasis on the role of gender.
Political Science Professor John DiIulio introduced Campbell as a "champion of women's rights."
Campbell, the chairwoman of the Council of Women World Leaders, discussed leadership as an important area in need of careful study, "because the world cannot limp on one leg."
"Leadership is morally neutral," Campbell said. "How we use it is the moral challenge."
Citing studies on gender research from across the globe, Campbell emphasized that "gender schemas" -- preconceived ways of viewing gender -- influence the way we see and interpret ourselves as leaders.
For example, Campbell pointed to one study's findings that male success was frequently attributed to competence and failure to bad luck -- while for women, success was linked to good luck and "failure was seen as validation" of preconceived opinions.
"Gender schemas... are deeply rooted and are one of the earliest to form," Campbell said. But even if schemas are cultural, "they are not immutable -- they can change." The problem, Campbell added, is that "we rely on these intellectual constructs... because they give us a comfort level."
Campbell spoke about how these generalizations obstructed her own path in life, recalling how she was referred to as a "rookie" during her rise to the post of prime minister -- despite the fact that "of the 18 men who preceded [her] as prime minister of Canada, only eight had more cabinet experience than" her.
"We need schema busters," Campbell said. Otherwise, she said, these gender notions will prevent the emergence of competent leaders to aid us in difficult times.
She warned the listeners to not consider the problem to be "men versus women," but instead to look at it as a cultural phenomenon that hinders society.
Many of those who attended praised Campbell.
College freshman Megan Peppel noted that the speech used "an anthropological approach to the topics of politics and leadership."
"Her encouragement for the potential of the women in politics was nice to hear," College senior Conor Fetting-Smith said. "I was very impressed."
Yesterday's lecture was part of the Robert A. Fox Leadership program.
