The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.

Since my graduation from college many years ago I have made an effort to be inclusive to women in several significant areas of my life.  I work in the optics industry so I cross paths with several professional societies, industrial affiliates, university outreach committees, K-12 initiative committees, etc.  Whenever there is a slating committee that needs input on individuals they should consider for higher level committee positions I will ALWAYS nominate a woman.  I go out of my way to meet women in my industry and encourage them to play an active role outside their companies so that other young women and girls will see them and know that we work in a discipline that is welcoming to our gender.  I never push any woman to do it alone, I walk with them side-by-side and support them in their efforts to be part of something bigger than their job.  When they are more comfortable in the spotlight, then they too will reach out to other women and continue the process of bringing others up with them.

Restricting my efforts to just the optics industry has been comfortable for me.  I understand personality dynamics of many of the individuals [men] on the committees that I serve and can influence them in a positive way to broaden their vision of what a candidate looks like for a particular position.  Do these committee members know that I am unapologetically pro-woman?  Heck yeah.  Does that bother them?  Heck no.  I have found that many of the men that I work with are very interested in broadening their reach into our community and finding new, exceptional talent.  Since I have a great track record for nominating women who truly make a positive difference, the committees that I serve react positively to any suggestions that I may make.

Working outside of my discipline is more difficult for me.  There is an underlying fear that I couldn’t pinpoint before, and still have difficulty defining even now, on why I have been hesitant to take active rolls in nominating women for other organizational areas of my life.  A lot of my fear stems from what happened to women who have run for National public office since 2008.  Do I really want women that I bring forward as potential candidates to face that kind of scrutiny?  Am I willing to face that kind of scrutiny myself?

As an engineer who develops new technologies for the consumer market I understand how hard it is to introduce something new to market.  Usually the first company to launch a new product that will revolutionize the way that consumers use technology has been through the mill.  They have had to learn the hard way what quality issues will be faced, what unforeseen uses the consumer will have, what the useful lifetime will be of the technology.  This can be a very painful process for any company that is on the precipice of revolutionizing the beliefs and buying habits of consumers.  The pain is real and highest for the companies willing to take the risk.  Does this risk always pay off? No.  But the companies that learn from their mistakes, regroup quickly, and try again, and again, and again often find a big success waiting for them.

2008 was painful; 2010 was as well but had many good outcomes for women in politics.  I decided in 2009 to join my local Republican Committee just to see who participated and to make sure that I could assess how they viewed women in the election process.  They do consider women important to the entire process, the problems they face are finding women who are willing to enter the process.  With 2012 looming and only one woman candidate running for the Republican Presidential nomination I see that the only way we can get more women in the process nationally is to get more women running locally for state offices.  Many of the high profile women in national politics started as town council members, or county assembly representatives.  It will not be until women take the risk early in the political process to run, and others take the initiative to actively find women to run that we will see more women run on a national level.  So now my mission as an individual is simple, if I want more women involved nationally, I have to act locally.  I have to face that fear of reaching out to women and face the risk head-on.  We need to be ready for some failures, but ultimately if we keep at it, keep introducing more women into the pipeline locally it has to have a trickle-up effect.

So if you want to see change Nationally, think on a national scale but act on a local one.