For Women Only

I was recently selected as a finalist for a CT Women of Innovation award, which honors women in Connecticut who both perform and lead innovation. From the moment I was notified (I was nominated without my knowledge), I've felt conflicted. Is it really an honor to be selected for an award for innovation that's only available to women?

I can't shake the feeling that this isn't really an honor. I work for a large company with a couple of thousand engineers, less than ten percent of whom are women. If I'm being judged against fewer than ten percent of the people doing similar jobs, where's the honor in that? If the CT Technology Council had an award for Innovation that was open to all and I was a finalist, that would be something to be proud of!

I remember reading Newsweek articles in the 80s about women breaking through the corporate glass ceiling. Is the workplace still so unbalanced that we need to single out the achievements of women? In twenty years in engineering, I've never worked closely with another woman engineer. In fact, at my previous jobs, I was the only woman engineer at each company. Is handing out Women of Innovation awards going to encourage girls to become engineers and leaders in innovation and improve that imbalance? Not likely.

On the other hand, it was great to find that my company thinks highly enough of me to nominate me for this award - not to mention springing for a table at the awards dinner. (That was a great steak...) But it would have been far more satisfying if I'd been chosen from the whole pool of employees, not just the women.