First the worst, second the best?
When I was at school many years ago, we used to tease people who came first in anything by saying, "First the worst, second the best, third the one with the hairy chest". I don't really know what the point of this was, other than to make those of us who didn't win feel better? But it spilled over into all sorts of other things too - no-one wanted to be the first in line to get lunch for example, because it just wasn't cool to go first.
Now I am older, I am intrigued about this playground mantra, because I have realised that it is indeed very hard to be the first one to do something, but critical that some people step up to challenge and pioneer improvements to pave a better way for others after them. Thank goodness, so many people were willing to be the first person to challenge inequality in voting rights, apartheid, homophobia, so that the rest of us could enjoy the freedoms and safety we now have.
But being the first is tough, unforgiving and lonely. So why do we do it and is it worth it?
In his book "I am Norwell Roberts" Norwell Roberts discusses his experience of being the first black officer in London's Metropolitan police in the 20th century. Norwell came from Anguilla as a child, and joined the force in 1967. Reading about what he endured is a harrowing experience: systemic racial abuse, exclusion, and incessant bullying. But Norwell also explains why he didn't quit the police at the time, despite the odious behaviour to which he was subjected, concluding, "Every adversity gave me the incentive to keep going". He felt empowered by the idea that he would succeed when so many wished him to fail, and knew that someone would have to break through the bias so that all future black police officers in the Met could have a better experience. In other words, someone would need to go first.
"Every adversity gave me the incentive to keep going" -Norwell Roberts
One of my greatest role models showed the same dogged determination to challenge the status quo, despite tremendous difficulty. Ruth Bader Ginsberg experienced no less than three forms of bias after graduating top of the class from Harvard Law School, and looking for a job in the 1950s. She was a woman, she was a Jew and she was a mother. Despite numerous setbacks, she paved the way for greater opportunities for women and men in the workplace, and was appointed to the US Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in 1993. All this, after allegedly being asked in her first week in Harvard why she thought it was ok to have taken up a place at the college that should rightfully have gone to a man.
I have learnt a lot from these two people, and many others. They have taught me the importance of standing up for what you believe in, for never giving up on your dreams, and that someone, somewhere has to be brave enough to go first so that others can enjoy greater opportunities. Those lessons have helped me to become a C-suite executive in a global chemicals company, along with a lot of determination, the unending support of some wonderful men and women, and my unwillingness to let other people stop me doing what I believed I was capable of. I have experienced bias and exclusion at various points along the way, most of it unintentional, but hurtful all the same. Each adversity has made me stronger and more determined to make it easier for others to achieve their full potential, based on their talent not their privilege.
Last month at a friend's celebration, I met a man whose daughter is in the same school year as my 10 year old son. I realised I had met his daughter at her school when I went to give a talk about careers in STEM. At that point, he said to me "oh, that was you? The one who gave the talk about engineering, and did the experiment with a bottle of rice and a pencil?" "Yes, I said, that was me." "Oh he said, well I need to thank you then, because after your talk, my daughter came home and told us that she had decided what she wanted to do when she grows up…she wants to be an engineer." I had that deeply rewarding feeling of having inspired someone to do something they might not have felt able to do before, of paving the way for one other girl to be an engineer. I realised then that for all the challenge involved, it is well worth having the courage to go first if you have the chance, not so much for you, but for all the people who will benefit from your example.
Rebecca Oldfield
CTO, Executive Vice President Innovation and Technology at Infineum and WILM&A Mentor & cheer-LEADER!