Jill Ker Conway

Historically, and even today, women in power have been extremely rare. Jill Ker Conway was a woman who faced many obstacles in her professional life while trying to become successful, reach her full potential and achieve things that women before her had fallen short of. She was born in Sydney, Australia, where she attended a private all-girls high school. From there, she went on to study at the University of Sydney and was the sole female in an honors course. After college, she applied for a position at the Australian Department of External Affairs but was denied when the post was given to other men. In 1960 she migrated to the US to earn her Ph.D. in History at Harvard University.


Jill Ker Conway’s most notable achievement to me was her being the first female President at Smith College, which is the largest women’s college in the US. Since Smith College was opened in 1875 it took 100 years until a woman was named President of the college. Conway served as the President from 1975-1985. We discussed in groups during the presentation the resistance that Conway received from faculty members who had never worked under a woman. She had to work a fine line between holding her employees accountable and accomplishing the things she needed to, while at the same time protecting her reputation and avoiding the “bitchy” label that seems to follow women in power.


As my mother is, Jill Ker Conway held a powerful role at an institution. As I have mentioned in my past blog posts, my mom is the Head of Private Banking for a bank in Finland. The finance branch has been and still is, very male-dominated. My mother has told me that most women that she knows in banking are secretaries and assistants. She met a lot of opposition from men who refused to accept her authority and were not willing to work under a female. My mom is a very strong and confident leader and never fails to get things done. There is a double standard when it comes to men and women in leadership roles: a man that leads confidently and strictly is considered to be an amazing- and effective- boss, but a woman who acts the same is called “bitchy”.