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From today’s b, the paper

With a checkered flag waving as she crossed the finish line Sunday at the Japan Indy 300, Danica Patrick became the first woman to ever win an IndyCar race. As the polls closed last night in Pennsylvania, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton was trying to win a different kind of race, one with a bit more significance.

These women are grabbing headlines for breaking into traditionally male-dominated areas. Clearly, over the past 40-plus years, women have made public inroads in a number of male-dominated fields. But as doors swing open, other obstacles remain.

Patrick had to battle intense media pressure and 17 other drivers — some of them her biggest critics — before she was handed her first trophy in 50 attempts.
Some may dismiss her victory as nothing more than a meaningless car race, but Karen Dugger, chair of the women’s studies department at Towson University, said that such female firsts can have an impact on gender equality in the U.S.

“The more fields in which women excel, the greater the impact on people’s perceptions,” she said.

Archaic perceptions definitely persist. Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard University, started an uproar three years ago when he suggested that genetics make men more successful in higher-level science and math fields. And only 63 percent of respondents to a recent CNN/Essence Magazine/Opinion Research Corp. poll thought the country was ready for a female president.

“There are still some prevalent stereotypes about men and women, and assumptions that women are more emotional and men are more rational,” said Sheri Parks, an associate professor of American studies at the University of Maryland.

In recent years female pioneers like Baltimore native Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, have continued to march to the forefront of their fields. Locally, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Marin Alsop became the first female conductor of a major American orchestra and Sheila Dixon became the first female mayor of Baltimore.

The accomplishments of torchbearers like these can open doors for others, but Parks said the way individual women handle their positions determines whether the door remains ajar long enough for other women to pass through.

“If the woman behaves in a way that is admirable, she can open new doors for other women. If she doesn’t, she can create a backlash,” she said.

Carly Fiorina, named Hewlett-Packard CEO in 1999, has been one of the few examples of a female pioneer who tanked. Women are still rare at the very top of the business world, but Fiorina’s struggles haven’t prevented women like PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi from staking their claim.

Perhaps the greatest legacy for female pioneers is the outcome for everyday working women. Women make up the majority of undergraduates, yet when employed earn only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to 2006 Census Bureau data.

In the eyes of some women, a lot more is required to level the playing field.

“You do need those strong women to step up and open doors for women who can’t really do it for themselves,” said Stephanie Craig, 19, of Dundalk.

Matt Vensel is a content creator for b. Email him at matt@bthesite.com

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