By Dr. L.R. Griffin, English Professor
In a recent The Philadelphia Inquirer, journalist Helen Ubiñas echoes a prayer of mercy from "a funny-because-it's-true meme," a plea that heavily trended in response to the days-long Supreme Court nomination hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson. The meme features Brown Jackson, whose upturned eyes roll towards her questioners; her face in bemused pensiveness bespeaks of what may be a churning amalgam of contused patriotism, critical analysis-in-progress, and scathing, silent judgement--all roiling roux made from emotional intelligence and masterful restraint.
The meme states: 'For overqualified women who have to remain calm, friendly, knowledgeable, and professional in front of underqualified (sic) men . . . Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.'"
Ubiñas writes about Brown Jackson, specifically, using the meme as foundation to indite universal commentary applicable to many American working women.
That analysis extends to two Lone Star College-North Harris Career and Applied Technology faculty—Carmen Castro, construction supervision instructor, and Jessica Burns, HVAC instructor. Castro and Burns serve as lead faculty of their departments--construction supervision and HVAC, respectively. They are the only women full-time faculty teaching one or more of the trades in the LSC-North Harris workforce division.
“We as women have fought so much to have rights and be able to work,” said Castro, a mother of three, whose egalitarian home culture “motivated my career choice.”
Burns said, “Being female, we are always on guard to prove ourselves. I had a challenging start. I learned to be tough and self-sufficient. I don’t like to draw attention. We already have to face a lot being a female in this industry.”
Not drawing attention, as suggested by Burns, is akin to being “unflappable”, an adjective Ubiñas assigns to Brown-Jackson and to all working women whose professional challenges in predominantly male-manned spaces are multitudinous in comparison to their male counterparts, and they often have little to do with a woman’s actual performance. She suggests that Brown- Jackson’s pauses, sighs, looks, repetition of queries—all were strategies to deflect attention from the mounting emotions of the moment.
“Watching this supremely qualified, supremely unflappable woman this week was like watching a dance that we women are all familiar with, even if some of us have more experience doing this particular routine than others,” Ubiñas said.
Being unflappable, attention-averse, and unbothered, Burns admits, is the best response to “constantly being challenged by men.”
“I feel that I had to prove my worth and knowledge more than a man would. I have to keep my emotions out of it and be on guard for these challenges,” Burns said. “Mindset is super important no matter what industry.”
Castro admits that she has been accosted by people, especially students, who subtly question her abilities in construction. “I don’t mind it [with students].” Castro is careful to respond to their questions and even obliges them with additional information [about her expertise, credentials, and knowledge.]
“When I answer their questions time after time, that builds confidence in me,” Castro said. This exchange, Castro added, makes a difference in their students, which will inevitably make a difference for the industry. “The end goal is to inspire and share knowledge. I also share lessons [I have] learned.”
Through interaction with Castro, her students espouse the ideal that “there is no field out there just for men or women.”
“My father was a roofer and started his own company. It is not easy being a female in a male world,” said mother of two, Burns. Burns commands grace and candor when confronted with both men and women who question her legitimacy.
“I tend to respond with honesty and explain that everyone has their own experiences that contribute to the [HVAC] industry,” said Burns. “I don’t recommend escalating these challenges. I come with experience that this is the culture and that I need to be honest with what I can contribute. I have to hold boundaries with students, too. I spend the first class explaining some of my career history to establish some respect of what I have accomplished . . ..”
The attention-grab of a woman professional existing in a male-dominated workplace is inevitable, however.
Regardless of a woman’s parentage, personality, party, or political proclivity, she will certainly encounter particularly troublesome moments while aspiring to be great within a realm traditionally and culturally designated for the male folk.
Thank you to all the women of workforce at LSC-North Harris who support our students. Pictured (from left to right) are Ruby Fuents, Advisor II, Jessica Burns, HVAC Instructor, Kay Mathes, Division Operations Specialist, Cruz Casiano, Director of Career and Applied Technology, and Kelli Arredondo, Part-Time Coordinator II.
Carmen Castro, Construction Supervision Instructor
Jessica Burns, HVAC Instructor