From College to Cubicle

For those of you who don’t know Yahoo recently hired Marissa Mayer as their new CEO. To me this marks the hiring of probably one of the first female CEOs who I repect, and the best part? Much of the commentary about it (until she announced she was pregnant) was regarding her credentials, background, and whether her and Yahoo were a perfect fit – not about the fact that she was female. Was it mentioned? Well yes of course some bloggers and articles mentioned it, but the vast majority did not (once again until she announced she was pregnant).

Why is this so important to me? Because Mayer has been someone I’ve looked up to for awhile. One of her quotes sums up my belief about being a female in tech perfectly “I’m not a woman at Google, I’m a geek at Google.” I work for a company where I, quite honestly, don’t think of myself as a female employee. I don’t think about things like “oh she just got hired because she’s a female” nor do I worry about my male coworkers being more likely to succeed than me. These things are just (thankfully) not part of my concern on a daily basis at Abbott, in fact I don’t really think about them at all. I think of myself as just another PDP trying to be successful. I think of myself as a bookworm who is passionate about technology and business, and how they interact and drive each other forward. I hope to do good in the world. I’m not a female out to prove that I can succeed just like the guys or more than the guys, I’m just an employee trying my best – like everyone else, and like Marissa Mayer.

Marissa Mayer is the first relatable female CEO for more than just her opinions on being a female in tech. My favorite part? She’s not the stereotypical female out to prove herself in a pantsuit with a stern look on her face, trying to act like one of the men. No. She’s a sweater-wearing geek who seems to care about her appearance enough to straighten her hair and wear makeup (occasionally) and heels (also on occasion). She’s a unique personality who’s well educated, has a wonderful resume, and doesn’t feel the need to act like anyone but herself. You look at pictures of her and there’s not one picture of her in the dreaded pantsuit – and I truly believe this has nothing to do with Google’s casual dress code due to the fact that there are no pictures of her in jeans either. She’s a professional who has no desire to be perceived as successful or powerful – she lets her work speak for itself. That’s something people everywhere (male or female) can look up to.

Oh, and her name is Marissa. I find that kind of awesome too…