why do you think it is important that role models need to be visible?

for a long time i considered explicit attention for role models – as in: women in leadership positions – unnecessary. i have been fortunate to have been raised without ever hearing that i could not achieve something because of my gender. i have completed my phd dissertation with under the supervision of a female professor without her or my gender ever being an issue of discussion. but the relevance of role models, and indeed how nice it is to have them, hit home when i started at my current employer. for the first time i saw women – very much like me, and only a few years older – in leadership positions more senior than i ever imagined for myself. they truly made me realize that ‘i could do that, too’. i hope that by participating in this campaign, i can provide other women with the same realization : yes, you can!