HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- In honor of Women’s History Month, Holloman hosted two guest speakers from New Mexico State University during an open forum at the Community Activity Center, March 19th, 2019.
Dr. Tina Byford, interim vice president of university advancement, and Leslie Cervantes, associate VP of alumni and donor relations of NMSU, spoke to a group of Airmen about their paths to success and difficulties they have faced as female leaders.
Byford emphasized the importance of education and how it equalizes the power between men and women. She also discussed how the path to success has changed for women over the years, and referenced the aforementioned ‘glass ceiling.’
“First, it was called a concrete ceiling, because no one was getting through it,” said Byford. “As women became eligible for promotion it became a glass ceiling, because you can break that -- now it’s a labyrinth. You’re not rising up and pushing through a ceiling, you’re having to find your success through your labyrinth to get to where you want.”
A labyrinth is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as an irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way.
“There is no straight path, a-to-b, to be a success,” said Byford. “As you travel you need to expect to go up and down and back sometimes, and that’s how you get to success.”
In addition to how they achieved success, the 2019 New Mexico Women of Influence Award winners discussed how women tend to shy away from fulfilling their goals out of fear.
“Don’t scare yourself out of it; as women, we do this all the time,” said Cervantes. “If you hear your colleague say to you, ‘I’ve been thinking about this idea,’ you should do whatever you can to support them and encourage them. If we do that every day we would be a lot better off as a group.”
Women’s History Month is an annual observance dating back to 1978, when the observance was only one week long and was not nationally recognized. In 1980, former president Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring a national observance of Women’s History Week. Since 1995, every president has issued a proclamation designating March a national observance of Women’s History Month.