Accountability Growth Mindset Leading Change

Double Standard

Kate Renwick-Espinosa

08.16.22

Female leaders often face countless double-standards when they rise the ranks. When Kate became VSP’s first woman president, she felt a responsibility “not to mess things up.” Listen to her explanation of the pressures she’s faced as a leader, and how that motivates her to work harder.

Double Standard

Summary:

Female leaders often face countless double-standards when they rise the ranks. When Kate became VSP’s first woman president, she felt a responsibility “not to mess things up.” Listen to her explanation of the pressures she’s faced as a leader, and how that motivates her to work harder.

Thuy

What would you say was perhaps the toughest challenge or one of the toughest challenges that came with becoming the first female president at VSP Vision Care, and how did you deal with that? Was there a moment that just made you go, “ahhh!?”

Kate Renwick-Espinosa

There were probably many moments that made me go “ahhh!” The first thing that comes to mind is one of the biggest challenges is, you just don’t want to mess it up, right? I say that really seriously, because unfortunately, there weren't female presidents before me. I feel very fortunate I was the first female president in our company. But being the first female president on behalf of all the females, all of my sisters, I don’t want to do anything that in some way sets us back.
And I think that unfortunately, that is a reality of pressure for all these “women in firsts,” right? And that will they be judged in a different way than the male leaders were judged if it doesn’t work out for some reason, instead of just thinking, okay, Kate didn’t do such a great job, will it be the first female president? So that was probably the first kind of wave of whoo, I just want to make sure I do a solid job in this role.
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