“If You Can See It, You Can Be It!”

My neighbors probably think I’m a crazy person. I often head out for walks with one earbud in, listening to audiobooks, laughing, and exclaiming all the way.

This week’s book is Geena Davis’s autobiography Dying of Politeness, and it is truly a hero’s journey. In her younger years, she never wanted to rock the boat, but transformed into a force in her later years.

Did you know that Geena Davis conducted research? (This makes me love her more!) She noticed that few women and girls were cast in roles in movies and TV shows and decided to do something about it.

It sounds like it took her years (and likely a ton of money in those days) to conduct in-depth research, and then more years advocating with studio heads to move the industry toward gender parity in kids’ TV shows and movies. (The good news is, she’s making progress!)

This interesting finding sparked my attention: few women and girls participated in archery, but all of a sudden, female participation shot up. What was the cause? This spike came after The Hunger Games and Brave came out. The conclusion of the research is, “If you can see it, you can be it,” says Ms. Davis

I love this idea adapted for associations because we are the champions of work and media outlets in our own right. So many professions and industries need the next generation to want to work in them. Is your core workforce aging? How can you help younger people, students, recent grads, and young professionals see it, so that they can be it?