OETA: Women in Leadership (Oct 24, 2011)

In 2010, Oklahoma was one of two states that had two women running against each other as major party nominees for governor (New Mexico was the other). Currently, only 19 women hold seats in the Oklahoma legislature. That's out of a total of 149 offices, which makes the percentage of women in the legislature a paltry 13%. Women do a little better in the business world, with 25% of Oklahoma businesses owned by women.

Women make up 50.7% of the state's population, so why are there not more women involved in high levels of the public and private sectors? What skills do women bring to the workplace? What holds women back? What does the future hold for women hoping to break the "glass ceiling"?

Those are some of the questions discussed this week on an audio rebroadcast of OETA's Oklahoma Forum with Major General Rita Aragon, Oklahoma Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs; Dr. Laura Boyd, former State Representative and Democratic gubernatorial nominee; Sheryl Lovelady, Director of the Women's Leadership Initiative at the University of Oklahoma Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center; and Charifa Smith, owner of Sage Restaurant in Oklahoma City.