Women in leading roles isn't news ... or is it?

Allete, the parent company of Minnesota Power and one of the largest companies in northern Minnesota, just named Bethany Owen as its new president, and intends to make her the chair and CEO of the company. She’s the first woman in the history of the company to hold that role.

The announcement did not make a huge splash in the media, and we’re somewhat grateful: a woman taking a leading role isn’t really news anymore.

In Minnesota, both U.S. Senators are women. Women have been in the the lieutenant governor’s seat since 1983. The Raiter Clinic has more female physicians than males on staff. The Carlton County sheriff is a woman, so is our county attorney. We are constantly moving towards a balance in gender inequality. But there is still much work to do.

There’s an old riddle: A man and his son are in a tragic car accident. The father dies; but the son is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. The surgeon walks into the operating room, takes one look at the patient and declares, “I can’t operate on this person — he’s my son!”

It was not too long ago that the answer baffled people. If the boy’s father was dead, how could the patient be the surgeon’s son? Ask any child today this riddle and most will look at you quizzically and say, “The surgeon is the patient’s mother.”

That today’s children no longer find that riddle confusing is a step in the right direction. We hope to see more news stories about successful woman and fewer headlines starting containing the words “the first woman …”.

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