Sally Ride was the first American Women in space (Dunbar, 2013). She was well educated, holding two bachelor’s degrees, a Master’s, and a doctorate degree (NASA, 2012). Sally Ride accomplished this goal using her leadership skills and her ability to prove her worth. Ride went on her first mission after a year long training period and provided NASA with communications and helped deploy a new satellite (Dunbar, 2013). Through these missions she continued to prove her leadership abilities. After she stopped going on missions, Ride went on to teach at UCSD as a professor in physics (NASA, 2012).
Ride used her leadership abilities to make sure other girls and women had the same opportunities that she did. She founded a company called Sally Ride Science that focused on mentoring elementary and middle school girls in science and physics (NASA, 2012). Sally was faced with many obstacles earlier in her career. Being the first female to do anything is a scary experience for the pursuer but imagine being the first American women in space. She set the stage and allowed others to be able to accomplish their dreams. Even today women have a hard time obtaining leadership roles. Sally was able to accomplish this in the 80’s. Ride was able to get over the organizational, interpersonal, and personal barriers to make her dream come true (Northouse, 2013).
References:
“Astronaut Bio: Sally K. Ride (07/2012).” Astronaut Bio: Sally K. Ride (07/2012). NASA, July 2012. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ride-sk.html>.
Dunbar, Brian. “First American Woman in Space.” NASA. NASA, 28 July 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2533.html>.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
First let me say, rest her soul, I did not know she died. One of the unfortunate things about living overseas is if you don’t read the news online each and every day you could miss important information. Second, I was that girl in the 80’s who was inspired by her, I remember going to the launch in Cape Canaveral when I was 13.
Ride was what I consider a transformational leader. “We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.” -Margaret Atwood
Northouse p352 states “women exceed men in the use of democratic or participatory styles, and they are more likely to use transformational leadership behaviors…” I think this is what you were eluding to in your post. This, and that she truly broke through the glass-ceiling. So many girls now believe that the sky is no longer the limit, shoot for the stars!!!!
Great post, thank you for sharing!
Sally Ride is the perfect example of someone breaking through the glass ceiling and excelling the greatness, but look at the sacrifices she had to make. Our commentary for this lesson talks about different types of barriers that keep woman from progressing. An article by NBC NEWs addressed one of these barriers and how it affected Sally.
“In the old days, they worried that if they didn’t conform with the “Right Stuff” stereotype, they wouldn’t be picked for spaceflights” the article quotes (Boyle). It was a mix of this “right stuff” stereotype, cultural barriers and personal belief in privacy that kept her relationship with Tam O’Shaughnessy on the down-low until her death in 2012. If she would have been open about her relationship, it might have cost her, her spot on the flight. Woman today still face similar issues about revealing information from their personal lives in fear that it will affect their career.
Reference
Boyle, A. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/science/why-sally-ride-waited-until-her-death-tell-world-she-908942
Hey- What an awesome post. I was feeling discouraged after this weeks lesson based on women in leadership. I like that you posted a women who was successful in the 80’s. How wonderful it is to be encouraged by others. Thanks!