I knew, also, that asserting that right was only the first step: What followed would be the effort of then freeing oneself from a sticky lexicon of adjectives that go on entrapping women who command authority. Young men purchase authority on credit for which they are preapproved. But if you are a young woman, even now, no one and nothing will guarantee you. Is it any wonder, then, that if you wish to be in possession of authority, you seek to borrow before you expect to own? It is possible that I could have been taken equally seriously, equally quickly had I gone directly to writing in a woman’s voice.

Source: New York Times September 22, 2017 18:56 UTC