Why Dumb Women Get Promoted and Smart Women Get Left Behind

On a recent episode of The View, Barbara Walters mentioned an article by Maureen Dowd that concluded women must act dumb to succeed in life. The comment was made that if a woman puts in a love-match ad that she is a lawyer, she gets no calls. If she puts in the ad that she is a flight attendant, she gets plenty of calls. Now that statement of course has other pitfalls because it suggests that flight attendants are not as smart as female lawyers, but this is a different issue altogether. Love-match ads are another issue also.

Looking back at my past, being an obviously smart girl, I was definitely unapproachable. When I was approached, it was by people who were older than I was and so presumably smarter. I knew for a fact that people who I wanted to approach me were intimidated. I made a conscious decision to stay unapproachable refusing to put on an act to attract suitors. In the end, I think being myself... my smart self, netted me the perfect match.

While being unapologetically smart may have done me well in love, it may have failed me in business. I had no problem getting the jobs, but almost always immediately bumped heads with supervisors. Between my loathing disrespect for people who I felt didn't have the good sense they were born with, and my sensing that I may have caused an insecurity or two in my employers with my blunt nature and directness, I shot myself in the proverbial foot on many occasions.

Meanwhile I jealously watched women who I thought were a bit slow on the uptake shooting past me while I in my ever-evident intelligence seemed to stagnate. As I matured and my wisdom about the world grew, I made some realizations about my previous attitudes and conceptions. As I moved away from the business world and into family life, and my demeanor softened through necessity, (Kids do not care how smart you are,) I began to rethink my ideas of who the smart ones really are.