FCC Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn Addresses the Women of APCO International
FCC Commissioner Mignon K. Clyburn
On April 14, attendees of APCO International’s 2011 Women in Public Safety Communications Leadership Conference had the opportunity to hear FCC Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn speak on topics important to their lives and careers in public safety communications.
Described by event facilitator and APCO Past President Chris Fischer as a “busy woman,” Clyburn began her career in the media, serving for 14 years as the publisher and general manager of the South Carolina-based newspaper The Coastal Times. Beginning in July 1998, she served for 11 years as South Carolina’s sixth district representative on the state Public Service Commission. Throughout her career, she has been an active community member, serving on the boards of Charleston organizations. On June 25, 2009, Clyburn was nominated as a member of the FCC and sworn in Aug. 3, 2009. Her term ends on June 30, 2012.
“Chris is symbolic of every woman in this room,” said Clyburn. “She remains committed to what you are all about in public safety … It’s not just about [getting paid] that affirms our makeup and our commitment to our jobs or opportunities or however we express ourselves professionally. … If we are truly connected to our communities, it will show in our activities. …
“Women face unique challenges in the workplace, but as I’m sure you’ve been told throughout the conference — and during your personal and professional experiences — the ability to overcome those challenges is the trademark of a truly effective leader,” she said.
She stressed the importance of diversity in leadership for the industry, encouraging attendees not to simply blend in with their male colleagues, but to stand out to drive needed change.
“There is a place for diversity in the communications industry — and as a matter of fact, there is a need,” she said. “The more a local public safety agency reflects the diversity of its local community, the better prepared that agency is to serve the public safety needs of its citizens.”
Clyburn pointed to actress and scientist Hedy Lamarr, who invented frequency hopping in the 1940s, a technological method that is fundamental to dynamic-use spectrum technology. In late 2010, the Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry to promote this technology.
“The legacy of Hedy Lamarr’s invention reaffirms that a woman can take the lead in the communications industry, and a woman can have a significant positive impact on the safety of our nation,” said Clyburn. “If you have an innovative idea, stick with it. It may take a while for others to recognize its value — hopefully not 70 years or so — but there is always the potential for making a lasting impact.”
Technology
The Commissioner stressed the importance of advancing the technology of the 9-1-1 and emergency communications systems in the face of natural disasters. “There is a gap between the technologies used by our citizens and the technologies used by our 9-1-1 services that continues to grow,” she said.
An estimated 70% of 9-1-1 calls in 2010 came from cell phones, “a significant impact on your industry and on the safety of our public,” she said. “Americans expect to be able to send texts, photos and videos to their family and friends over mobile phones and other portable devices and they believe that 9-1-1 networks can handle that type of traffic today. Only after they send texts to 9-1-1 while facing an emergency do they find out that this is not the case.”
Clyburn pointed out that the recent natural disasters spurred innovation for the usability of this technology and information for public safety. After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, new applications for interactive mapping and texting platforms were put to the test by search-and-rescue teams to locate survivors.
In Japan, local mobile wireless operators established online disaster bulletin boards to post outgoing text messages for others to read, and other companies sent text messages to their customers to ask if they were OK.
Clyburn said, “Google set up a Person Finder database beginning just one hour after the earthquake struck. They worked with the Japanese government and the telecommunications companies in order to integrate data, and they are currently tracking about 607,000 records. But we should not wait until after a disaster has struck to innovate. We need to learn from these occurrences, and take steps to fully prepare ourselves to respond to any future crisis.”
Clyburn also acknowledged that the FCC understands that public safety’s transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 and wireless broadband data will not be an easy road. It will be an “evolutionary process, involving technical, economic and institutional challenges,” she said.
“Funding may be the biggest challenge, but it is worth it to ensure the safety of our citizens,’ she said. “It won’t be easy, and it will take time to roll out the national network that Congress envisions. I am confident that our nation can rise to meet these challenges and implement an effective national NG9-1-1 network.”
A Personal View
Prior to the conference, Fischer had worked with Clyburn on APCO International initiatives. “It was a great opportunity to see [Clyburn] in a different environment with a different focus,” Fischer said. “She was very personable and forthcoming with information about her experiences and personally as well. It was a wonderful opportunity to get a glimpse of the woman she is rather than the position she is currently filling at the FCC.”
After Clyburn’s remarks, the floor was open for a question-and-answer session. Questions included what it was like to be a woman at the FCC and how to have your voice heard in a male-dominated environment.
Clyburn’s advice, which she said look a her a long time to realize and learn to navigate, was to reach out to the male counterparts that you trust and have them bring your ideas — “not [your] best one, you keep your best one to yourself” — to the floor.
“I knew one day, when it was time that I would get my reward and recognition and that has happened,” she said. “When you do that, you plant the seeds with someone who you trust a little who you are more comfortable with. Trust me, in the long run, it will pay off. … Those very same persons who I had the roughest time with were my biggest endorsers as I made this transition from state to federal service.”
She also said, “Don’t worry about who gets the credit. If you know you have a good idea, go to the person you trust, who is better connected to the policymakers, change agents. … Recognize your environment for what it is. Don’t allow it to consume you or get you down — which it did for me for a lot of years — work within it and use it to your advantage.”
Diversity is very important to Clyburn, but she stressed that if you have an exclusive environment, it is not because people are “unfeeling. People have a tendency to hire and communicate with those with whom they feel the most comfortable,” she said.
“As women, we have to go the extra mile. The burden is more heavy on us to ensure that that comfort level and the types of engagement is more frequent hence more comfortable,” she said. “And that will translate to more inclusion and enhancement in our careers. Those are the realities when you are in a male-dominated profession.”
Clyburn also pointed out that studies have shown that women as managers are more likely to promote men. She said, “We can be tougher on women and promote men more quickly. We need to ensure that … we are practicing what we preach.”
She also discussed her mentor, Margery Amos Frasier, who was the first African American and second woman to serve on the South Carolina Public Services Commission. Frasier was successful because of her temperament. Clyburn said, “When I doubted myself, she was the one who said, you are smart, energetic, committed to your community — you have proven that each week by putting out a paper — you can do this job. You are smart enough to do this job. … She never allowed whatever the challenge was to effect what she projected. Those types of mentors keep us going when things seem tough.”
Regarding work-life balance, Clyburn said she is still working on that and that people should find their equilibriums — whatever brings them joy. He advice was to be in tune with yourself. “It’s OK to be a workaholic and OK to be a play-aholic,” she said.
Regarding her own staff, Clyburn, who doesn’t have children, said that “family is first” and that value has been reinforced for her by the examples set by her sisters, parents and friends. “If you’re not as comfortable as you can be in your home and your personal lives, you are not going to be as effective,” she said. “It’s important for us to show empathy to show compassion. Because this person, who we interact with, who we manage, these are people with lives and all of these things are not disconnected from our personal ecosystems. It’s important for you to think about the total woman in your space.”
She pointed out that managers sometimes don’t think about the small ways to help women balance life and work. She asked, “What would it hurt to give the extra 20 minutes to [help that woman] pick up her child on time as long as the job gets done? … I don’t want us to lose sight of the type of support, true support, that our sisters need in order to be able to devote themselves and to advance in this space. People turn down leadership roles because of the potential impact on that family. When that is perpetually the case, we all suffer. So find out what that women needs to be that manager, that supervisor or that lawmaker and, if you have the capacity to do so, help with that.”
Clyburn’s presentation had a significant impact on the audience. Fischer said, “She was very candid and open in her answers to questions and very willing to engage with the women in attendance. … She was the highlight of the conference for me personally and I could have listened or talked with her for much longer. I appreciated the time she took from her busy and demanding schedule to come to the conference and support other women in leadership roles in public safety.”
About the Author
Natasha Yetman is associate editor for APCO International’s Public Safety Communications magazine. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
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