Session Title: Essential Tools for Gen Z Women in Local Government
“Someone should have been in contact with you about their preference that you expand the topic to all Gen Z’s, and not just women. The conference education committee is really focused on not excluding anyone, as inclusivity is a core value of the organization.”
-My conference liaison. No one from the committee ever reached out to me.
I was so excited to give my first ever solo conference presentation at just 26 at the highest stage in my industry, the International City Manager Association (ICMA) conference. It is a passion of mine to uplift young women in city management, an industry that hasn’t even made it to the 25% mark of women’s share of positions. When I received this message indicating that my session was not inclusive in the eyes of the committee, I was shocked, confused, angry. Why would they accept my proposal and then ask me to do a completely different presentation? In a field dominated by white men over 40, what other voices are they dismissing that might critically analyze the steps that need to be taken for real inclusion and justice to occur?
Typical professional organization, though. Requiring conference sessions to literally be for everyone is an artful way of quietly perpetuating the status quo of exclusivity in the profession. Pushing content that celebrates us right now, celebrating the legacy of male senior leaders who have benefitted from systems of oppression.
I didn’t play ball. It was a huge opportunity for sure with thousands of local government executives as a captive audience, but why present something I don’t actually care about? My passion is my charm, my professional brand. I did present at the conference.
I Hate Professional Organizations
It’s not just this one organization that slows down industry changes through “professional peer governance”. This might be a burning hot take, but all professional organizations need to be either discontinued or fundamentally reshaped. They’ve lost their relevance and are starting to harm professions and industries more than help.
This article will explain the top reasons why I believe professional organizations are holding the working world back.
Every professional organization is up to evil BS. Here are my top reasons why I HATE professional organizations and wish they’d go away.
Setting the (Wrong) Standard
“Advancing HR practices and maximizing human potential”
-Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) mission statement.
When you think of an organization of HR professionals dedicated to pushing the industry forward, what do you picture? Maybe a diverse group of people with passion for and experience in HR, or a group of people pursuing justice in the HR field. Maybe some Avante Garde ethics warriors that can strategically minimize an organization’s liability when it comes to employment law.
What you surely won’t picture is an internal HR department that commits one of the biggest HR sins: retaliation.
A 2024 lawsuit, Mohamed vs. SHRM alleges that SHRM took adverse action to terminate an employee who had filed a complaint before completing an investigation into the claim. The employee, who had consistently received positive performance reviews, felt that the termination was a blatant act of discrimination and retaliation, and called the cited reasons for termination into question.
This lawsuit is currently moving forward with big implications attached to it. If SHRM, the top organization tasked with advancing HR practices and maximizing human potential, can engage in this behavior, what HR department can’t? It sounds like a logical fallacy, a slippery slope, but the fact is that SHRM is broadly recognized as a thought leading, idealist organization when it comes to appropriate HR management. They very clearly set ethical standards and best practices for the industry at large, so it isn’t a far reach to assume that copycat crimes will occur from well-meaning individuals in HR who seek to follow the standard set by their professional organization.
To avoid speculation on the SHRM case by saying “who knows what else they’re modeling,” I’ll give you another example of a professional organization that sets the wrong standard for the industry.
“Empowering Ambitious Municipal Executives”
-American Association of Municipal Executives (AAME) Mission Statement
Before I get into how exactly they are setting the wrong standard for the industry, I have to explain some of the background baggage of this organization. Like me, the founders of AAME found the legacy city manager group, ICMA, to be insufficient in their efforts to advance the profession of city management. However, our similarities stop there.
AAME takes a very person-focused approach to government. The person in question being the individual who wants to climb to the top of the non-corporate ladder.
To paraphrase the famous advice born of and championed by the AAME, early career professionals should make the leap to city manager as soon as possible. The best way to do this is by finding a rural midwestern town in the middle of nowhere, moving there for 2-5 years, and going on your merry way to keep your title at a city you actually want to work at. Your selling point in your interview is that you’re young and ambitious, your early career sprint will far outpace the slow and steady wisdom of a seasoned city manager, or the deep knowledge of a local.
So, technically, yes. You can do that, and it will probably be fine, but my two major issues with this advice are:
It is not for everyone. You know how white women absolutely LOVE Brene Brown and her teachings on vulnerability? This is the white man’s version. Some of the instant barriers to entry I can think of are:
Being a minority that is neither accepted nor representative of particular rural communities.
Facing the double standard of likeability as a woman. An assertive man is a b*tch woman.
Being a young woman, especially if you already have a partner. The “she’ll get pregnant and quit” implicit bias runs rampant in people that don’t even know they do it.
Being a caretaker of anyone. You can’t just uproot and move to a rural community for five years for personal gain??
The list could go on…
Public service careers should be public service oriented. Going to a random small town isn’t a cheat code to money and power, it is taking advantage of a community that struggles to attract high quality job candidates. Since these cities typically have less competitive candidate pools based on physical location, you don’t get the satisfaction of knowing that you truly earned or are ready for the top spot. Plus, in this industry, mistakes can be lethal. As city manager in a small community, you’re ultimately responsible for the budget, the roads, police and fire… being inexperienced in the role does you no good, does your community no good, and does the organization no good.
Again, AAME is a recognized group with dues paying members who see this advice as professional standard and an optimal career path. In reality, the standard being set is harmful to individual workers and communities as a whole. This is not a standard that is to be followed just because a professional organization says so.
Manufacturing Exclusivity
An unfun fact about me is that I actually have a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Clearly, I switched industries pretty quick. The juice here, though, is why I didn’t continue to pursue accounting. The answer is the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) making it so hard to be a certified public accountant (CPA).
During my time at b-school, they pounded it into our heads. 150 credit hours, buy the expensive Becker study course, take the exam a few times, fight all of your classmates for the same one internship at KPMG, make it to manager then transition to industry, but keep up your license by getting all the continuing education hours. The accountant’s script.
Look at it a little deeper though. Spend all your money going to college AND grad school, spend all your money on study materials, buy a spot at the testing site, compete rigorously to have an internship where you make no money, get a job that is so soul-sucking that it is universally advised to leave, then finally you’ve earned peace and financial security, if you're lucky your job will pay for your license renewal and continuing education each year.
I was working my butt off to get into grad school anyways, so I just chose a program and path that avoided the upfront costs and 10-year buffer before I was able to make money AND live a balanced life.
These high standards, more so the high costs associated with licensing, makes that certification a real show of status. It is hard to be a CPA, it is exclusive, only for the people who truly earn it. And can afford it. But coming from experience, it actually isn’t that hard to learn accounting. It is an intuitive logical flow of business operations as told through financial screenshots.
Everyone can benefit from understanding the basics of accounting, the basics of financial literacy, but the NASBA and state boards are gatekeeping this information for people who already have wealth and status in order to accumulate more wealth and status through manufactured exclusivity. Reserving licenses for the privileged and the people willing to sell their souls to some professional organization that handles licensing will continuously benefit those already in power until professional organizations are reshaped.
This goes for any professional organization that hands out a coveted, high-value license. Including the bar association and medical boards. They are limiting capable workforce growth in the name of money and power.
Non-Profit Professionals are Representing Entire Professions
While many professional organizations present themselves only as stages for collaboration among the vast network of industry peers, it is important to remember that the organization’s staff do not necessarily represent the profession. Professional organizations are typically set up as non-profits and require specialized non-profit administrators to operate.
With that in mind, think about all of the touch points your career has had with proper staff of your professional organization. Signing up for conferences, applying for membership, seeking career guidance… in more dire situations, the professional staff might be the ones investigating your ethics or conduct, or they may be determining your suitability for licensure. Maybe it is just me, but when it comes to matters of my career, I prefer to be connected to or reviewed by current or former practitioners, not non-profit professionals who are just industry adjacent. If the people responsible for touch points with the professionals are not clearly identified with how they relate to the profession, then they lose credibility to me.
Conferences are for revenue, not community.
In my experiences at conferences, I’ve always been struck by just how many vendors, corporations, and contractors are present. How does the value of the sales opportunity not result in vendor fees that can cover the cost of the conference for attendees? Oh duh, the organization just wants more. More, more, more. Money, money, money. If the conference was truly about community, network, and empowerment, the mechanism is already in place to make attendance complimentary, they just choose not to use it. But please, enjoy the cute stress balls you get with corporate logos on them after enjoying your boxed lunch from Subway. It only cost $2,000 to attend this conference!
Moving Forward
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but participation in professional organizations is not a requirement outside of licensing entities. Even then, some professions you might be able to get away with skirting around that process. Here’s how I demonstrate ambition and engagement without involving these organizations:
Keeping a regional network of friends. I’m not out on the conference beat trying to fill up my LinkedIn connections and earning that 500+, I’ve got a small but regular team of ladies that share among each other the big topics coming our way in our respective jobs. Maintaining network relationships like friendships is good for continuous peer learning and updates, but also creates space to personalize your reactions to your work. My small network of trusted individuals has helped me work through burnout, ethical dilemmas, and learning how to maintain performance through any struggle.
Community Service. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to positively represent your workplace, engage with your community, and accomplish that fuzzy feeling you get when you aren’t being a useless member of society.
Critical Thinking and Writing. Just take a look at this article. Hopefully you readers can see I am only a hater because I care. Although this has been pretty negative in nature, my sincerity is the pillar that holds this thing up. I’d love to see progress, justice and empowerment in a non-harmful way. Writing is my outlet for these feelings, but I also have this vision where someone who can change something sees this and maybe starts to understand where I’m coming from. Publishing this, whether for 1 or 100 views, is playing a part in moving the needle forward.
Do you agree or disagree on professional organizations? Did I miss anything? Am I completely off-base? Let me know in the comments!
About Quintessential
Thank you so much for reading! Quintessential is a collection of personal writings about how I am managing to live my life authentically as myself. You may be interested in this publication if you:
Are a young woman trying to make it in this world;
Enjoy niche topics;
Care about your communities around you;
Don’t take life too seriously; and
Want to know what makes me, me!
Sooooo spot on. Professional orgs are such gatekeepers. Also very annoying about them not letting your session just be for women? Much to unpack there