Women with Grit

Guest post by Kate Jakubowski

In Finnish, the word sisu is a word denoting that someone has the bravery and strength to persevere—they have literal guts to achieve a goal.[1] Throughout the past century, there have been many gutsy women: Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic Senator from Massachusetts; Mary McLeod Bethune, an advisor to FDR who played a key role in the demographic transition of the Democratic party; and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Supreme Court Justice. But I would argue that these women didn’t just have guts—they had grit. Facing gender, race, or even pregnancy discrimination, these women overcame obstacles to become trailblazers, advocates, and icons, and have inspired the next generation of ambitious young girls.

Popularized by psychologist Angela Duckworth in a TED talk and explored further in her book with the same name, grit is “passion and perseverance for long term goals.”[2] She divides grit into four key traits: interest, practice, purpose, and hope.[3] The women mentioned above—Katherine Johnson, Elizabeth Warren, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Mary McLeod Bethune—each showcase at least one of these characteristics, though that’s not to say they don’t display the other traits too. These are the women, these are their stories, and this is how they have shown grit in their journey to become accomplished innovators and pioneers.

Interest

Although Elizabeth Warren is best known for being a Democratic Senator, she had a different career before she got into politics: for over 30 years, Warren was a teacher, beginning as a special education teacher in New Jersey and ending as Harvard's highest paid professor and one of the country’s top experts in bankruptcy law. In fact, Warren considers teaching—not politics—her ultimate calling in life: “I loved being a teacher more than ever. I knew this—teaching—was what I was meant to do.” [4]

However, after only one year of teaching at Riverdale Elementary in New Jersey, Warren was fired for being pregnant.[5]

Despite this setback, Warren never gave up on her dream. She went even further in her pursuit, going back to school, enrolling at Rutgers and earning a law degree.[6] Unable to get a job after graduating, she offered legal advice from her home.[7] Her grit meant that she wouldn’t stop until she reached her goal of being a teacher. In 1978 she became a lecturer at Rutgers, and in 1981 she acquired tenure at the University of Houston.[8] After working at various universities and co-authoring books on bankruptcy law, Warren landed at Harvard, where she became their highest-paid professor.[9] Warren’s interest in teaching never waned—in fact, it was only heightened when she faced a setback.

Perhaps passion is a better term than interest for a key aspect of grit. You can have an interest in something but not want to go further. But if you have ambition—if you have a clear goal in mind that you want to achieve no matter the obstacles—that shows the passion you have. That shows grit. And right there, we can see how gritty Elizabeth Warren was, and we can still see it today in her “Warren has a plan for that” slogan[10] and the “nevertheless, she persisted” social media phenomenon.[11] Elizabeth Warren endured because she had an interest, a burning passion for her calling in life. And so she persisted until she met her goal. 

Practice

Many of us think of practicing as a craft that takes a certain amount of time before we reach perfection, harkening back to the phrase “practice makes perfect.” And although the time you put in is certainly important, it’s also the determination you have for the goal that counts. Duckworth uses the Japanese translation kaizen to summarize the art of practicing: the phrase translates to “continuous improvement,”[12] and Katherine Johnson spent her remarkable career continuously building upon her skills by having a passion for her work.

Katherine Johnson was a mathematician whose entire life was devoted to figuring out new solutions to problems that had never been thought of before. As a so-called “computer” and research mathematician at NASA, Johnson calculated flight trajectories of crucial space missions, including launching John Glenn into orbit and landing the first men on the moon.[13]

As impressive as her career may be, her early education may be even more awe-inducing. She graduated high school by ten and summa cum laude from college at eighteen with degrees in French and mathematics.[14][15] And it was at college where she met Dr. William Schieffelin Claytor, who was only the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics. By her junior year, Johnson had taken every math class that West Virginia State College offered. Seeing that she had an endless thirst for knowledge, Dr. Claytor created a class just for her: the Analytic Geometry of Space.

Dr. Claytor’s departure from teaching for research mathematics foreshadowed and inspired Johnson’s path. Johnson worked tirelessly as a teacher to make ends meet until she received a position at NASA’s predecessor, NACA, where she calculated flight trajectories with other African American women who were just as gritty as she was. Even if it’s not what we think of as typical “practice,” these steps to her career at NASA prepared her for what was to come. Although studies showing just how many hours of practice go into mastering a subject, I would argue more that the passion—the quality—of the practice is more important. When talking about her career in her memoir, Johnson says this about her time at NASA: "I loved my job...I never needed inspiration to go to work. My work inspired me.”[16] Johnson’s passion and adoration of her craft allowed her to prepare for and carry out critical missions. In her career, Johnson didn’t just shoot for the stars—she aimed for the moon.

Purpose

Not enough words can do Mary McLeod Bethune justice. An oft-underrecognized figure in history, Bethune went from being an educator to founding the Bethune-Cookman University to becoming the highest ranking African American female in the FDR administration.[17] Bethune was Vice President of the NAACP, President of the National Association of Colored Women, founded the National Council of Negro Women, and formed the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, making her the first African American woman to head a federal agency.[18] An advocate for education, women’s rights, and civil rights, Bethune perfectly demonstrates purpose, which in the context of grit according to Duckworth is “the intention to contribute to the well-being of others.”[19] Bethune emphasized educating young African American girls throughout her teaching career, held voter drives for women when they were finally given the right to vote, and played a key role in transitioning the Democratic party from white Southerners to African Americans.[20] Bethune was a trailblazer and pioneer for so many women in so many ways that it’s impossible convey her remarkability in this short space. But if I had to describe Bethune’s passion for her purpose in one way, I would use her own words: “believe in yourself, learn, and never stop wanting to build a better world.”[21]

Hope

Icon. Self-proclaimed diva. All-time dissenter. Even if you don’t agree with Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s rulings, you can’t argue the fact that the “notorious RBG” was one of the most influential advocates for women’s rights in US history. As the co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project for the ACLU, RBG argued the 1971 landmark case Reed v. Reed in front of the Supreme Court.[22] For the first time the court ruled a law was unconstitutional on the basis of gender discrimination due to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.[23]More than twenty years later, in 1993, Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court, becoming only the second woman justice.[24] And it was there where some of her most inspiring work was done in the form of dissenting opinions. On that subject, RBG says “That’s the dissenter’s hope: that they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow."[25] And right there is the perfect example of grit: even if something doesn’t go your way, maintaining an optimistic attitude about the future can make all the difference. A famous Japanese proverb proclaims, “fall seven times, stand up eight.” It’s how we handle our setbacks that show how gritty we are. Although she graduated first in her class from Columbia, Ginsburg was unable to get a job immediately after college because of her gender.[26] But RBG never gave up, and her remarkable career shows this; in fact, she even became Columbia’s first female professor to gain tenure.[27] Never losing her optimistic spirit and hopeful outlook on the future of America, RBG showed courage, bravery, and most importantly, grit.

Conclusion

So, is grit really a “one size fits all” formula? I would argue that it isn’t. Yes, you can practice, as well as have interest, purpose, and hope, but I don’t think these four traits alone fully encompass grit. And I don’t think you necessarily have to have all of them to be gritty, either. You can have courage. You can have bravery. You can have enthusiasm for what you love and determination to complete a goal. Most importantly though, going back to sisu, you must have the strength to continue. You must believe in yourself and believe in your purpose. As these remarkable women have demonstrated, you don’t have to change yourself in order to change the world. As Eleanor Roosevelt, yet another remarkably gritty woman, once said: “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”[28]

References

“ACLU History: A Decade of Landmarks for Women.” American Civil Liberties Union, September 1, 2010. https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-history-decade-landmarks-women.

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. Accessed July 29, 2021. https://www.cookman.edu/history/our-founder.html.

Duckworth, Angela. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. New York, NY: Scribner, 2016.

“Elizabeth Warren: Academic Appointments.” Harvard Law School. Accessed July 31, 2021. http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/ewarren/Warren%20CV%20062508.pdf.

Ginsburg, Ruth Bader. My Own Words. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020.

Hickey, Adam S. “Harvard's Top FIVE Salaries Total More THAN $1.5M: News: The Harvard Crimson.” Accessed July 31, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191007003751/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1997/9/19/harvards-top-five-salaries-total-more/.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, November 9, 2009. https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/ruth-bader-ginsburg.

Johnson, Katherine. My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir. New York, NY: Amistad Press, 2021.

“Mary McLeod Bethune.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed July 29, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/mamc/learn/historyculture/mary-mcleod-bethune.htm.

“Mary McLeod Bethune Quotes.” Quotefancy. Accessed July 29, 2021. https://quotefancy.com/mary-mcleod-bethune-quotes.

Michals, Debra. “Mary McLeod Bethune.” National Women's History Museum. Accessed July 29, 2021. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune.

Reilly, Katie. “'Nevertheless She Persisted:' Women's History Month Theme.” Time. March 1, 2018. https://time.com/5175901/elizabeth-warren-nevertheless-she-persisted-meaning/.

Sager, Jessica. “In Her Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Most Powerful and Truly SUPREME QUOTES.” Parade, March 7, 2021. https://parade.com/1090347/jessicasager/ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes/.

Shetterly, Margot Lee. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. New York, NY: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2017.

Smith, Yvette. “Katherine Johnson: The Girl Who Loved to Count.” NASA. November 20, 2015. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/katherine-johnson-the-girl-who-loved-to-count.

“Tribute: The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and WRP Staff.” American Civil Liberties Union. Accessed July 29, 2021. https://www.aclu.org/other/tribute-legacy-ruth-bader-ginsburg-and-wrp-staff.

Warren, Elizabeth. Persist. New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2021.

“The Future Belongs to Those Who Believe in the Beauty of Their Dreams.” Accessed July 31, 2021. https://quotefancy.com/quote/757609/Eleanor-Roosevelt-The-future-belongs-to-those-who-believe-in-the-beauty-of-their-dreams.

 Picture Credits

Get Your Ruth On: Electrifying Dissent Collars. n.d., Photograph. MODA. Museum of Design Atlanta. Accessed July 28, 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/564b6866e4b0c5929314d76f/1525474104855-GVMO2GQJPWGGJLWGXN1W/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg_official_SCOTUS_portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg?format=1000w.

Katherine Johnson at NASA. Photograph. NPR via NASA. Accessed July 28, 2021. https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/03/06/katherine_johnson_john_glenn_wide-049cc1c14580bf2fa763330b7b0893ae82b80aed.png .

Mary McLeod Bethune with a Line of Girls from the School. Photograph. WDL. State Library and Archives of Florida. Accessed July 28, 2021. https://content.wdl.org/4013/thumbnail/1403113820/616x510.jpg.

Skoogfors, Leif, and Corbis. Photograph. Business Insider via Getty Images. Accessed July 28, 2021. https://i.insider.com/5db20487dee0190ef8140d64width=600&format=jpeg&auto=webp.

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (New York, NY: Scribner, 2016), 250.

[2] Angela Duckworth, “What is grit?”, accessed July 28, 2021, https://angeladuckworth.com/qa/

[3] Duckworth, Grit, 91.

[4]Elizabeth Warren, Persist (New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2021), 28.

[5] Warren, Persist, 18.

[6] Warren, Persist, 26-27.

[7] Warren, Persist, 27.

[8] “Elizabeth Warren: Academic Appointments,” Harvard Law School, accessed July 31, 2021, http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/ewarren/Warren%20CV%20062508.pdf.

[9] Adam S. Hickey, “Harvard's Top FIVE Salaries Total More THAN $1.5M: News: The Harvard Crimson.” Harvard's Top Five Salaries Total More Than $1.5M, accessed July 31, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191007003751/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1997/9/19/harvards-top-five-salaries-total-more/.

[10] Warren, Persist, 106.

[11] Katie Reilly, “'Nevertheless She Persisted:' Women's History Month Theme,” Time, accessed August 4, 2021, https://time.com/5175901/elizabeth-warren-nevertheless-she-persisted-meaning/.

[12] Duckworth, Grit, 118.

[13] Yvette Smith, “Katherine Johnson: The Girl Who Loved to Count,” NASA, accessed July 31, 2021, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/katherine-johnson-the-girl-who-loved-to-count.

[14] Katherine Johnson, My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir (New York, NY: Amistad Press, 2021), 40, 53.

[15] Smith, “Katherine Johnson.”

[16] Johnson, My Remarkable Journey,143.

[17] Debra Michals “Mary McLeod Bethune,” National Women's History Museum, accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune.

[18] “Mary McLeod Bethune,” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.nps.gov/mamc/learn/historyculture/mary-mcleod-bethune.htm.

[19] Duckworth, Grit, 146.

[20] Michals, “Mary McLeod Bethune.”

[21] “Mary McLeod Bethune Quotes,” Quotefancy, accessed July 29, 2021, https://quotefancy.com/mary-mcleod-bethune-quotes.

[22] “ACLU History: A Decade of Landmarks for Women,” American Civil Liberties Union, accessed July 31, 2021, https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-history-decade-landmarks-women.

[23] “ACLU History,” https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-history-decade-landmarks-women.

[24] “Tribute: The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Wrp Staff,” American Civil Liberties Union, accessed July 29, 2021, https://www.aclu.org/other/tribute-legacy-ruth-bader-ginsburg-and-wrp-staff.

[25] Jessica Sager, “In Her Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Most Powerful and Truly SUPREME QUOTES,” Parade, accessed July 28, 2021, https://parade.com/1090347/jessicasager/ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes/.

[26] History.com Editors, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” History.com. A&E Television Networks, accessed July 31, 2021, https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/ruth-bader-ginsburg.

[27] History.com, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”

[28] “The Future Belongs to Those Who Believe in the Beauty of Their Dreams,” Eleanor Roosevelt Quote, accessed July 31, 2021, https://quotefancy.com/quote/757609/Eleanor-Roosevelt-The-future-belongs-to-those-who-believe-in-the-beauty-of-their-dreams.