U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has worked for four presidents—Ronald Reagan, both Bushes, and now Donald Trump. One of the lessons she’s learned along the way? “I prepare so much more than some of my male colleagues,” she says.
Chao talked about how the practice of preparation has helped her excel in male-dominated fields on Politico‘s Women Rule podcast. She also said she developed subject matter expertise that made her indispensable. Chao was the first Asian American woman ever confirmed to the U.S. Cabinet when she became labor secretary in 2001. “I knew what I was doing,” she told Politico.
Chao then posed a question: “Men don’t prepare that much so why do we have to prepare as much?”
“Because we probably have to work harder,” she said. The topic seemed to strike a nerve:
“I know women who are prepared more and we get ridiculed, and it’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh. She’s just preparing so much. She’s such an automaton. Can’t she just like, wing it?’ Well, I’m not comfortable winging it. I don’t prepare as much as I used to because experience does count. But in the beginning, yeah, I prepared, and I tried to make it look as if I wasn’t preparing because I didn’t want to be ridiculed.”
“I know women who are prepared more and we get ridiculed, and it’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh. She’s just preparing so much. She’s such an automaton. Can’t she just like, wing it?’ Well, I’m not comfortable winging it. I don’t prepare as much as I used to because experience does count. But in the beginning, yeah, I prepared, and I tried to make it look as if I wasn’t preparing because I didn’t want to be ridiculed.”
The scenario Chao presented played out in real time during a presidential debate in September, when Chao’s current boss Donald Trump chided rival Hillary Clinton for reports that she had spent a lot of time studying for the showdown.
“You criticize me for preparing for this debate,” Clinton said in response. “And, yes, I did. Do you know what else I prepared for? I also prepared to be president.”
Chao’s point will no doubt resonate with women besides Clinton. A YouGov poll in October found that 74% of U.S. adult women—versus 60% of men—said they tend to prepare for things rather than improvising. At the same time, 32% of men indicated that they tend to improvise, compared to just 17% of women.
Thorough preparation has paid off for Chao, but—as Clinton proved—sometimes it’s just not enough.
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