As part of the US Open’s celebration of 50 years of equal prize money for men and women, USOpen.org is featuring a series of essays from successful women in a variety of fields, each offering personal perspectives on the importance of equality as well as individual insights into the challenges they’ve overcome in their respective career journeys. In this installment, Norah O’Donnell, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, shares her thoughts on the importance of recognizing and celebrating those powerful women who have led change.
Being a journalist is one of the most fulfilling jobs in the world. You get to travel the globe and interview the most fascinating people. It is like having a front-row seat to history, reporting on the most important stories of our lifetime and questioning decision makers. Increasingly at the center of these critical news events are powerful women, hoping to change the world for the better. At the CBS Evening News, we are committed to telling these stories.
As a little girl, I was always enamored with the news. My father served 30 years in the U.S. Army, so the news mattered. When he was deployed during the first Gulf War, our family anxiously awaited every news headline. Information is knowledge, and I desperately wanted to know if my dad was safe and when he was coming home.
My father’s assignments brought us around the world. In the 1980s, we lived at Garrison Yongsan Base in Seoul, South Korea. I got my start in broadcasting there at the age of 10 when I taught on-camera English lessons for the Korean Education Development Institute. That set me on a path to become the anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News.
I’m honored to sit in a chair once held by Walter Cronkite, who was known as the most trusted man in America. We strive to advance his legacy of the highest journalistic standards and values because as Cronkite said, “Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.” We need an informed electorate. Every night, we aim to put on a broadcast that has hard news with heart—a program that presents solutions-based reporting to help viewers.
My hope is that our reporting can also help change the world for the better.
We must use our voices to support, lift, and share stories of women who are working to change the world for the better. - Norah O'Donnell
One of the most critical subjects we’ve investigated at CBS News is sexual assault in the U.S. military. We need more women in national security positions of power. We learned in our years-long investigations that systemic harassment has forced many women to leave military service. That must end. Our reporting has helped expose this injustice and it has led to change. Just last year, Congress adopted historic military justice reforms. By the end of 2023, the Pentagon will implement a special trial counsel that takes prosecution of 11 specific crimes, including sexual assault, out of the chain of command.
The military still has a long way to go. Less than 20% of its ranks are female, and just a select few ever make it to the critical command positions. Hundreds in U.S. history have held the rank of four-star general or admiral, but only 10 are women. For my streaming show Person to Person, I spoke with the four currently serving at the military’s highest rank. It’s historic! What I learned is that each of these female leaders faced discrimination with determination.
As Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan, the first female to lead a branch of the Armed Services, pointed out, “The journey we’ve been on has taken sustained, persistent effort and endeavor. There’s been some difficult people along the way, but they’re not sitting in these chairs right now.”
That’s one of the most important lessons I’ve learned over my career: We must use our voices to support, lift, and share stories of women who are working to change the world for the better. At the CBS Evening News, we are committed to a diversity of storytelling. As the only woman anchoring a broadcast evening news program, my goal is to make sure we showcase female leaders and the stories most important to women that have too often been neglected. It is an incredible responsibility.
I firmly believe the 21st century is going to be the century of women. When I look around the newsroom at CBS News, I see young women who are curious, courageous, hardworking and tough. My team is majority female - chosen not because they are women, but because they are the best at their jobs. Every day, I aim to empower them to lead. I want them to know that being ambitious is a superpower, not a weakness.
Recently I had the honor of meeting Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards, who was knocked unconscious during the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. I admire her for her strength, courage, and resilience. Her words inspired me when she told a group of women, “I don’t think the future is female. I think the present is female.”
I think she’s right.
