with a master’s degree in business administration who, allied with
a powerful mentor, is making her way up the corporate ladder. Mary
Cunningham’s rapid ascent to the vice-presidency of Bendix Corpor-
ation as the talented protégée of the president and chairman of the
board followed an Athena course. When their relationship received
unfavorable attention, she resigned to move laterally into an import-
ant position with Schenley, another major corporate power. This
wise move could be considered the equivalent of a strategic retreat
and a decisive action taken under fire.
Athena’s acumen enables a woman to make her way effectively
in situations wherever political or economic considerations are im-
portant. She may use her ability to think strategically to further her
own projects, or as companion-advisor to an ambitious man on the
rise. In either case, the Athena archetype rules in women who know
what the “bottom line” is, whose intelligence is geared to the prac-
tical and pragmatic, whose actions are not determined by emotions
or swayed by sentiment. With Athena in her psyche, a woman grasps
what must be done and figures out how to achieve what she wants.
Diplomacy—which involves strategy, power, and deceptive
maneuvers—is a realm in which Athena shines. Clare Booth Luce—a
famous beauty, playwright, Congresswoman, ambassador to Italy,
and an honorary general in the U.S. Army—had these Athena
qualities. She was admired and criticized for her ambition and for
using her intelligence and alliances to cut her way through a man’s
world. (She was married to Henry R. Luce, a founder of Time
Magazine and a Zeus in his own realm.) In the eyes of her admirers,
she deserved praise for her “coolness” under fire, although her
critics cited her as a “cold” schemer.^2
Equally Athena-like is the woman with a doctoral degree who is
effective in academia. To achieve tenure requires doing research,
getting published, serving on committees, receiving grants—knowing
what the game is and scoring points. To get ahead, women as well
as men need mentors, sponsors, and allies. Intellectual ability alone
is usually not enough; tactical and political considerations are in-
volved. What subject she studies, teaches, or researches; which
campus she settles on; and which department chair or mentor she
chooses all
Goddesses in Everywoman