Posts tagged as:

women

The (Feminist) Business Bloggers’ Lament

by cv harquail on January 26, 2010

In the past several weeks I’ve been working with two different groups of businesswomen, developing social-media based movements to advance social change in and around the workplace.

Conversations with these women have been intellectually challenging, inspiring and empowering. And they have also been oddly confessional, about a problem that — in my opinion — it’s time to bring out into the open.

A Personal Authenticity Problem

These women can’t be authentic, and can’t be their most powerful, because they are hiding something. These powerful, dynamic, visionary women are hiding their concerns about equality between women and men. These businesswomen are hiding their own feminist identities.

Here’s how the confession the conversation breaks down:

First, we get the fears:

  • I don’t want to bring up women’s concerns when talking to potential clients about this business issue.   If I raise it as a women’s issue, or — worse– a mom’s issue, it’s treated as a special interest instead of a business concern.
  • I don’t want people to think I’m “only” talking about women’s issues, that I’m a one-trick expert.
  • I don’t want clients to think that I’m bringing up women’s situation because as a woman I’m self-interested and/or because I have an axe to grind.

Then, we get the reflections on experience:

  • Any time I bring this up as a woman’s issue, it gets marginalized and put in a corner because women are a “special case”.
  • Any time I bring this up as a women’s concern, people disregard it and tell me that this isn’t a business issue.

Then, we get the Authenticity Problem:

  • I don’t want my silence to be perceived as me not being feminist.
  • don’t want my silence about women’s concerns to be perceived as me not being smart enough to see the gendered dynamics, differences and issues that will prevent this business program from being successful.
  • I don’t want my silence to be perceived as collusion.

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But silent we are.

After a few (female and male) colleagues have said to me “I didn’t know you were a feminist,” I realized that I’d maybe dialed back my own authenticity a little too much.

And, I’ve wondered: What am I doing that is chronically inauthentic, if this is how some people see me? (Alternative analysis: they don’t know what a feminist looks like.)

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve hedged, myself, on this very blog. Many times. Over and over. Afraid people will dismiss AuthenticOrganizations if/when I drop the f-bomb.

Why is this Inauthenticity a problem?

By not speaking as feminist business people, about women’s issues, gender dynamics, and other intersectional concerns about diversity and inclusion that are important to the business initiatives they lead, none of these women gets to participate in an authentic way.

And, the very initiatives they are advocating are feminist issues — issues where a feminist analysis and the feminist agenda would make a big difference in what goals are set and what kind of social change is achieved. Said one of these businesswomen:

Sexism itself prevents us from covering these topics, even though we know we can’t put this initiative onto already “sexist “organizational cultures, and hope that we will still achieve the change we seek.

Not thinking as feminists, not reminding ourselves to use a feminist lens, actually impedes our effectiveness as business people, as strategists, as consultants, and as leaders.

So, what should we do?

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Defend Your Personal Brand. Barbara Boxer shows how.

by cv harquail on June 19, 2009

What can we learn from Senator Barbara Boxer and her interaction with Brigadier General Michael Walsh?

1. Defend your personal brand.
2. Ask to be treated in a way that reflects who you are, what you have accomplished, and what you stand for.
3. To do anything else is to allow your personal brand to degrade.

200906191332.jpgBoxer and Walsh are said to have “clashed” during a hearing on Tuesday about the New Orleans Flood Protection and the work of the Army Corps of Engineers.

As described by Patricia Murphy, a columnist at Politics Daily:

During a terse exchange, as Boxer pressed Walsh on why the levees in New Orleans are still not repaired nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, she said to Walsh:

“Could you say ’senator’ instead of ‘ma’am? It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title. I’d appreciate it.”

The general’s response? “Yes, Senator.”

Why should she care? Because titles help to maintain personal brands.

Both Senator Boxer and General Walsh have reputations that they have earned over their years of public service. Both also have titles, also known as honorifics. These titles indicate to everyone the place that each of them has earned within their specific ‘industries’. For example, Boxer is not only a senator but also the Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

For the Senator and the General, their titles are part of their personal brands.

Both parties deserve to be called not only by the titles they have earned, but also by the titles they prefer. Beyond being simply polite and respectful, the use of the appropriate honorific has a purpose for personal branding. The honorifics are an important shorthand that allows all participants to keep in mind the status and reputations of the parties involved. And, where one person’s formal status is higher than another’s, using the honorifics helps to organize the rules of engagement.

Was Boxer “rude”?

Boxer asked for the appropriate honorific (title) to be used. The general complied. Boxer used his title to refer to him, he (ultimately) used her title to refer to her.

After looking at the video of the interaction itself and also of the entire meeting, it seemed like a reasonable request. Boxer was direct, straightforward, specific, and NOT bitchy.

So, why is it that when asked to evaluate Boxer’s request that her formal title be used, over 75% of respondents indicated that they thought Boxer’s request was “rude”?

To answer that question, let’s take our own quick poll:

Why did some people think Boxer’s request was rude?

(1) They think personal brand and reputation are not important.

(2) They think that earned status is not important.

(3) They think that a woman’s personal brand is less important than a man’s personal brand.

if you didn’t choose option 3, go read the nearly 2,000 comments on Patricia Murphy’s post.

200906191331.jpgMaintaining personal brands is harder for some groups of individuals than for others.

Any time individuals are in a subordinate social position, whether they are the junior partner to the senior partner, the salesperson to the buyer, the woman to the man, or the minority group member to the majority group member, their personal brands are more vulnerable.

One of the perquisites of power is the ability to define the situation, and one of the easiest ways to define a situation to one’s own advantage is to diminish, disrespect or disregard the personal brand or reputation of less powerful parties. Thus,

Defending your personal brand is more important for women than it is for men.

As contrasted with men’s personal brands:

  • Women’s personal brands are more likely to be intentionally disregarded.
  • Women’s personal brands are more likely to be unintentionally disregarded.

And, as General Walsh’s efforts demonstrate,

  • Women’s personal brands are more likely to be disrespected even by those who intend to respect women’s brands.

Personal brands, gender and race

Promoted by a conversation with Terrill Welch, a leadership coach and consultant, I’ve been doing some research on issues related to personal branding and women. (Despite my many reservations about personal branding as an implicitly politicized approach to finding personal voice and crafting personal reputation, I agree enough with the true intent of personal branding.)

I’ll write more about personal branding, gender and race in the next several weeks, so in the meantime keep your eyes open for situations where personal branding works differently for women than for men.

You’ll be surprised by what you see, and not always in a good way.

Take it from me, Ms. Professor Dr. Harquail.

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Working Moms Go Viral

May 7, 2009

… And I’m not talking about Swine Flu.
MomsRising.org is spreading a virus . .. it’s their "Mother of the Year Award" video, and I got one! Hooray for me! Mom of the year!
Does it matter that every other working mom is also receiving the "Mother of the Year Award" too? Heck [...]

Read the full article →