Month: November 2018

How to Recruit and Retain Women of Color in Organizations

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The case for hiring and retaining a diverse workforce is clear. Carol Fulp, Colette Phillips, Betty Francisco, and Beth Chandler, writing for the Boston Globe, remind us that studies show the following:

  • Diverse companies are more profitable.
  • The millennial workforce is looking for diverse, mission-driven organizations that focus on community and social justice.
  • Commitment to diversity will attract that talent.
Attracting and retaining a diverse workforce requires employers to be aware of challenges that people of color face. The Boston Women’s Workforce Council reports on differences in pay disparities. For every dollar of a white male’s earnings for the same job, white women make 75 cents, Asian women make 71 cents, black women make 52 cents, and Latinas make 49 cents. Creating pay equity and transparency about salaries is an important step for all employers. Alina Tugend of the New York Times points out that it is also important for employers to understand the concept of intersectionality or the “complex and cumulative way different forms of discrimination like racism, sexism and classism overlap and affect people.” In other words, retaining women, and particularly retaining women of color, requires sensitivity to a type of emotional tax that people of color face in the workplace because of a feeling that they must always be on guard to protect themselves against bias or unfair treatment. Tugend shares research by Catalyst on this issue. A survey of almost 1,600 participants of color (Asian, African American, Latino, or a combination) in a variety of settings found that almost 58 percent said they were highly on guard at work. Being on guard may mean trying to repress personal style in order to play into stereotypes or altering habits to avoid being threatening to dominant group members. Women of color often battle stereotypes:
  • African Americans are thought of as angry black women.
  • Latinas can be perceived as too emotional or too tied to their families.
  • Asians are often viewed as the “model minority.”
None of these stereotypes are considered appropriate for leadership. Participants at the New York Times New Rules Summit suggested several ways that employers can retain people of color and create inclusive work environments:
  • Create allies as ambassadors within their own demographic. Do not put the burden of creating more inclusive workplaces on minority employees.
  • Foster safe spaces in which dialogue and open discussion about cultural differences can occur so that people learn about each other.
  • Ensure that individuals are vigilant and speak up for those whose voices are not heard.
  • Develop formal sponsorship and mentorship programs for women and men of color to help increase their visibility and social connections in the organization.
  • Maintain employee resource groups so new hires can meet others with similar interests.
  • Hire and nurture diverse teams.
The future of your organization will depend upon your ability to attract and retain diverse talent. What has worked for you?   Photo courtesy of Amtec Photo (CC BY-SA 2.0)]]>

International #MeToo Roundup

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For those of us living in the United States, losing track of what is happening for women’s rights in other parts of the world is easy. Having a global perspective can be helpful for understanding challenges that women face at home. Here are some updates:

India

  • Maria Abi-Habib and Vindu Goel report that, after a slow start, the #MeToo movement exploded in India during October 2018 as accusations of sexual harassment forced resignations, apologies, and shunning at the highest levels of government and in journalism, entertainment, the arts, advertising, and academia. The authors note that India has historically and recently been plagued by sexual violence against women. It remains to be seen whether this new momentum will improve protections for women or make workplaces safer—but there is hope that the #MeToo movement will sustain this progress and bring about lasting change.
  • Vindu Goel, Ayesha Venkataraman, and Kai Schultz explain that while public allegations against Harvey Weinstein one year ago unleashed a powerful #MeToo movement in the United States, an Indian equivalent did not get started until recently. The authors explain that the combination of the accusations of a prominent Bollywood actress, Tanushree Dutta; the complaints of a comedian, Mahima Kukreja; and the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford in the United States combined to inspire dozens of women in journalism to come forward about harassment by editors, publishers, and reporters. These women have now unleashed an outpouring of #MeToo stories and accusations in other industries in India.

China

  • Javier C. Hernández and Iris Zhao write that even in an environment where strong government censorship and a patriarchal culture stifle dissent by women, the international #MeToo movement has encouraged women in China to speak out. The first public accusations appeared earlier this year on university campuses as students circulated open letters about the sexual misconduct of professors. More recently, dozens of women have posted open letters on social media accusing prominent Chinese journalists, intellectuals, and charity leaders of sexual assault and harassment. The wave of allegations was eventually shut down by government censors who fear the power of the #MeToo movement, but, as one media scholar at the University of Hong Kong notes, “Censorship can only stop public discussion for awhile. When something big happens again, it will come back.”
  • In another significant #MeToo moment in China, Ian Johnson writes that the Venerable Xuecheng, the abbot of one of the most prominent Buddhist monasteries in China, was stripped of his titles and influence after Buddhist nuns accused him of sexual misconduct. Johnson notes that the abbot’s fall is a rare case of a politically connected figure being felled in “China’s small but tenacious #MeToo movement.”

Nepal

The country of Nepal has a long way to go to create a culture in which sexual harassment is taken seriously. Bhadra Sharma and Kai Schultz report that sexual assault is up 60 percent over the past five years. Public anger is growing, but the government’s only response has been to ban pornography, a move described as “a diversionary tactic to hide the government’s incompetence in prosecuting rapists.” Police in Nepal have a long history of protecting rapists by destroying DNA evidence, refusing to arrest accused rapists, and treating victims with suspicion and hostility. The #MeToo movement in other countries has encouraged women in Nepal to report assaults. #MeToo is putting pressure on governments and organizations everywhere to end sexual harassment and assault to create safer, more respectful cultures. Let’s keep telling our stories.     Photo courtesy of Yann Forget (CC BY-SA 3.0)]]>

Lessons from the Kavanaugh Hearings: Himpathy, Bro Culture, and Sex Education

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Anemona Hartocollis and Dana Goldstein of the New York Times write that the Kavanaugh hearings reminded Americans of the entrenched strain of aggressive hypersexualized “bro culture” that still persists today on high school and college campuses (and in many businesses). The bro culture described during Kavanaugh’s high school and college days is not a thing of the past. Studies show that most assaults of young women today are perpetrated by an acquaintance. One in five women in college experience sexual assault on campus. Peggy Orenstein writes that high school and college boys are more likely to rape when they are drunk—without consequences. She explains, “He . . . goes on to professional success and even a happy marriage. Meanwhile, he may have derailed the life of another human being, causing her years, decades, of pain and trauma.” Why is sexual assault in high school and college still so common? No parent wants to think that his or her son is capable of sexual assault, but Orenstein notes that a recent survey of more than three thousand men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five found that “more than 60 percent of respondents had never had a single conversation with their parents about how to be sure that your partner wants to be having sex with you . . . about ‘the importance of not pressuring someone to have sex with you,’” or about how to stand up to other young men to stop a sexual assault. In other words, parents of boys are not educating them about responsible and ethical sexuality. Instead, most boys get their sex education in locker rooms, frat houses, and other all-male spaces where they hear that sex is about conquest. They also get their sex education from video games and movies, in which women are frequently portrayed as scantily clad sex objects, and from both everyday and celebrity role models. As for the messages about gender that boys receive from society, Kate Manne writes about the “himpathy” advantage, or “the inappropriate and disproportionate sympathy powerful men often enjoy in cases of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, homicide and other misogynistic behavior.” Recent examples include President Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Brock Turner, Thomas, and Kavanaugh, all of whom received sympathy from some while the perspectives of their accusers were erased or dismissed. Manne writes that it is now time for a mass moral reckoning because of “gendered sociopathy,” which relentlessly casts suspicion on female accusers while excusing the behavior of boys and men. Manne notes that this pattern in which the powerful are believed while the vulnerable are dismissed is actually a source of systemic injustice. It sends a clear message to boys and young men that they can treat women disrespectfully and will not be held accountable. If anything is ever going to change, we must

  1. Learn to recognize this pattern of protecting men rather than believing women within ourselves
  2. Listen to girls and women and believe them
  3. Educate boys and young men about the tendency of alcohol to fuel aggressive behavior and about their responsibility to treat women and girls with respect
Are you the parent of boys or young men? What conversations are you having with them about sex?   Photo courtesy of Gratisography.]]>

The #MeToo Anniversary: After One Year, Has Anything Changed?

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Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey published the first story on Harvey Weinstein in the New York Times on October 5, 2017. Their story gave much-needed momentum to the #MeToo movement launched by Tarana Burke more than a decade earlier, which brought to light African American women’s experiences of abuse. The Weinstein accusations started a public outpouring of abuse stories from women, and some men, around the globe and exposed the pervasiveness of this problem. Kantor and Twohey note that it has become clear over the past year that nothing is going to change for women unless we keep speaking out. They state that a reckoning “wide and deep” was reignited one year ago and is likely to continue. In fact, the voicing of sexual assault experiences needs to continue if there is any hope of societal change. The recent Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation process added new fuel to the #MeToo fire by revealing that not much has changed. Women witnessed the demeaning mockery and dismissal of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford by the president and several GOP senators after her public testimony about her assault experience. Kantor and Twohey note that we must continue to tell our stories, in public and in private, because honest sharing of previously hidden traumatic experiences causes subtle adjustments in our collective understanding of the line between right and wrong. They explain, “Progress requires a correct accounting of what women have really faced.” But is anything different after a year of #MeToo? While societal attitudes do not seem to have changed much yet, Zoe Greenberg of the New York Times writes that some laws have changed at the state level and some industry practices are changing as well. For example, since October 2017

  • Some states have passed laws banning or limiting nondisclosure or other confidentiality agreements as a condition of employment.
  • A few states expanded sexual harassment protections to apply to more workers.
  • Certain private companies, including Microsoft, Uber, and Lyft, eliminated forced arbitration agreements when settling sexual harassment claims.
  • Some private companies are including “morality clauses” or “Weinstein clauses” in merger deals or book contracts requiring full disclosure of accusations of sexual harassment.
  • The Screen Actors Guild has published a code of conduct that calls for an end to auditions and professional meetings in homes and hotel rooms.
  • Several women, including Christiane Amanpour, Jennifer Salke, Hoda Kotb, Jennifer Lee, and Tina Smith, have been elevated to replace powerful men like Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer who were forced out by multiple sexual harassment accusations.
In another New York Times article, several prominent authors offer warnings and suggestions about what lies ahead:
  • Sarah Polley urges us to notice “how quickly we went from looking openly at the challenges women face to how the conversation about misogyny affects men.” She urges us to stay focused on unearthing women’s experiences.
  • Catharine A. MacKinnon, a legal scholar, notes that the norms of rape culture still permeate the law. She points out that the burden of proof for sexual assault in criminal law are difficult for survivors to meet and statutes of limitation are too short to allow victims of sexual violation to get past their trauma enough to report the event.
  • Stephen Marche writes that men are largely absent from the conversation. He notes that “the only way out of the intractable problems of gender—harassment, the pay gap—will involve robust male participation.”
  • Shanita Hubbard states that race and class have always been the deciding factors in whose pain is prioritized. She explains that “research indicates that African-American women experience higher rates of rape and sexual assault than white, Asian and Latina women. At the same time, their reports of sexual violence are less likely to be recognized by the legal system.”
  • Katie J. M. Baker writes that it is unrealistic to think that men accused of sexual misconduct won’t try to reappear as though nothing happened. She points out that there is a big difference between shunning and effective gatekeeping. The industry gatekeepers must facilitate these comebacks responsibly and with public accountability.
In conclusion, MacKinnon notes, “#MeToo may be the first change toward women achieving human status since the vote.” Our rage and our stories are moving us forward, and we must not be silenced again.   Photo courtesy of GGAADD (CC BY-SA 2.0)]]>