A Woman's Thoughts:Women's Issues and Women Leaders Transforming the Workplace,the Nation,the World
Dear Reader, This blog focuses on the various issues that touch women's lives both personally and professionally, but makes particular notice of women leaders within the public sector who are making a difference to change the stereotypical views society has created of the female gender. I welcome anyone interested in learning about the challenges, but also the progress women have made, especially in the working world, to be seen, heard, and respected. Patty
In
the MPA course 'Administration and the Role of Women,' the main focus
of the readings was on the current status and challenges of women in society and
the workplace, as well as the many issues that affect women, particularly
working mothers, in both their personal and professional lives. There were also numerous discussions on
notable women, whether recognized during their lifetime or not, who as leaders and
public servants contributed to the growth of the public administration field and
made positive differences, each in her own way, within the area of public
service. This material was used for the
creation of this blog, and is therefore reflected in the different entries
labeled either as Journals or News Articles as each interrelates with the
readings and makes mention of external literature in order to expand the
understanding of the concepts discussed.
The following will be a summation of the key ideas that can be found throughout
this blog.
During
this week's readings, which included the concluding chapters for both Stivers'
(2002) Gender Images in Public Administration
and Alkadry and Towers' (2014) Women
in Public Service, the overall theme was a review of the many different
issues affecting women in general and working women in particular that have
been studied about throughout the semester.
In Chapter 7 of Stivers' (2002) book, the author presents an overview of
the main gender dilemmas that women are often forced to confront in society and
the workplace, especially in the areas of expertise, leadership, virtue, history,
and the administrative state. However,
instead of presenting these issues through the "neutral" yet often masculine
perspective that they are usually understood and associated with, Stivers (2002,
p. 132) takes on the challenge to explain them through a feminist perspective. She first explains that "a feminist
theory of public administration" will focus on any of the gender
implications that issues within this field may hold, while she nevertheless
acknowledges that these have historically ignored any "gender dimensions,"
mainly female ones (Stivers, 2002, p. 128).
What seems to be most frustrating to Stivers (2002) however, is the fact
that the public administration field has a foundation on both masculine and feminine concepts such as autonomy
or professionalism, but also benevolence and responsiveness, respectively, even
though the former is generally given greater attention and value. As I have understood, all these features are
needed and should be evident in an effective public administrator who puts
these qualities into practice. In trying
to express expertise from a feminist
view, Stivers (2002, p. 135) asserts that expertise would not be entirely based
on authority or professionalism as practiced by the administrators, but rather
on collaboration and support towards the public so that the
According
to a number of scholars, a majority, if not all, of the Latin American nations have
often been characterized by a preponderantly strong patriarchal society that
for centuries placed the male figure in the highest authority role within the
household and in the workforce, fostering significant gender inequalities and
discrimination that were mainly experienced by the female figure (Acosta, 2008;
Bryan, 2008; Chant & Craske, 2002). This
was particularly true in the political and public service realms, which had
been almost completely "dominated by men" ever since pre-colonial
times (Bryan, 2008; Chant & Craske, 2002, p. 39). By the twentieth century, however,
traditionalism had given way to increased modernism, and women throughout Latin
America began to carry out feminists movements calling for "equal
political and civil rights" and "to be represented in all areas of
government" (Carr, 1990; Caivano & Hardwick, 2008; Chant & Craske,
2002, p. 39; Marino, 2012, ¶
8; Shayne, n.d.; Vargas, 1992). From the
1970s to the 2000s, the executive level of three different Latin countries had
been reached by women who had been activists or leaders involved with politics (Chant
& Craske, 2002). A woman who has displayed
similar characteristics throughout her life is Michelle Bachelet of Chile who
would eventually rise to become this Latin American country's first female
President in 2006, only to be reelected by the people in 2014 (Michelle, 2014). A life filled with terrible tragedies but also
tremendous triumphs, this paper will present the story of the Chilean female
leader Michelle Bachelet and thus demonstrate why she should be considered as a
subject in the next edition of Outstanding
Women in Public Administration by Felbinger and Haynes (2004).
During the decades of the 1960s and
1970s, the United States witnessed the rise of numerous transformative events
taking place in social, cultural, and political arenas that would significantly
influence and ultimately revolutionize the American way of life, leaving behind
historical outcomes that still affect Americans in this twenty-first
century. With the influx of immigrants
from African, Asian, Central and South American lands, and different movements led
by both civil rights groups and feminist activists, the U.S. federal government
was at a point where it seriously needed to address important issues such as
gender, race, equality and discrimination, all while maintaining a focus on the
public's interests (A Changing of the Guard, n.d.; Latimer, 2013; Shirley, 2012). Consequently, the American landscape was
changing, but the people needed a courageous political leader to change along
with it as well. One individual who
would step into the political spotlight ready to lead a change in so many ways
for those times was Shirley Chisholm (Chisholm'72,
2004). This paper will be a review that
focuses on the documentary Chisholm '72:
Unbought and Unbossed, while pointing to at least seven concepts regarding course
material, as well as provides recommendations that can help women overcome the
various challenges they may face in or on the way to assuming leadership roles.
As
it has been noted several times throughout this blog, in Chapter 1 of her book Gender Images in Public Administration, Stivers
(2002, p. 5) makes mention of the importance of continuing the discussion on
the numerous "gender dilemmas" that affect women in the workplace and
in the general society. When one begins
to use the "gender lens" to look at the world, one will begin to see the
"gender dimensions" found throughout society that have created a divide
between males and females in terms of how the genders are treated and perceived,
either because of their masculinity or femininity, but leaving the latter group
at a "disadvantage" in many cases (Stivers, 2002, p. 12). Given that March is Women's History Month in
the U.S., the conversation on women's issues and dilemmas continues.
In
the article "U.N. Women's Rights Group Seeks Men's Support," author
Stuart Elliot (2014, ¶ 8,
11) highlights the start of a new campaign known as 'HeForShe' created by the
"Publicis Dallas agency" and the "Ogilvy Public Relations"
firm, but supported by U.N. Women, the organization under the United Nations
that focuses on issues that affect women worldwide through efforts that seek to
promote gender equality and empower women (UN Women, 2014). What is unique about this campaign is that it
actually does not include any female spokesperson in representation of women. Instead, it features men speaking in the name
of women's rights and gender equality.
This is to show that men around the world may also have grandmothers, "mothers,
sisters," aunts, wives, or daughters, many of who for too long may have
suffered from gender discrimination, domestic violence, poverty, inadequate
healthcare, or lack of access to adequate education, but will hopefully no
longer suffer when everyone joins the fight to end or break down these barriers
to women's advancement (Elliot, 2014, ¶ 2). Although there has been
definite progress when it comes to women's rights, all these issues remain to
some extent and have been a hindrance to women's struggles to be viewed as equals
to men in all areas of life. The main
objective of the "He For She message" is to "include men in the
conversation" involving these issues which although may affect women more than
other individuals, consequently affect "families, communities, and
societies" of which women are part of as well (Elliot, 2014, ¶ 6, 11; HeForShe, 2014).
Thus,
one can see how the 'He For She' campaign is a great initiative to
"promote women's rights" by calling on the participation of the male
gender since in this manner, men can see that they can also make a difference when
it comes to creating an equal and better world for both men and women (Elliot,
2014, ¶ 1). As the article notes, "women's
organizations tend to preach to the choir," but this time, U.N. Women is
bringing in the band, and when both parts work together, they are able to make an
even more spectacular performance, and in this case, illustrating what both
women and men can do to push for positive change in terms of gender equality (Elliot,
2014, ¶ 5). As long as the conversation continues, the
world will hopefully keep seeing the progress being made to reach equality, in
every sense of the word, between men and women.
Below
is the promotional video for the 'He For She' campaign. Different well-known men including U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and actor Matt Damon appear in the video "speaking
up" about their views on women's issues and mentioning how when given the
opportunity, women's full participation in the society is fundamental to help bring solutions to worldwide problems.
References
Elliot,
S. (2014, March 07). U.N. Women's Rights Group Seeks Men's Support. The New
York Times. Retrieved March 19,
2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/business/media/un-campaign-asks-men-to-support-womens-rights.html?_r=0.
HeForShe-
Men raising their voices for change.
(2014, March 06). YouTube.
Retrieved March 19, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFHU32WuDzk.
Stivers,
C. (2002). Gender Images in Public Administration:
Legitimacy and the Administrative State. Newbury Park: SAGE
Publications. 2nd Ed.
UN
Women. (2014). HeForShe:
A UN Women Campaign for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.heforshe.org/.
During this week's readings, the main
topic was on the sustained "segregation of women" in specific
organizations, certain careers, and even particular job position levels
(Alkadry & Tower, 2014, p. 96). In Chapter 5 of Women
and Public Service, Alkadry and Tower (2014) provide countless statistics
to accurately cover the issue of gender segregation in the workplace and
the inequality this causes in wages.
It is a phenomenon that often makes it difficult to achieve equal
representation of and equal pay for working women in America's twenty-first
century labor force. Within the public sector, specifically in
governmental establishments of any level, this type of segregation still exists
in many areas. What has been noted as
even worse than this, however, is that equal gender representation has only
minimally improved since the early 1980s, and is expected to be nearly "a
century away" from becoming a complete reality (Alkadry & Tower, 2014,
p. 97). The authors present "three
possible explanations" that may highlight this uneven representation
between men and women in the political arena, which include the following: most
women may not be as interested to enter politics; more women may struggle to
find enough economic support or support from other politicians so as to carry
out "a successful campaign"; and some women may find it more
challenging to gain the public's support to be elected, which may be due to
stereotypes or gender biases certain people may hold (Alkadry & Tower,
2014, p. 99-100). Regarding this topic,
what I find to be most disappointing is the fact that the majority of
"female-dominated" organizations, careers, and job positions are precisely
the ones offering wage levels that are much lower than that of
"male-dominated ones" (Alkadry & Tower, 2014, p. 101). Naturally, this affects both men and women
working in female-dominated jobs, but especially women given that there are
more of them laboring in these fields or positions.
Historians document
that a 1908 strike led in New York City by nearly 15,000 women workers from
garment factories "demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting
rights" was one of the most important events that gave rise to what today
has become known as International Women's Day (IWD) , which is yearly observed
on March 08th (About, 2014, ¶
2). Initiated by the Socialist Party in
the United States, "the first National Women's Day (NWD)" was held in
1909 to commemorate the 1908 strike (About, 2014, ¶ 3). As
a result of the "International Conference of Working Women" of 1910 in
Copenhagen, Denmark, where the agreement was made to designate one specific day
a year to focus on and celebrate women's issues and rights, NWD gradually
evolved into IWD to be held in countries such as "Austria, Denmark,
Germany," Russia (1913), Switzerland and other European nations starting
since 1911 and reaching global levels by 1917-1918 (About, 2014, ¶ 5).
It would not be until 1975 that the United Nations (UN) would proclaim
that year as "International Women's Year," officially recognizing IWD
(About, 2014, ¶ 8). Beginning in 1996
till the present, the UN has chosen one particular theme to focus on for IWD,
thus giving even greater meaning to the events held on this day around the world
(International, 2014).
In the article "International
Women's Day 2014: Understanding the United Nations' Theme, 'Equality for Women
is Progress for All,'" author Gopi Kharel (2014, ¶ 3) notes that as the title indicates, this
year's IWD theme is "Equality for women is progress for all." It points to the fact that although women
have made significant strides in the areas of education, health, business, and
politics, there is still much work to be done in order to improve women's future
conditions in these arenas throughout the entire world. For instance, Alkadry and Tower(2014) note in
Women and Public Service that since
the beginning of the twenty-first century, a larger percentage of women, in
comparison to men, have been obtaining degrees from higher education institutions,
yet they are still not equally represented in "leadership positions"
nor do they receive "equal pay for equal for work" (Kharel, 2014, ¶ 8, 12).
Moreover, other issues such as gender discrimination, sexual harassment,
and sexual assault continue to occur more to women in the workplace and beyond
(Alkadry & Tower, 2014; Kharel, 2014).
The UN's Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon
declared in his 2014 IWD speech:
This International's Women's
Day, we are highlighting the importance of
achieving equality for women
and girls not simply because it is a matter of fairness and
fundamental human rights,
but because the progress in so many other areas depends on it.
Countries with more gender equality have
better economic growth. Companies
with more women leaders
perform better. Peace agreements that
include women are
more durable. Parliaments with more women enact more
legislation on key social issues
such as health, education,
anti-discrimination and child support.
The evidence is clear,
equality for women means progress for all
(Kharel, 2014, ¶ 4-5)
The assertion of
equality being a "fundamental human right" is extremely powerful, but
it should be one's hope that actions are taken by leaders at all governmental
levels so that this will one day be a reality for all (Kharel, 2014, ¶ 4). Moreover, it is worth noting that the message
behind Ban-Ki Moon's speech seems to closely resonate to that of President
Barack Obama's State of the Union Address to the American public when he declared,
"When women succeed, America succeeds" (President, 2014, ¶ 41).
Thus, although IWD takes
place only once a year, with the purpose of bringing together women, and men,
under one spirit and mind to give global women's issues the attention and
importance they deserve due to how much they affect individual's everyday
lives, it serves to keep the dialogue on these topics going, which Stivers
(2002, p. 13) emphasizes in Gender Images as necessary in order to then bring about change
through "concrete actions." Therefore,
given that it is IWD, a special recognition should be made to all women as well
as all those who continue to push for gender equality around the world.
Below is a video created by the UN's Women organization in which its current Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka speaks of the necessity for equality between men and women, boys and girls, in all areas of life. She makes a "call for change" to every individual, no matter gender or age, to unite for equality in order to be better prepared together to "help solve the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century" (UN Women, 2014).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2UQMizLbo
References
About International Women's Day
(8 March). (2014). International
Women's Day 2014. Retrieved March
08, 2014, from http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp#.Uxt5lvldVLp.
International
Women's Day 2014 Theme: Inspiring Change.
International Women's Day 2014. Retrieved March 08, 2014, from http://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme.asp#.UxuRvPldVLp.
Kharel,
G. (2014, March 08). International Women's Day 2014: Understanding
the United Nations' Theme, 'Equality for Women is Progress for All.' International
Business Times. Retrieved March 08,
2014, from http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/542334/20140308/international-womens-day-2014-un-
theme-equality.htm.
President
Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. (2014, January 28). The
White House: Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved February
04, 2014,
from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/ 2014/01/28/president-barack-obamas-state-union-address.
Stivers,
C. (2002). Gender Images in Public Administration:
Legitimacy and the Administrative State. Newbury Park: SAGE
Publications. 2nd Ed.
UN Women Executive Director: International Women's Day 2014. (2014, March 03). YouTube. Retrieved March 08, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVuBI6qXvcI.
