5 Levers of Power
Finding gender equality on many fronts, even when the scales are uneven.
On Friday, March 27th, Ellen Pao lost her gender discrimination suit. I avoided following the coverage, mainly because the situation hit a little too close to home. I share (superficially) common identity traits, also being an Asian American woman in a male-dominated industry. I wondered if the verdict might hint at the cultural perception that gender bias and discrimination isn’t legally actionable and therefore not “real”.
Ask any woman in nearly any field — sexism is still very real — losing verdict or not.
Watching Pao talk about her pride at telling her story is helpful, but it doesn’t feel like a victory. Concern looms about what this might mean for hiring decisions made about women in the future — particularly for high profile jobs in tech and the venture capital community. That world isn’t my professional world, yet intuitively it would follow that increased gender diversity (as well as other types of diversity) in any field helps society advance as a whole.
We know that social evolution happens in many facets of living, and it is often difficult or impossible to predict how it will all unfold.
In an attempt to not get depressed about the verdict, I started thinking of the places where gender equality need be engaged directly to help move things forward.
Ultimately, this is about power.
While I’m glad for male allies, let’s be real: gender equality requires actual representation. Beyond legal battles, four other fronts need to be engaged:
- Corporate Power — There needs to be a new set of conversations, training and awareness around professionalism. Jackie Zehner, CEO of Women Moving Millions, outlines five best practices, as well as notes other great analysis that helps turn the Pao verdict into an opportunity for corporate transformation. Corporations also have an opportunity to express vision when it comes to gender equality. Denise Morrison, President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, writes about the importance of diversity in the C-Suite. Companies like REI directly support women’s leadership initiatives, and encourage other CEOs to do the same. Maelle Gavet, CEO of Ozon (the Russian equivalent of Amazon), points out six things her company did to maintain her 48% women staff ratio. Her points range from clear (“Focused on salaries”) to more nuanced (“Made the workplace more flexible and family-friendly”) to directives (“ Loop in the entire company”). What I find most interesting about Gavet’s work is that while these initiatives helped women, she intentionally built opportunities for inclusion. She writes:
But far and away the best thing about developing and following-through with all these initiatives: If done correctly, they spark a virtuous circle of success, embedding gender diversity into a company’s culture.
- Cultural Power — Whether it’s Beyonce’s reclamation of “feminist”, or Amy Poehler’s upbeat Smart Girls outreach, celebrities are making it easier and chic again to reclaim the idea of gender equality. There still seems to be a persistent game of “mommy wars” and guilt around being a working mother, but other outdated cultural norms have transformed. Single parenting is a choice made with bravery. Rachel Sklar “smashed the cone of silence” around single parenthood, lending inspiration through very publicly telling her story. Such public responses might not have been the case 40 or 50 years ago. Shame is being transformed into efforts against bullying and shame— an example of this is found in what Monica Lewinsky is doing about public shaming. There is clear evidence that the culture around women and power — particularly personal power — is still changing, and for the better.
- Career Power — Career power could be defined so many ways. The way I define this front is at least two-fold. I define career power as women getting their due in terms of respect and credit for moving their industry or profession forward. Separately, career power means being able to make space for care-givers (both women and men) to be able to take time out to be present to their families. Whether it’s making sure there are diaper changing tables in men’s bathrooms or urging all people to take family leave (for their own children or to take care of elderly parents), these actions help support a workforce that is more inclusive for all families.
- Political Power — Yes, 2016 is around the corner. So are thousands of other races — state and local executive offices — state legislative races — and federal campaigns. It would be a historic moment for a woman to break that important glass ceiling in the Oval Office. Yet her success would be deeply amplified from having more mothers, sisters, aunts and grandmothers in Congress, Governors’ mansions or state legislatures. Rutger’s Center for American Women in Politics keeps a running tally of women represented at all levels of government. How would policy development and implementation change if we had 30–40% representation in public office, instead of the scant 7–25% we now have? What would happen if we got to 50%?
As the old labor adage goes: mourn, then organize.
I’m hopeful that out of the Pao verdict, we’re able to transform a little faster towards real gender equality. It’s one battle in target rich environment.
Please hit the Recommend button to help organize.
Also check out Freada Kapor Klein’s post: Ellen Pao and the Myth of Meritocracy.
(Updated) Erin Malone also writes about Big Questions to Ponder post Ellen Pao trial. She was an alternate juror and is an UX designer and entrepreneur — great perspective.
