I was reading a report by McKinsey and Company on Unlocking the Full Potential of Women at Work. It reminded me of all the articles I read when I started researching my book seven years ago. The statistics, problems and calls to action were the same. Women are vital to corporate success, yet little has changed to meet their needs, honor their strengths or trust them to hold top positions unless there is a crisis.
One question continuously asked is why women don't stay in corporate positions long enough to earn the top executive positions. We know many don't leave to raise babies. Many leave out of frustration, disillusionment, loss of hope and sometimes sheer boredom. If we know this to be true, why aren't there thousands of women working together to change the corporate environment?
At the 2012 Women in the World Summit, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee asked, "Where are all the angry American women?" She was referring to the lack of women willing to stand up for their reproductive rights. I heard her words as a call to action for women to speak their mind in our companies and organizations as well.
If not enough women stand together, the problems will never stop. In fact, as Shannon Kelly declared in her post, The War On Women is a War Against Everyone, there is a movement intent on taking us back to times when problems were worse.
I am amazed.
When I teach diversity in my leadership classes, most people claim gender issues no longer exist. The women, if there are any in the room, either say nothing or tell me privately about their struggles to be recognized as a leader. Yet they won't share their frustrations publicly. They don't want to do anything that might to damage their personal progress.
I don't understand.
We tell women they can pursue any career path they want. Yet when they become engineers or politicians, they face a blatant, not just subtle, discrimination. The shock often sends them running to another career, disillusioned by the society that said they could achieve anything if they worked hard enough.
Enlighten me.
We still need changes in economic, political and social structures to utilize the talents of women. Yet when I am standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, everything screams at me to be more attractive, care about a Kardashian and cook better for my family.
Work is now an integral part of women's lives, either by desire or need. Companies with a percentage of female leaders in the boardroom do better financially. Why aren't leaders listening to what women need to feel valued and fulfilled? Are women not loud enough?
A group of women's rights activists have come together with lawmakers to make changes. Where? Buenos Aires. They call it the Women's Parliament. They were formally acknowledged last year and now they are transforming their most important initiatives into legislative bills. The idea for the group was first mentioned to lawmakers in 1998. It took 13 years to win official approval. The women never gave up.
Umair Haque wrote a blog post every American woman should read called, Declare Your Radicalness. He said we are "...the inheritors of the legacies of adventurers, grand risk-takers, plucky pioneers, those with the courage and sheer impertinence to defy a status quo that tried it's damnedest to stop them from creating a future that was brighter than the drab present they refused to settle for."
Where are all the radical women who won't stop until the future is brighter for all women?
Whether or not you thought Anne-Marie Slaughter threw feminism under the bus, she made a powerful call to action in her viral Atlantic article, Why Women Still Can't Have it All, "If women are ever to achieve real equality as leaders, then we have to stop accepting male behaviors as the default and the ideal. We must insist on changing social policies and bending career tracks to accommodate our choices, too. We have the power to do it if we decided to, and we have many men who will stand beside us."
In response to Slaughter's article (there were over 2,400 comments online), Rebecca Traister wrote in a piece in Salon, "There are miles to go before feminism sleeps... We are still very much in the midst of reversing eons of gendered injustice." She also notes that "backlash politics" is pushing against the strides we have made. If we give in now, how many accomplishments will be erased?
Are you willing to stand up and fight? Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Can you get angry enough to change this pathetic situation women still face at work? The decision is yours. As Martin Luther King said, "The right time to do the right thing is always now."
Follow Marcia Reynolds on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarciaReynolds
Ah, and therein lies the problem. What do these women expect, that leadership and respect come in an envelope along with their appointment letters? Sheesh! All men know that it's hard work to earn respect, and that you have to defend your claim to leadership constantly.
distorted and unbalanced all male institutions can be and that's why we are still dealing with this epidemic. Just talk to them, they work for us right. They should be happy to speak openly on this topic to any citizen. It would make a difference. Talk to your legislators and other political representatives. Tell them you want a clear accounting for these crimes. Plea bargaining a rape case so the state can save money and time will always keep us in harms way and that is the big trend today. Follow up on local cases and what has happened to them. You will be amazed.
I will definitely think about embracing influence and power, two things that have never really being something I have wanted to pursue. I am hoping that I will stay aligned to my purpose and passion, to speak up, and my influence and power will become apparent as a side affect.
Great work...xxx
Y E S!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IYQhRCs9IHM
I created and curate http://amazingwomenrock.com/ and its facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AmazingWomenRock as well as the associated Twitter account @AmazingWomen
I also created and curate https://www.facebook.com/SheQuotes and its Twitter account @SheQuotes
I write blog posts like these: http://amazingwomenrock.com/13-provocative-posts-on-gender-issues
I am one angry woman. I have a voice and I'm using it. Like you. Like Soraya Chemaly, Amy Siskind and many others. Unfortunately, "many" are not millions, and millions are what we actually need to make change. Giving up is not an option.
BTW, while you quote and link to articles by women throughout this piece, I invite you to also exclusively quote women leaders to end your pieces even more powerfully. Thanks :)
I will share this post across all my social media channels.