Female equality isn’t just about the wage gap (in 2010, women made 77 cents for every dollar men made. Believe it or not, this really is 21st century America.) There’s another aspect of gender equality in the workplace that is harder to evaluate quantitatively: The problem of creating a supportive environment for both men and women in the workplace.
The work environments I’ve been directly part of thus far have followed the typical hierarchal structure: Boss. Manager. Employees. A workplace hierarchy that puts the young, new members at the bottom and places the senior, more experienced members at the top of the pyramid. This seems to make sense: those with more power and experience are usually right, right? Everyday experience shows that the answer is yes… and no. A feminist imagining of the typical workplace might imagine a more unstructured organization, where the responsibility and ideas are distributed amongst all the employees. This kind of organization might be more responsive and value-driven than traditionally organized companies.
At GE-NMF, I’ve had my first experience with such feminist values implemented at the workplace. Though I’m just a summer intern, I was immediately included in business meetings, conference calls, and planning important events. I was ready to slip into the familiar mode of doing work, but was surprised to hear someone ask for my opinion on my very first day. The program coordinators who are a few years older than me have had experience in public health and working on political campaigns, and their ideas and opinions are considered, usually to help direct the organization’s policies. Though it’s a small office (6 people at the New Orleans office), every person is asked to contribute their suggestions. It seems like this makes people more invested in the organization’s mission and using resources efficiently. When everyone’s voice is taken seriously, it seems like an organization’s members start taking their contributions more seriously as well. Work doesn’t contribute to some abstract ideal (in this case, increased primary care in the US) – everyone holds each other accountable and values each other’s opinions. By getting regular feedback from the organization’s stakeholders, scholars, and faculty advisors, the organization gets regular feedback from the “community” it is serving.
Whose voices are being heard though? At GE-NMF, there are a huge diversity of voices being heard: Hispanic, Asian, black. There isn’t such a wide range when it comes to religious and sexual affiliation, but perhaps that is demonstrated at the company’s broader level. It’s evident that the organization is committed to diversity, but it’s understandably hard to carry that commitment as broadly as it ought to when the organization is so small. However, the way religion defines our cultural perspectives (and thus healthcare) sexual health’s central place in our national discussion on healthcare demand that we include greater diversity in our leadership.
I think, overall, my internship at GE-NMF this summer has helped me really see how these principles can be put into action, especially when compassionate, generous leaders are at the helm. GE-NMF, despite its limited resources, seems to successfully carry out a feminist-influenced organizational structure.
I’ve got one last blog post – my final blog post (coming up!) Can’t believe this summer has gone by so fast…
-Steph