In this interview with Aaron Levine, who has a master’s in sociology from Portland State University, we discuss what hegemonic masculinity is- and how it manifests in our nonprofits.
Part one in a series of 3.
Show 1: Introduction, Gender Structure and the Workplace
Start out with: Here’s what we know for sure. Studies show women make less. But it goes beyond that. Sexism in the workplace according to my Bloomerang research (lower wages for women across all job titles, levels of experience)
By the end of this round of podcasts we will talk about:
–Why your boss doesn’t pay you more-
–Why women have a harder time getting leadership roles-
–And what we can do about it.
I. Aaron who are you?
A. PSU Sociology Master’s
B. Studied Swazi male drinking habits
C. Lead me to Connell’s theory of masculinities
II. What are gender structures and masculinities in hegemonic masculinity?
A. Connell’s theory of masculinities, asymmetric power difference between men and women. gender as performance is varied. Men are accepting or rejecting various factors of it. It’s a type of performance of masculinity.
i. Gender structure is a large analytical cloud. You have to talk about it in small arenas to get people to activate their understanding of it.
ii. How does this activate in the gender structure of the organization? Domineering male is hegemonic performed. Complicit is woke male friend, getting benefits because he is male.
B. Four types of relations (academics are discovering others, but whatever):
i. Power relations: what men can do that women can’t/what they can do to dominate women (being your boss, having more money and can therefore spend more)
ii. Production relations: MOST IMPORTANT FOR THE WORKPLACE, that male work is rewarded more than female work, regardless of what that work actually is
a) Team dynamic. But i will get more preferential treatment because I am male.
iii. Emotional relations: how men and women relate to each other on the personal level, which OBSCURES THE GENDER STRUCTURE and what most listeners run into when talking about “woke-ness”
iv. Symbolic relations: cultural and social relationships to others and things that support the gender structure (color choice, name choice, relation to childrearing)
III. What is the glass escalator? And how it fits into the gender structure
A. A researcher was interviewing black male nurses. In a female dominated field, men will be put into positions of power by basis of being male in a female dominated profession. Women face the glass ceiling in male dominated professions. Black men didn’t find too much resistance to administrative roles. Anecdotes from us
IV. Corporate structure is a machine, one that supports and operates within the gender structure
A. latent dysfunction- functionalism.
B. HR doesn’t work for an individual, but it does work for a corporation.
C. Run by men.
i. Protect men from consequences of sexual harassment. Going to corporate structure for justice doesn’t work.
Inequality in the nonprofit sector is REAL:
Emotional Labor and how not doing it hurts men
What is emotional labor? And why would you care about this issue in your fundraising and nonprofit leadership work? Emotional labor is the act of caring for others, following up with them, reaching out to them, bringing them food, helping them when they are sick, working to understand their perspective, ask good questions, and generally build a stronger relationship. This is a lot like a lot of the work we do in the nonprofit social services sector, and EVERY good fundraiser has to get good at emotional labor, whether it comes naturally or not. Fundraising is getting paid for emotional labor If emotional labor is seen as women’s work, or feminized work, how does this impact how we are paid? And what work is seen as women’s versus men’s work? Read on. Tired of your wishes being ignored? Here’s why that’s happening Another unique sickness of women in North America is that sometimes we are asked to do what is called emotional labor. Nonprofit work is full of it, especially in fundraising. You’re expected to keep relationships going, reach out to people, call them, go and see them, all in the name of fundraising for your cause. This is emotional labor, and it is devalued by our society because mainly women do it. Got to admit it’s getting better-or is it?
MeToo in Nonprofit Work
#MeToo In Our Nonprofits -Interview with Maria Ramos Chertok, JD
Maria Ramos-Chertok is a lawyer who specializes in workplace harassment. Her JD is from California, so her examples come from there. However, her ideas on how to protect yourself and document your case can be applied to other areas of the country (as long as you check with local legal advice).
Reverse Sexism in Fundraising is Not a Thing, Sorry
This article is in response to a post from the AFP blog entitled “Where are all the men?” posted on International Women’s Day?!? It claims reverse sexism. What is reverse sexism? It’s supposedly when someone who would be good for a job is turned down because he is a man. But there are some funny jokes and videos in this article that I think you will like.
Sadly, this still happens. In this article I talk about my story of a board member harassing me. I also talk about being sexually harassed as a consultant, and some tips to counteract workplace harassment.
