Writing History Forward–Who Will Lead?
Have been intending to blog about this fascinating intergenerational feminist convocation since I took the D train out to Brooklyn last Saturday after enjoying dim sum in Chinatown with my 30-something cousin Elizabeth. (She calls me “Auntie G” because of our age difference. Thus the day started out with an intergenerational theme; food if nothing else transcends the generations.)
Asking just what transcends and what divides the generations were a galaxy of feminist stars, moderated (if such a thing is possible with feisty feminists) by the ever-engaging Laura Flanders, “Women’s Visions for the Nation: What’s It Going to Take?”, the Saturday speakout showcased the intergenerational feminist think tank, Unfinished Business. The occasion marked and was sponsored by the 2nd anniversary of the Elizabeth Sackler Center for Feminist Art.
NB: Sackler established the center at the Brooklyn Museum, and if you have not been out there to see the extraordinary wing where Judy Chicago’s famed feminist history review “The Dinner Party” is permanently installed–run, don’t walk. (Oh, and don’t forget to change to the 2/3 at Atlantic Ave.) You are in for a treat and I for one am immensely grateful for this treasure of a place, and for Elizabeth Sackler’s commitment to fostering the future of feminist thought, art, and action.
Of course, it’s the action part that most concerns me. I was taken with the quiet determination of Ai-Jen Poo, founder of Domestic Workers United (in feminist fashion, she calls herself a “lead organizer”, not “executive director” or “CEO”). This organization’s mission is to create a new paradigm for valuing work that includes the rights of domestic workers and caregivers, who are almost always women and tend to be the lowest-paid, most marginalized workforce.
But my hackles of concern were raised by the pervasive thread of aversion to leadership that I heard in so many of the presentations and comments from the floor. “We’re not here to lead, but to spark”, was one framing. Feminists have fought so hard, so courageously against the injustices of patriarchal leadership, but we have not yet created our own leadership model that gets us beyond the circle of power-equals which is noble in concept but loses steam in the long, slogging implementation of systemic change.
INTENTIONING
Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women
Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good
The new book from Gloria Feldt about the future, taking the leadership lessons learned from this disruption and creating a better world for all through the power of intention.
I stood up and asked: what’s wrong with leading? After all, a movement has to move. Power and energy come from moving into new places, from taking action. There are incredible leaders here–from Elizabeth Sackler to Ai-Jen Poo. And yet we are talking about sitting in a circle and sparking, not leading. My challenge is to take leadership. A leader is anyone who gets something done. There is nothing negative about being a leader or leading.
I wanted to hear the speakers address how feminists can get beyond this worthy desire to be in a circle, with no one more powerful or more recognized than any other person, and accept the responsibility of leadership. There was lots of energy and clapping in response, but then the discussion immediately got back right away to what the problems are, rather than how we might to the solutions.
I recalled that after the WomenGirlsLadies panel at the 92Y last week, a young woman asked me who is leading the movement today? Where can she go to be effective, to make a difference? I could not give her a satisfactory answer.
Everyone agrees this is a moment for women. A moment for change. A moment when we can get what we want to happen.
But we are going to have to embrace the concept of leadership for the common good if we truly, fiercely, deeply want that systemic change.
For a full overview of the “Women’s Visions for the Nation: What’s It Going to Take?” program, once again, Deborah Siegel sums it up brilliantly at girlwpen, so why should I duplicate the work? Check out her liveblogged posts from the event here in chronological order:
Liveblogging Women’s Visions for the Nation @ Brooklyn Museum
Elizabeth Sackler Revs It Up
C. Nicole Mason Keynotes
Laura Flanders Emcees
Esther Broner and Ai-jen Poo Take the Stage
Let the Intergenerational Speakout Begin
What Will the Feminist New Deal Look Like?
Closing Thoughts from Esther Broner, Ai-jen Poo, and HipHop Artist Toni Blackman
Liz Abzug Brings It Home
And you may also find Courtney Martin’s commentary on the discussion over at feministing.com provocative.
While you are chewing on these questions–and I hope sharing your thoughts about who will lead and how by posting comments here–feast your eyes:
Two plates from Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party"
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.
6 Comments
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I’ve never thought of myself as a feminist – but leading can be a joy if you have a wide circle of support both male and female to move the mission forward. The trick is knowing when to step out and when to step back into the circle for support.
Joan, you are so right that leadership can step in and out of the circle. I define a leader as anyone who gets something done. What I am encouraging is that women embrace their own ability to be leaders, and also to understand that leadership itself isn’t inherently good or bad–it’s what you do with it that counts.
Now about the f-word, you are one if you believe that women and men should have equal rights and responsibilities. Simple justice is how I think of it.
The definition of leadership appears to be important in this context, or more particularly the varying definitions that women of different ages seem to hold. Last year the Girl Scouts did a survey of teen girls and found that many said they didn’t want to be “leaders” because they have this idea that leadership equates to a unilateral kind of authoritarianism.
Given this and other recent research I’m reading, I realize that establishing a common definition of “leadership” is critical to a meaningful discussion of the topic. As I prepare to teach a graduate course in leadership this fall, I’ve come up with elements that I believe factor into a…ahem…feminist definition. So far, those elements include “values,” “change,” “inclusion,” and, “followership.” This last term I find unhelpful, as it carries a passive connotation when, really, followership to me is just leading from a different place in that circle that Joan talks about in her earlier comment.
Fascinating survey info, Bonnie. Girls seem to be changing in many ways from previous generations, but in this instance “the more they stay the same.”
We’ll have to compare course syllabi LOL
Gloria,
Thank you for this post! It just seemed to be what I needed for today. This “sparks” many thoughts with me. I have been stuggling with my own role in leadership in women’s organizations. If you step forward and lead you will always ruffle feathers and we have to be OK with that and continue to move forward. When we move forward people will try to hold you back. It is truly a balancing act and I think we have to have an army of leaders draging the naysayers along with us rather than allowing them to keep us in the same place while we squabble about how we get there.
I have a saying that I use in diffent jobs I have had.
What I am doing may not be perfect, but it is better than what was being done. I use this to fogive myself for mistakes. If I wait for eveything to line up and be perfect, I will never get anything done, so I would rather just move forward and not miss out on the momentum. I would view myself as a leader and a spark and I am comfortable being both. Thanks for encouraging me to come to your site for quotes, it was just what I needed and I read some great quotes too!
Dana, So glad to see you here and happy to know this post gave you some sparking you needed.
I admire your equanimity about knowing that your leadership doesn’t require you to be perfect all the time. One of my favorite metaphors about this is the Wizard of Oz who, when Dorothy pulled back the curtain and excoriated him for being a bad man for pretending to be all-powerful when he wasn’t, said: “I’m not a bad man; I’m just not a very good wizard.” (or something like that-you get the idea.) None of us is a wizard, but getting in there and trying is what counts. You do that every day.