Have a Seat With the C-Suite, Vol. 2

We kicked off this series last week in Volume 1. This week, we bring you a new set of our outstanding finds from around the internet. 

Try: The Finkbeiner Test

The Bechdel Test was written by comic Alison Bechdel in 1985 (also the author of the graphic-novel-turned-Broadway-smash-hit, Fun Home) and offers one way to assess the depth of female characters in media. It includes three questions: 1) Is there more than one female character? 2) Do they talk to each other? 3) Is their conversation about something other than men? Try it on your favorite movie or TV show and see how it holds up. (In case you’re looking for your next Netflix binge, The West Wing, is one of our favorites and is a great example of something that passes the Bechdel Test.) Journalist Christie Aschwanden came up with a similar rule by which to gauge articles (specifically profiles) about women as a way to counteract the all-too-prevalent “a lady who…” genre of writing. This test has come to be known as the Finkbeiner test, after Aschwanden’s colleague and science writer Ann Finkbeiner. To pass the test, a story cannot mention:

• The fact that she’s a woman
• Her husband’s job
• Her child-care arrangements
• How she nurtures her underlings
• How she was taken aback by the competitiveness in her field
• How she’s such a role model for other women
• How she’s the “first woman to…”

Instead of focusing on a scientist’s womanhood and the aspects of her life that center on that, Finkbeiner prefers to write about women as scientists. There are times when writing about gender is relevant – “for instance, if you’re writing a story about sexism in science or about the gender gap in leadership roles in science” – but writing about a scientist’s gender in the context of a story about science is not appropriate (or really very interesting). Finkbeiner’s perspective, and the test that bears her name, are emblematic of a broader move to include more women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Nature, for example, has pledged to include more women as peer reviewers, invited commenters, and professional profiles. 

Read: To Hug, or Not to Hug? , by Emily Meg Weinstein

Emily Meg Weinstein discusses the brave new world of how to greet men in social situations, especially when men’s behaviors belie their assumptions about access to women’s bodies. Most of Weinstein’s reflection centers on dating relationships, and is necessarily practical regarding the complex dance some women must do to avoid uninvited touch: Now, I take a step back, away from the stranger’s open, reaching arms. I stick my hand out, in the space between us, thumb up, ready to shake. I shake it once firmly. I say, “I’m a shaker.” Sound familiar? This window into dating, online dating, relationships, and “implied consent” may not be relevant to you. Nevertheless, it offers yet another perspective on the ways in which bodily autonomy and integrity are not the default for women. Women and many people who identify as female have to exercise caution regarding when and with whom they meet and also be ready with “I’m a shaker”. This is as true in social situations as it is in the workplace. We in the C-Suite have learned to step strategically away from those male colleagues or to slide out of unwanted shoulder patting (or worse). Weinstein draws for readers the straight line from men’s intrusions into and onto women’s bodies to rape culture in one of the best and clearest definitions I’ve read. Are there places for hugs among our friends and even among our colleagues? Sometimes. Should we be able to dictate the times, places, and objects of those hugs (or other touching)? Absolutely. 

Share: Top Jobs Where Women are Outnumbered by Men Named John, by Miller, Quealy, and Sanger-Katz

How many men named John are in your workplace? How about David, Doug, James, Peter, or Mike? In this article, the New York Times revisits a 2015 report produced by Ernst & Young which compared the numbers of women in various professional positions to men with a single name in those same places. A few of the most striking (but perhaps not the most surprising): there are fewer women at the helms of Fortune 500 companies than there are men named James in the same position and there are fewer women serving as Republican senators than there are men named John in the same position. Importantly, the names of the men at the top also suggests “the whiteness of many institutions of American politics, culture and education” despite women in the United States earning more college degrees than men. The Times points out a few places in which both ethnic and gender diversity are well-represented, including the 2017 cohort of MacArthur ‘genius’ fellows. Even so, women face a host of obstacles their male counterparts do not: leaders are encouraged to be decisive and assertive, but women are socially discouraged from acting that way; women are more likely to be the primary caretaker of children; and men at the top “are more likely to mentor and promote people like themselves.” 

Lead: Dress Coded

The National Women’s Law Center co-authored a report with twenty school-aged girls about the ways in which dress codes are enforced in Washington, D.C. schools. That report is rife with both first-hand accounts from the young women themselves along with data regarding patterns and consequences of dress code enforcement. Dress codes are often rooted in gender and racial biases: Black girls are perceived as more developed or sexualized than their white peers and girls generally are asked to dress is such a way that their bodies are not “distracting” to their male peers. The overall findings aren’t great, either. Black girls are 17.8 times more likely to be suspended from school in DC than their white counterparts. These data are striking when considered in the broader context: Black girls account for 16% of public school students nationwide, 42% of girls’ expulsions nationwide, and 50.7% of girls with multiple out of school suspensions. Dress code violations can result in girls missing classes or whole days of school, costs to families, and embarrassing public consequences. Talk about distracting. The researchers suggest several solutions for school and district leaders (and we can’t endorse these strongly enough):

School-level leaders, like principals, should:

• Revise their discipline codes to remove dress and grooming rules. If they will not do that, they should:
• Reform their rules and practices in accordance with the checklist above—and avoid the common problems listed in this report.
• Take affirmative steps to make sure they and their staff are following the law.
• Monitor how the dress code affects school climate.
• Provide washing machines in school, dry cleaning vouchers, and free uniforms multiple times per year to ensure dress codes do not pose an obstacle to families struggling to make ends meet.

District-level administrators should:

• Create policies that ensure no student misses class time because of a dress or grooming code.
• Enforce existing rules about when and how schools discipline students.
• Check in with parents and students to learn what’s happening in school

Let us know if you’ve read or tried anything we mention here – we’d love to hear what you’ve learned from any of the resources. Check back in next week.

-Lauren