Feminist Theory and
Organizations
SOWO 804
Lecture VII & VIII
Tamara H. Norris, Instructor
Management and Community Practice
School of Social Work
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3550
Recent Gender Controversies


Lawrence Summers: President, Harvard Spring 2005 (higher
education)

Women choose lower career paths

Women lack aptitude in Science

Bias is not the main reason women do not move up
Neil French: Worldwide Creative Director, WPP, October 2005
(advertising/communications)

Women make poor executives because “motherhood”
makes them “wimp out and go suckle something”

Women don’t have the skills to do creative work
Definitions of Feminism

The theory of the political, economic, and social
equality of the sexes

Organizational activity for women’s rights and
interests

The actions of men and women who work and/or
advocate for gender equality

Why the need for a feminist perspective?
Are you a Feminist?

Men and women should have equal access
to opportunities, resources, etc.?

Men and women should be paid equally?

There is “male privilege?”

Power is used to maintain status quo?

No one should face discrimination?
Feminist Legal Theory

Concern with the legal treatment of women


Historically women were viewed as property
Feminist Jurisprudence

Society is patriarchal—dominated by men

Examines how law maintains patriarchy

Application of feminist analysis and perspectives to areas
of the law
Feminist Perspectives in Therapy

Consciousness-Raising approach-- clients are
helped to assess the influence of racism, sexism,
and homophobia in their lives

Egalitarian relationship and mutual respect
between client and therapist

Assisting women toward empowerment in their
lives while they seek change in the social structure
that form the basis of many of their problems

What feminist principles are important for practice
and why?
Radical Feminist Theory

Critiqued liberal feminism-male defined norm

Called for transformation of systems

Promotes organizations that value feminine traits

Maintains women can have feminine organizations
outside realm of patriarchy
Feminism and Sociology

Integration
 Research that includes women in the sample
population
 Reforming theories by removing sexism

Separatism


Women conducting research for women
Reconceptualization

Revolution, not reform is necessary

Total and radical reformulation of sociology to
include the roles and contributions of women
Liberal Feminist Theory

Individuals are rational and autonomous

Sex is biological; gender is socialized

Equal access to opportunities, without changing
systems

Women are as “human” as men

In organizations:

Women as rational, effective, efficient, and fair
as men

Glass ceiling is a major issue
Psychoanalytic Feminist Theory

Social institutions affect development

Gender development is more positive when both
parents are loving and autonomous

In organizations:

Women are unsuccessful due to their
socialization

Earlier research suggests that women not
organizations should change

More recent research views feminine
characteristics more positively
Other Feminist Theories

Marxist—domination and oppression of
women

Socialist—sexual division of labor,
segregation

Third World/Post Colonial—examining
intersection of capitalization, colonialism,
and gender stratification
Management and Womanhood

Dualism between woman v. manager

Estrangement and isolation

Exclusionary practices, reproduced
homogeneity or organizational hierarchies

Survival of the group?

Gender, personal knowledge, and the
opposition to “old boys” networks
Conclusions

Gender inequalities are one result of
systemic problems that affect everyone

Gender and other inequalities are
increasing and have become normalized

Discrimination and oppression must be
challenged in society and organizations

How can one integrate feminism into
community practice, and what are the
future directions in this area given the rise
of conservatism in American society?
Email Group Discussion Questions:

In the Organizational and Community Behavior
class last semester, there were no male students.
In discussing the topic of feminist theory in social
work, I suggested that some comments might
have been different if there were some men in
the class. In what ways might our conversation
in this class be different because men are
present? Does that matter?

Are you a feminist? A “liberal” or “radical”
feminist? What does that mean for your practice
as a social worker?
Email Group Discussion Questions:

What have been your personal
experiences in the workplace or in your
personal life related to feminism or
sexism? How have these experiences
shaped your view of gender and
inequality?

As a social work manager, how will you
promote gender equality?
The Learning Organization
SOWO 804
Lecture VIII
Tamara Norris, Instructor
Management and Community Practice
School of Social Work
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3550
The Learning Organization

Primary institutions in society are oriented
toward CONTROLLING rather than
LEARNING
-
Schools
-
Work situations – (private and nonprofit)
-
Voluntary Organizations
-
Classes
Why?
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

Performance for another’s approval
-

Can it be entirely avoided?
How do we encourage LEARNING in our
ORGANIZATION and COMMUINITY?
-
Listening?
-
Participatory management
-
??
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

How do organization and/or community
members act as learning agents?

What is the system that controls events?
-
For organizations
-
For communities
-
For our Organization (SOWO 804)
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)


How does one lead in a learning organization or a
community?
-
Force of personality (charisma)
-
By coaching
-
Listening
-
Observation
-
Implementing changes
Creative Tension
-
What is it?
-
How does it facilitate a learning organization?
-
How does it relate to VISION?
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

New Leader Roles
- Designer
- Teacher
- Steward
-
Facets of a Learning Organization/Community
Psychological—extent to which individuals/communities
enact behaviors
Policy—how management/communities can promote
learning
Contextual—factors that promote or inhibit learning
Structural—learning by vs. learning in
organizations/communities
Cultural—normative behaviors that lead to productive
learning in organizations/communities
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

Major Features/New Skills of LO
-
Systems thinking – personal org. larger
environment
-
Personal Mastery – lifelong learning with the
system in mind
-
Mental Models – challenging assumptions
-
Shared Vision – building it across the org.
-
Team learning – being open to changing contexts
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

How do these features increase the capacity
for adaptation and change?

Explore the contemporary territory

Why is the learning organization, particularly
relevant (or not) to social work (human
service) organizations?
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

How do you build a shared vision with the
community in which you are practicing?

When a human service organization and a
community interface, who is responsible for
providing leadership?

Given the changing social, cultural, economic, and
demographic makeup of communities served by
human service organizations today, who has to learn
first?
The Learning Organization
(cont’d)

List the elements/components of a learning
community for an organization and provide
the rationale

List the elements/components of a learning
community for a community and provide the
rationale