[Smashpatriarchy] Some advice, re: a Sexism in the Workplace Workshop

[Christopher Leinonen]

Yes, Reg, I agree that a mandatory event would probably be resented - this
is why it would probably have to be paid (since it would take time out of
people's regular work day, among other things).  But yeah, I will have to
think about ways to address the resistance.  I hope the anonymous drop-box
might help to alleviate some of that, in order to prove that the event is
necessary.

It's interesting, because you'd think that a large office environment would
have a more established (and clear) policy on this kind of thing, but there
aren't even any sexual harassment seminars... which I think used to be
pretty regular for offices?  Maybe not.  At any rate, there's definitely a
need for it.  Hopefully something comes from it.  Thanks for your input!

-Chris

On Mon, Oct 8, 2012 at 10:54 AM, reg johanson <regjohanson at gmail.com> wrote:

> hi chris. i can't really give advice, but i can say that i think these are
> good ideas. especially the one about getting an outsider in to do the
> workshop. the question about making the workshop mandatory is interesting.
> if it's not mandatory, not many will go. if it is mandatory, people will
> probably resent it. maybe you can do some work to speak directly to the
> problem of resistance / resentment before the meeting.
>
> reg
>
> On Sat, Oct 6, 2012 at 10:31 PM, Christopher Leinonen <
> christopher.leinonen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hey folks!
>> So, as I've mentioned, I'll be unable to attend the meeting tomorrow
>> (thank you, Reg, for hosting it!), but I do have a question - either for
>> the list at large, or for folks to talk about at the meeting (IF there is
>> time for you to do so).  Sorry, there's a lot of writing coming up.
>>
>> As some of you may know, I work in the animation industry.  It's a fun
>> job, but the problem is that it's still very much a 'boys club', even
>> though more and more women are finding work in the industry.  As such,
>> there's a lot of casual sexism and microaggressions that pervade the
>> environment.  One of my friends was telling me about some more serious
>> stuff that has happened to her or that she's witnessed in the last few
>> weeks, and I have decided that I want to try to organize (well, get the
>> administration to organize) a workshop about Sexism in the Workplace.
>>
>> Now, something like this would be most useful, I think, if it were
>> mandatory attendance, and that probably means finding a small budget to pay
>> everyone for their attendance.  Hopefully there's something in the company
>> coffers to cover for it.  Of course, even if we can't swing that, and it is
>> only voluntary attendance, I'd still like to get something going.
>>
>> I want to start by putting a couple anonymous drop-boxes around the
>> studio so that people can write down their experiences of sexism (either
>> witnessed or direct experience) in the studio.  This will help prove that
>> there's a problem, and that the event isn't just being brought up "because
>> it's required legal mumbo-jumbo" or whatever.  It'll also help skirt around
>> the problem that most women have with reporting sexist behaviour.  That is,
>> everyone in the industry is friends with each other (especially the older,
>> more sexist, more senior folks) - so reporting it would hamstring their
>> careers, if not kill it.
>>
>> Also, I want to bring in a guest speaker from a group that deals with
>> this sort of thing regularly (that runs workshops, etc.)  I feel like it
>> would hold more cache, and would be less 'personal', if it were someone
>> else coming in.  It'd help avoid the likely problem of no women wanting to
>> run it (for fears of sabotaging their careers), and the problem of me as a
>> man giving a presentation about how sexism hurts women.  (It MIGHT be
>> useful, but I feel like I would also be a lot easier to dismiss, by virtue
>> of my relative youth, etc.)
>>
>> There is a more senior member of the staff who I can float the idea to
>> who I think would take it seriously, so I'm hoping it'll fly.  I'm gonna
>> bring it up on tuesday or wednesday.
>>
>> What I am asking of you, is do you have any other ideas for how such a
>> workshop could be run, and what sort of things you think I should cover?  I
>> know the basic direction that I'd like to take it in, but other ideas are
>> good.  And, most importantly, does anyone have connections with people who
>> have experience giving these kinds of workshops to large groups of people?
>>  I have a friend who might be able to find someone through WAVAW, but any
>> leads that you folks might have would help a lot.
>>
>> Thanks, folks!
>> -Chris
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Smashpatriarchy mailing list
>> Smashpatriarchy at lists.resist.ca
>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/smashpatriarchy
>>
>>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/smashpatriarchy/attachments/20121009/32b7319b/attachment.html>