One New Good Idea

When I worked at the CIA I had a boss, Mike, who used to say that he felt good about going to a conference as long as he got ONE NEW GOOD IDEA from it. That may sound like a low bar but after 40+ years in the workforce there aren't too many pieces of advice we haven't heard before, tried, and all too often discarded.

So it was a pleasant surprise to learn something completely new and useful earlier this month when I visited St. Louis to attend the GeoInt symposium dedicated to all forms of geospatial intelligence. The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) for several years now has been exploring how to increase the diversity of its workforce, not just ethnically or in terms of gender but also relative to cognitive diversity. For example NGA has been working to attract neuro-diverse applicants, and this year signed an official cooperation agreement with Gallaudet University, where students are taught in American Sign Language. Gallaudet President Bobbi Cordano was at the symposium and my chats with her were a highlight of the meeting. She introduced me to the concept of gendered organizations.

Given the male-dominated history of large organizations, it's inevitable that the rules of organizations reflect the values and preferences of the men who formed them. Organizational structure is not gender- neutral. The Harvard Business School Professor Rosabeth Kantor noted decades ago that common organizational characteristics such as a tough-minded approach to problems and the setting aside at work of personal and emotional factors are masculine preferences.

But it was sociologist Joan Acker who wrote in 1990 the definitive piece on gendered organizations: HIERARCHIES, JOBS, BODIES: A Theory of Gendered Organizations. (Hoping this link gains you access.) Her central thesis:

To say that an organization, or any other analytic unit, is gendered means that advantage and disadvantage, exploitation and control, action and emotion, meaning and identity, are patterned through and in terms of a distinction between male and female, masculine and feminine. Gender is not an addition to ongoing processes, conceived as gender neutral. Rather it is an integral part of those processes, which cannot be properly understood without an analysis of gender.

Women in the workplace have long argued that the rules seem stacked against them. But managers and leaders of the organization respond that the rules are the same for everyone and thus are fairly enforced. But that overlooks the fact that these rules were written by men for men. Thus, jobs that require emotional support or care-giving tend to be devalued in organizations. And the qualities that can get you ahead—working all hours, self-promotion, competitiveness—tend to skew masculine.

The extra-curricular activities in large organizations that are often so important to building out networks and gaining mentors and supporters also tend to be those favored by men, almost comically so. The golf tournaments, hunting trips, fantasy sports leagues are just some examples. And of course, the jargon of organizations is full of sports and military language: a hill to die on, knocking it out of the park, the ball is in their court.

I write these paragraphs fully aware that any discussion of male/female differences trades on stereotypes that are unfair both to men and women. Many women (including me: Go Astros!) are sports fans, play golf, etc. etc. And many men would rather go to an opera than golf. But there is no denying that historically social activities associated more with men than women have dominated the workplace. Women have adjusted and figured out how to play the games. But there aren't too many examples where men have had to adjust to female-ordered rules. Company volunteer days perhaps are an example of a new organizational activity that is redressing the male-female balance.

At Rebels at Work we say that it's important as a rebel to determine whether the changes you are proposing are theological in nature—that they go counter to the bedrock values of your organization. The theory of gender-ordered organizations offers us additional insight on this issue. You may not think that lobbying for an on-site day-care center or a more flexible leave policy is theological in nature. But such changes can sound heretical to organizations that have long believed family and personal concerns should not interfere with work responsibilities. So don't drop the ball when you're trying to get across the goal line: be sure to cover all the bases so that you can tee up your issue for success.