VULNERABILITY AT WORKPLACE: IMPACT ON ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, OPPORTUNITIES, AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT

VULNERABILITY POINTERS AND INDICES: Women’s Rights and Empowerment (Part 2)

That money brings about a response in almost all things is a cliché with a punch that never seems to go away. Money gives swagger to a person’s step, and it bolsters confidence in an otherwise empty pocket.

And the one place we all make money is the workplace: virtual offices, inside cubicles, at home or open market spaces. It is called economic empowerment.

Policies, politics and cultural belief systems often determines who takes what and how much a person is worth with or without negotiation.

For women, economic empowerment is a life wire same as it is for men. However, women for centuries have had to overcome cultural, religious, systemic, political, academic, social, and psychological barriers to earn their right to own their money and spend it as they wish. This though is fast changing, yet the huddles to overcome are no fewer.

In the workplace, advancement is determined by what you earn, political glass ceiling, academic and training opportunities available to you, and dealing with co-workers equally vying for the same benefits.

The #METOO movement and other waves of feminism has thrown up the buried and often uncomfortable topic of how the rules that determines whether a woman gets a job or not should be openly discussed, criticised or not. In the movie industry, it is dubbed the casting couch, a notorious state of negotiation where a woman has to give sexual favours in return for getting a role. Which then raises dust about whether the actress has indeed ‘earned’ the role, which in turn casts doubts about her professionalism, work ethics, character and capability; although the last issue becomes evident in their eventual performance which can then be scored or measured by the general public ratings.

This raises the question: does the fact that a talented woman succumb to sexual pressure to advance her career taint a job well done by her? If you do not agree, or choose to support, the billion pound question that needs answering is: how can women leverage the scene by turning it into a fair playing field both for them and the men?

Workplace vulnerability is real and how women spot them both in the setting they find themselves and within themselves with regards to who they truly are on the inside is crucial. This implies that understanding why sex in workplace remains topical paves way for insight that leads to solutions.
Now let’s experiment and see how answering the following questions could lead to critical thinking that proffers critical solutions in leveraging the playing field.

1. Is sex a value-exchange tool? Or a tool forged with the sole purpose as an instrument of shame with the goal to stigmatise?
2. Is sex a means to an end?
3. Is sex a gift?
4. Or none of the above?

5. Is there a thin line between office romance and exchanging sexual favours in the office?

A. YES.  B. NO

6. If you’re dating your boss in an office romance and you got a promotion, will you take it?

A. YES   B. NO

i. Why would you?
ii. Would it impact how you see yourself? Your self-esteem, confidence and worth?
iii. Would it impact how you rate your competence?
iv. Would it impact how others perceive your competence?
v. Would it impact how others judge your character?

7. When deciding to engage in office romance, what’s your real motivation?

A. Loneliness
B. Companionship
C. Means to career advancement
D. Economic empowerment
E. Political Power
F. The Need to Belong
G. Friends with Benefits
H. Others …………………………………………………………

8. When deciding to engage in office romance, what’s your end goal?

A. To spite
B. Feed gossip
C. Means to an end
D. Cultural norm
E. Compromise
F. Leverage
G. To gain notoriety
H. Others……………………………………………….

9. When deciding to engage in office romance, what means do you employ to get it?

A. Subtle flirt
B. Direct demand
C. Overt request
D. Blackmail
E. Getting someone to fall in love with you

10. What do you equate sex to?

A. a sport
B. a gift
C. a tool
D. a means
E. others ……………………………………………………………

11. Of what is sex generally equated to in your society?

A. a requirement
B. a norm
C. a useful practice
D. a standard of measurement of compliance
E. a team sport
F. a notoriety seen in positive light by the society
G. an offer not turned down
H. Others ………………………………………………………

12. Would you equate engaging in sex as similar to engaging in a sports activity such as golf, tennis, etc., to seal a deal?

13. Would you equate engaging in sex as similar to engaging in a sports activity such as golf, tennis, etc., to sweeten the deal?

14. At what point does a woman feel most vulnerable to change her personal view on having sex in the office?

A. When she’s desperate?
B. When she’s low financially?
C. When pressured by peers?
D. To break the political ceiling?
E. Others …………………………………………………………

15. Women who succeed solely on merit in their career climb and political relevance, what price do they pay to get where they are?

A. Less time spent with family?
B. More personal development than the average requirement?
C. Longer office hours?
D. Take on more job than is required?
E. Develop ability to multitask?
F. Not getting married?
G. No sex life?
H. Great connector and communicator?
I. Delayed marriage?
J. Less sleep
K. Not good with home management skills?
L. Extended courtship or dating
M. Others?...................................................................

16. What skills have successful women mastered to close the divide with their male counterpart to reach the top of their game?

A. Have a social support network
B. Understanding the organogram and power play in their various work settings
C. Quick thinking
D. Excellent communication skills
E. Strong leadership skills
F. Constant and relevant personal development
G. Team player
H. Good grasp of office politics and understanding the thin lines within
I. Understanding the dynamics of team members
J. Avoiding misplaced expectations
K. Willing to make mistakes then use such knowledge to master their craft

17. What skills or behaviour exhibited by women can make them more vulnerable in the long and short run?

A. Poor communication skills
B. Lack of personal development
C. Lacking initiative
D. Pitting co-workers against one another
E. Lack of leadership skills
F. Fear of making mistakes
G. Failure to understand job roles and job expectations
H. Inability to deal with different kinds of personalities
I. Confiding in the wrong colleague
J. Mixing sex with sexual favours
K. Feelings of low self esteem
L. Lack of confidence
M. Fear of taking up more challenges
N. Poor thinking
O. Understanding organisational structure
P. Poor grasp of office politics without necessarily being a bitch
Q. Misplaced expectations
R. Complacency
S. Refusing to leave comfort zone
T. Following bad advise
U. Mixing with the wrong office crowd

In the end, is sex a necessary evil, a misplaced activity, or is its use simply misunderstood? The answers to that question is a pointer.

VULNERABILITY POINTERS AND INDICES: Women’s Rights and Empowerment (Part 1)

The 19th and 20th centuries became notable as the Year of the Woman. It was the period that marked Women Suffrages across the world. In 1881, the Isle of Man gave women who owned property the right to vote. In 1893 the British Colony of New Zealand granted women the right to vote. The colony of South Australia and Western Australia did it in 1894 and 1899 respectively.

By the 1900s women suffrage protest was in full swing: 1911 in Britain; 1913 in America; 1914 in Germany and 1935 in Paris became its tipping point. The right for women to vote was no longer negotiable. And by the end of World War II, the United Nations encouraged women suffrages across the world, and African countries joined their voices too: Cameroun in 1946, Ghana in 1954, Ethiopia 1955, Egypt 1956, Chad, Guinea, and Nigeria in 1958, Burundi in 1961, Congo 1963, Cape Verde in 1975, and in 1994 women of all races in South Africa were given right to vote.

These movements led to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979 with 189 countries being part of that convention.

But the 1995 Beijing Declaration Conference in China organised by the United Nations heralded the turning point of women’s liberation in all spheres of life: health, reproductive rights, education, career, economic power, rights recognition, political relevance and freedom of unlimited choices.

Fast forward to 2018, the struggle for women’s rights, decision-making, gender balance, gender abuse, social participation, economic power, political participation, and workplace advancement remains heated topic of discussions everywhere you turn and the tempo is not dying anytime soon. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wave of Feminism and more recently the #METOO movement are testimonies of that. At the start, the 1st wave of feminism was about political equality. The second wave was designed to combat social and cultural inequalities while the 3rd wave of feminism continues to address the financial, social and cultural inequalities with strong political activism.

https://goo.gl/images/zUNv7R

At the depth of research, studies and reports conducted, the quadrilateral issue of politics, policies, leadership, innovation is at the core of limiting factors mitigating against the successful implementation in recognising the rights of women, their roles, contributions and the impact their choices and decisions can have on local, regional and global scale.

In this series of vulnerability indices and pointers, the objective is to delve deep into understanding how women could inadvertently be the clog in the wheel of their progress in workplace setting and how critical thinking and proactive steps can help give them a win-win in their career advancement, office politicking, and economic empowerment.

Part 2 of the series takes an incisive look at vulnerability at workplaces, its impact on economic empowerment, opportunities, and career advancement of girls and women.