Simmons College

Simmons recently hosted a panel presentation highlighting the need for girls' education in the developing world. The event - Educate, Empower, Transform: The Role of Girls' Education in the Developing World - included Simmons School of Management Professor of Practice Patricia Deyton as moderator.

INVITATION
Interrogating Intersectionality: What's missing and what's next?
Hosted by the Center for Gender in Organizations
Simmons College School of Management, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

June 29 - July 1, 2013

STEP 1- REGISTER (by June 15th)

STEP 2- EMAIL ABSTRACT (by June 15th)

Faculty/Independent Scholars: $150

Students: $50

James Beard Award-winner and Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef Barbara Lynch is regarded as one of Boston's--and the country's--leading chefs and restaurateurs. As CEO of Barbara Lynch Gruppo, Barbara oversees the operations of eight concepts and employs over 200 people. In addition to running her company, Barbara has always recognized the importance of giving back to the community and has been involved in a number of philanthropic programs over the years.

The Center for Gender in Organizations, in partnership with Simmons Institute for Leadership and Change, 85 Broads Boston Chapter and Room to Read, will present a panel discussion entitled "Educate, Empower, Transform: The Role of Girls' Education in the Developing World" on Monday, April 22, 2013 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Linda K. Paresky Conference Center at Simmons College. Supporting organizations include 85 Broads Boston Chapter, Samaya Consulting, Light the Dark, Catalina Leadership and Hands of Time.

In September, the Women's Initiative Forum hosted a fascinating discussion with Joyce Fletcher on the subject of Invisible Work. Download her article Invisible Work: The Disappearing of Relational Practice at Work in CGO Insights 35.

Dr. Fletcher started the discussion by stating that relational skills are needed in today's workplace, and women are well positioned to operate in that way in the global economy. Unfortunately there is a disconnect - there is acceptance that those skills are needed, but in practice they often aren't seen as work, and are therefore invisible.

Her research showed that:

• Women often used relational skills intentionally and strategically to support the work; it wasn't about being nice. However, often the people who work this way aren't seen as having leadership potential.
• The relational work may get 'disappeared' because people misinterpret the intention. It is seen as thoughtful or nice, not strategic. Even the language used to describe the work tends to feminize or soften it. Words like helping, caring, sharing are not seen as strong (like competent, for example). It is seen as something women do because they like to do it, and conflated with femininity or motherhood. The problem with being seen as motherly is that there's no sense of reciprocity with mothers - so a woman who is collaborative might be expecting reciprocity, but if her behavior is conflated with motherhood, that may not be the expectation of the other person.
• If you are female but don't have a lot of relational skills, you get into a double bind.

Simmons College and Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Study Illustrates Impact of Societal Influences, Suggests Significant Effect on Future Workforce.

Most middle school students are listening when their parents tell them to aim for "whatever career makes you happy." However, a new survey found that although girls have strong career aspirations, they view their options as being more limited than boys, and ignore non-traditional fields such as emerging and more highly paid careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

The Council for Economic Education (CEE) hosted "Women and Financial Literacy: Evidence Across Countries" at Simmons School of Management on October 11. The event featured speaker Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, Denit Trust Distinguished Scholar in Economics and Accountancy, The George Washington University School of Business Director, Financial Literacy Center CEE Board Member and was moderated by Cathy E. Minehan, Dean of the School of Management, Simmons College, Former President & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, CEE Board Member.

"Gender, Status and Organizational Change: How Status-Based Counter Tactics Can Block Organizational Change" Event, October 1, 2012

A workshop with Kate Kellogg, MBA, PhD

Dual agenda change efforts linking equity and effectiveness are the hallmark of what we call the "CGO approach" to challenging gendered organizations. Professor Kellogg's recent research in surgical units of two prestigious hospitals advances our understanding of dual agenda change in some unexpected ways.

Simmons School of Management Dean Cathy Minehan was featured in the Wall Street Journal on why women's colleges are the best training ground for success in a male-dominated business world.

The Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO), in collaboration with the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division (GDO) of the Academy of Management (AoM) is pleased to announce the presentation of a new award that we have sponsored and funded at the upcoming AoM meeting in Boston. Two awards of $500 each will be presented to Professor Ella Bell of Dartmouth College and Professor Ronit Kark of Bar-Ilan University at the GDO business meeting of the AoM conference on Monday, August 6 between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the Clarendon Room at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The purpose of the award is directly tied to the mission and work of CGO, recognizing a scholar-teacher who is creating cutting-edge thinking and research that contribute to educational practices that support the advancement of women in leadership. Stacey Blake-Beard, Lynda Moore and Patricia Deyton of Simmons School of Management/CGO and Diana Bilimoria from GDO served on the committee that created the award and selected the winners.

Links:

• Ella Bell: http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/ella.bell/
• Ronit Kark: http://www.biu.ac.il/PS/e-faculty.htm