At a book talk recently, a member of the audience asked if I could describe what work life might be like in a feminist business. As a group, we riffed on that question to explore what we’d like the world of work to be using the feminist values that were alive among that specific group of folks.
The conversation reminded me, though, of a document I sketched out years ago. Sitting by my fireplace one snowy afternoon in February of 2016 I free-wrote these ideas, below. Do they sound like a worthy vision for a feminist business?
What We Believe About Working Together In A Feminist Business
All people are equal
All people are equally valuable
All people have an equal role in envisioning the future
We value the whole self: physical, spiritual, and emotional
Relational labor is productive labor
Parenting is valuable work
Care work is valuable work
Enabling and teaching others is valuable work
Care and performance both matter
Work, rest, and recreation all matter
Work needs to work with human nature not against it
Work should be designed to fit all of us, not just one "ideal worker"
All parts of our bodies need to be respected at work
What we create should be aligned with nature, both human nature and the earth
We respect the individual as an agent, not an object
Experience is valuable
We are accountable to the community and other individuals
We are aware of each person's position, values, and politics
We are responsible and responsive to each other
Work and jobs are gender-neutral
We have truly genderless career paths
We don't have or reinforce a masculine/feminine binary
We're concerned with transforming gender roles, relationships, boundaries, and definitions
Our workplace should be physically and emotionally comfortable
Our workplace should be welcoming and feel inclusive to all
Our workplace should take care of our bodies
Work should be empowering
We support creativity and active problem-solving
We set our own definition of “success”
We want to change things and improve them
All forms of work matter, all work should be meaningful
Our work processes, work roles, and work systems have to be sustainable
Our work needs to contribute to the community
Our work must renew us even as we put ourselves into our work
We actively reflect on how our values and beliefs influence us
We question what it means to improve, succeed, contribute, perform
We grow in connection and through relationship with others
Our relationships are equitable
We're accountable to others, we are mutually accountable
Our work relationships reflect empathy, love, and care
People aren't widgets, they're not substitutable for one another
We have an ethical commitment to others
We are cooperative
We seek agreement, consensus, and consent to make decisions
We ask for each other's consent in an ongoing way versus contracting it just once
We participate in a way that builds relationships with others
Value is created collectively
Value should be shared among everyone who contributes
Everyone shares in the benefits and burdens of this organization
We acknowledge, expect, and value pluralism – that there are many views and experiences, all valid
We see our organization as part of a larger system that our organization needs to contribute to in positive ways
We are aware of the ecosystem around us
We take a holistic view: all issues are connected
Everything and everyone in the system matters
The health and flourishing of the larger community and the larger system matters
We work to support the whole system, not just what appears to fall within our boundaries
Leadership is an activity, not a personal quality
Organizations and activities can be decentralized because everyone can contribute and take responsibility
Hierarchy can be minimized because everyone can contribute and take responsibility
We emphasize the network, not just pairs of person-to-person relationship
We use our voices to share our experience and point of view
We advocate for what we believe is right
We are oriented towards a purpose
We have a big picture vision
We want to change how the world works to make it better
We want to bring about political emancipation – where people actively influence what happens versus passively risks or just respond
We don't want to produce or profit from social inequality
We want to change the system
Every perspective is a perspective from somewhere in the system and it matters where perspectives come from
As an organization, we have active positive relationships with the community
We make a positive contribution to the community
We have a mutual relationship to the community
We have mutually supportive relationships with each other
We see our stakeholders as partners
We seek to create positive relationships between our organization and others
We want our company to be a positive influence on others
We focus on and value group process
We emphasize participation in democracy
We emphasize self-knowledge, self-disclosure, and honest constructive communication
Conflict can be healthy
We can be self organizing. No group, person, or role has power over others without collective consent
We create power with each other to work together
We value the personal development and learning of each individual
Work gets done through social relationships
We want to be empathic and compassionate in our interactions with each other
Everyone should have access to the tools they need
Tools should fit our bodies.
Tools should help our work not increase our work
Things take time. We respect the process