I GAVE THIS SPEECH IN MARCH 2022 AT THE WOMEN IN INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION (WIC) DINNER FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME FOR THIS SPEECH, AND I PROVIDE IT HERE IN GOOD FAITH. ENJOY!
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Many of us have heard this quote attributed to British politician Lord Acton, but he was not the first to say it or at last to play on the theme of power. British Prime Minster Pitt also said “Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it”.
No, this is not a history lesson and no it’s not about standing up and quoting men on this International Women’s day. What these men, men in power themselves, knew, was that power speaks. Power makes the rules and power makes the system that need to continue for the power to grow.
Women know this as well. We have seen this in our boardrooms, playrooms and meeting rooms. We know that those that have the power, make the rules. Yes, for many centuries, mostly men had the power. History is also rich with women who tried to defy the power, like Joan of Arc, or have the power, like Cleopatra or Queen Elizabeth the 1st, to our more modern examples like Julia Gillard, Gillian Triggs, Christine Holgate, Brittany Higgins, Grace Tame to name a handful of the 1000s of women who have understood power and what it represents.
Kate Muir knew all about power. She was one of the first to challenge me and others to think about what we do, how we do it and to embrace our power to change the world through our actions. To do things that scare us and challenge the status quo.
So why talk about power. Because power is what women early in their careers don’t have and when do they have it, they are either too tired to care or are ousted out before their power grows too much.
I hear this from many women, “Hala I don’t know what you are talking about. I am treated super well at work, my boss is amazing and I am going places. I don’t need this power you talk about. I have my skills.” There are always exceptions to every rule. So if you are a in a power position, then congratulations, I hope you share this power and pay it forward.
For the rest of us, most women that dismiss my power discussion, don’t actually have power. They are either junior, starting out or low in the power structure, that they are not seen as a threat. But and there is a big but. Wait until the woman is stronger, rising through the ranks, building a reputation for herself, has the competence and I use the word on purpose here, and suddenly, the bad actors appear. The doubters. The reputation killers. The naysayers. Her career stalls.
These are bad actors. You notice, I don’t say men. Because, and we all know this, it’s not just men that are threatened by a woman with power. Women are also threatened by women with power. But hold that thought. I will come back to bad actors.
Let’s go back to our heroine. Some progressive workplaces might preserver and promote her, frankly, because you know, we need more women in boardrooms and meeting rooms. Can’t walk in and have 15 men and no women, now can we?
So she gets promoted, continues to grow, develop, her people love working with her, and she does great work. And then she wakes up one day and realises she has been fighting a system geared to grind against her. Geared to make it difficult to be a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter or whatever the hell other thing she wants to do with her life than play the politics in the organisation and fight to keep what power she has.
When I first started in sales there were so many female sellers, sales managers and leaders. It was amazing. The sisterhood was truly alive. As I progressed, the numbers started thinning out, but there were still many of us around and like the frog in the boiling water, when the water starts off cold and then gradually warms up, one doesn’t realise one is sitting in boiling water until it’s too late.
So one day, I looked around and the female sales managers were few and far between. The female sellers were like hens teeth and you couldn’t hire one for love or money.
The senior women looked around and realised, we hadn’t paid attention. We hadn’t seen that women decided to vote with their feet. Exit the industry. Do something else. Walk away from the roles that ultimately don’t align with their values and purpose.
I am not sharing to judge. I am sharing to illustrate a point. If we don’t do something radical and pretty soon, the air will thin again for many of you as you rise through your careers. If we don’t continue to be diligent, call out bad behaviors and purposely work to welcome and hire more women, then you too will find yourself sitting in a room with 15 other people and you will BE the only woman in the room.
So how do we do this. Quotas spring to mind. Ah, that pesky subject. If that is not a topic steeped in power, I don’t know what is.
But we don’t want quotas, say the men, we want to hire the best person for the job. You know, on merit.
We don’t want quotas, say the women, we want to be hired for our skills, not our gender. You know on merit. There really shouldn’t be sex at the office. We must all be neutral here.
Yes, let’s keep telling our selves that. If merit was the criteria, half the men in their positions wouldn’t have them, and the other half would be paid much less and be more junior. Merit has nothing to do with it.
It’s power saying we will share, but only with these rules and in these contexts and within these parameters. Don’t push for more. Don’t be ungrateful. Look how far you have come. Do you want to take all the power?
It’s even more disappointing for me when I hear women say this.
No, no, no quota. I don’t want to be known as the woman who got the job because of quota. Because then I will be fighting to prove myself.
Well, some news, you are fighthing to prove yourself whether you got in because of quota or another reason. It’s not how you got the job that matters, it’s what you do once you have the job.
It’s the work, the deeds, the outcomes and the outputs. And even then, that might not be enough.
Quotas for me are one arrow that needs to be shot. Quotas work. Which is why many don’t like them and want to distance themselves from the concept. I say bring it on. Report on it. Pilot it. Try it out and see how it goes.
In order to have a massive change though, the bow needs to change. We need to look at the systems we use for hiring. The workplace cultures that support toxic workplace practices and shift the power dynamic. Everything must be upended. Go out and meet the women; don’t wait for them to apply. Advertise in the places women are, with language that attracts them. Language that is inclusive, mission lead and values based.
Coming back to bad actors. What do I mean by that.
I say bad actors, because it’s not men that are the enemy. Or the ones holding us back. Yes, there are awful men out there (present company excluded), but there are also awful women out there too (present company excluded). It’s about bad actors who, as James Hollis says, play in “bad faith”. It’s anyone in a work context that doesn’t want to see power shared or the limelight expanded.
So get to know the tool box of the bad actors. They are the ones that are practicing what to say in the mirror about hiring women, but treat the women in their company like invisible soldiers. They are the ones that tell you diversity is important, but have no women on their senior leadership teams.
They are the bad actors that mentor women, but in reality are taking their ideas, their passion and using it as their own. They are the boss or supervisor that bullies you, abuses you emotionally, is overly critical and deliberately holds you back because it serves them. Not you. They are the ones that abuse the trust you give them to have more power over you.
If I gave you a couple of minutes, all of you, would have a list of the bad actors in your workplace. You know who I am talking about.
Absolute power corrupts everyone and everything. It’s not just women that suffer. Men, minorities, anyone that is different than the dominant power pay a price.
Align yourself to the good faith actors who don’t want to uphold the status quo. Who don’t want power to belong to just the few. Who act, talk, walk and behave in good faith to be inclusive and active in their workplaces. And if they don’t exist, then to paraphrase Maya Angelou, “once you know good, do good”. Be a good faith actor.
Let’s work to aim for a world where power is not the commodity and the differentiator that it is today. Let’s aim for the humanity that binds us all together.
Men, women, both or none or anything else you wish to claim, the only way power can be disrupted is for it to be shared and we continue to challenge it – and stop it from accumulating in one place or with one group.
In 2017 and in the wake of the Metoo movement, there was a lot of talk about women being angry. I would say that for many of us, we still are. I say embrace the anger of injustice. The anger of saying enough is enough.
Will it really take 180 years before women’s pay is on parity with men? Is it really true that 5000 women world wide are still murdered in honour killings? Is it really true that a woman is still being killed each week in Australia?
The answer is yes, yes and yes. If we are not angry about that. What will we be angry about?
Now, I don’t want to leave you with the problem only. Ok, great, it’s about power. So what?
Well power is about a number of things. For me it’s about money and agency. So here are some thoughts to leave you with:
Money: buy from female led businesses and organisations.
Review your procurement rules. If you are in a leadership position with authority, vote with your wallet.
If you are a woman or an ally to women, then use your wallet. Don’t buy from businesses that talk smack about women. Don’t support or work for businesses that don’t have women on their boards or their leadership teams. Don’t vote for parties that don’t have women leading economic portfolios.
You don’t think it will matter to them? It matters to them. Why? Because they want the money that women bring. They want your vote. Women are the 80% buying decision makers in households and over 60% of procurement officers are women. So yes, it matters.
Review the female salaries in your organisation, branch, work team. Adjust accordingly. Give the women extra superannuation payments. Give. Them. More. Money when they start. Money is power. Power to leave an abusive relationship, toxic workplace or an aggressive, misogynistic boss. Money is power in security.
Agency: put more women in charge of projects, strategies and implementations. Give them the authority. Back them in public and give them feedback in private. Share the power in meetings. Present with a woman on your team, better yet, give her the floor.
Don’t make decisions on her behalf. Don’t represent her in meetings she is not invited to. And don’t play down her accomplishments. Don’t take her authority. Don’t take her agency. Invite her to the tables that counts. The tables where she can speak and be heard. And if she doesn’t have her voice yet, then sponsor her, coach her and support her. She soon will find her voice.
Now, I am confident that there are more ideas out there. I am confident that the next generation and the generation of my daughter and son will be smarter. They will learn from the generations that have gone past, but you and them will surpass us. Because you will be thinking about how to progress humanity and how to solve the wicked problems we are facing. Power will be used to progress all of humanity, not just those that are deemed deserving.
The slogan for the Suffragettes in the early 20th century was “Deeds not words” and in the immortal words of that most famous poet, Elvis Presley “let’s have a little less conversation and a lot more action”. Please.
Thank you.
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