Women speaking out has finally led to men speaking about how unfair it was that the women got to speak in the first place. #SamanthaBee pic.twitter.com/JkgDXTtRLZ
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) January 18, 2018
I, like many women, have followed the cultural shift spurred by THE hashtag currently sweeping the world with ever-increasing intensity. Every tweet (this one is a personal favorite), and every article that shows up in my news and social media feed with mention of the now ubiquitous #MeToo grabs my attention and I can’t help but feel growing levels of satisfaction and resolution. Because what this means is that we are finally feeling encouraged and empowered (underscore underscore) to speak up and call out forms of behavior that are no longer deemed appropriate. From an even broader perspective, the #MeToo movement is challenging us to take another lens through which to view the world, to rethink behavior, and hold ourselves accountable as well as to a higher standard.
To most it probably comes as little to no surprise that the bulk of public accusations of sexual harassment and assault have by and large emerged from Hollywood and political arenas and, even in the culinary world as my cousin Misa Shikuma so aptly wrote in her piece, Male Privilege in the Kitchen. What is probably more surprising is that sexual harassment and assault is also prevalent in the social impact ecosystem.
We, myself included, often assume that because we work in the social impact industry, everyone is “well intentioned,” because we actually care about creating a world where poverty is eliminated, everyone has access to clean water and sanitation, and every girl and boy has equal access to education. In other words, creating a world in which all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals are achieved.
CEO and Co-founder Ayla Schlosser
But what is important to point out is that the world of social entrepreneurship is inextricably tied to the world of fundraising and the fundamental role of power dynamics between those seeking funding and those granting funding cannot be denied. Sexual harassment derives from an underlying imbalance of power as GSBI alumna, Ayla Schlosser of Resonate calls out in her article Fundraising While Female.
So where does that leave those of us working in this space? How do we as conveners, accelerators, social enterprises, and impact investors move forward in light of #MeToo? First and foremost, the very notion of calling out when power dynamics are at play is crucial. Second, we must work together collectively to apprentice the problem because it is vital that all perspectives are heard and everyone at the table has equal agency. We at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University are taking steps to discern a path forward having drafted a Code of Conduct and Ways of Working that outlines the importance of working together and to celebrate everyone’s dignity.
We are the first to admit, however, that simply having a written document is not enough, and that there needs to be further guidance around solutions. It is time for an open conversation and collective actions and the work needs to be done by women and men; the environment has to change. Miller Center, in collaboration with our friends and partners at Conveners.org, Echoing Green, Resonate, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and Skoll Foundation, are working together to propose a two-part session for this year’s 2018 SOCAP Open. In view of the #MeToo movement, we are proposing sessions that will create and establish a collective voice on behavioral norms in the social enterprise and impact investing communities as well as an exploration of how to balance zero tolerance and restorative justice. #TIMESUPNOW
You can help participate in this collective voice by upvoting our session proposal at SOCAP. Vote here and here by June 29.
Photo and image credits: banner image from Today Testing; Sustainable Development Goals courtesy of United Nations Department of Public Information; photo of Ayla Schlosser courtesy of Resonate.
