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Dear MSR colleagues,

There was a column about me in the Boston Globe today, about
spirituality and work. You can read the article online at
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/18/melding_quaker_ethics_and_business/.

(I'm not sure how long the online link will be live so you might want to
take a look at it soon).

It's heartening to see a reporter who "gets it."

With all good wishes,
Margaret

Thank you Margaret, for sharing the link to the article.
What a positive piece it is.
Congratulations for your great efforts.
Best,
Cecile Betit


There was a column about me in the Boston Globe today, about
spirituality and work. You can read the article online at
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/18/melding_quaker_ethics_a
nd_business/.

(I'm not sure how long the online link will be live so you might want to
take a look at it soon).

It's heartening to see a reporter who "gets it."

With all good wishes,
Margaret

Great work, Margaret!

>Dear MSR colleagues,
>
>There was a column about me in the Boston Globe today, about
>spirituality and work. You can read the article online at
>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/18/melding_quaker_ethics_and_business/.
>
>(I'm not sure how long the online link will be live so you might want to
>take a look at it soon).
>
>It's heartening to see a reporter who "gets it."
>
>With all good wishes,
>Margaret


--
David S. Steingard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Management
Assistant Director, Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics
Department of Management
Erivan K. Haub School of Business
Saint Joseph's University
5600 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19131-1395
Phone: 610-660-3231 Fax: 610-660-1229
Email: steingar@sju.edu

Margaret,

Thank you for the link.

I would like to pose a couple of questions to you, and to other members of this list. If it is inappropriate to consider them on the list, I would be happy to receive direct replies. The questions are these:

How important is the framework of religion &/or spirituality for the empowerment of women's voice in the public square – how does a woman’s faith/spirituality help them to be heard, or cause them to be silenced? Or, more generally, what is the intersection of gender and spirituality? And, is there a difference between women’s and men’s spiritualities – vs. between a “feminine spirituality” and a “masculine spirituality?”

Background:

I am researching the role that churches (synagogues, temples, mosques, etc.) and other faith-based organizations have as significant avenues for women's voice in the public arena. While other institutions offer avenues for voice, many of them - politics, businesses, and academia - appear to be falling short of their earlier promise for women. Representation by women at the "elite levels" of each of these arenas has expanded considerably over the past 50 years, but under-representation continues to be an issue (not that numbers are the only concern relating to the influence of “voice”).

Women in some areas of academia might have made the most progress, but as the recent spat at Harvard shows, that progress has been uneven. A recent article in the NY Times cited studies which suggest that women have run into a structural barrier in the general workplace - forced by demands at home conflicting with those at work, and by unhappiness with the content of much private-sector work - causing them to be underrepresented at the top levels of "major" companies. While women are much more represented in state and local level politics, representation at the national level remains modest. All of this has the effect of limiting women’s voice in the public square more generally/

The family, of course, continues to be an arena strongly influenced by women's voice, but that arena is - arguably - the very definition of "private." And, one of the complaints by feminists has been that the relegation of women's voice to the private-family arena has had the effect (if not the intent) of largely silencing them in the public square.

Many argue that faith organizations themselves (including non-church non-profits) are or should be limited to the private realm. Mothers are often (usually?) the driving force in their children's moral education. Women also make up the majority of attendees at worship services (at least in American Christian churches). Thus, unless they have other access to the public square, their spiritual voices are silenced, except through their children. The dominant, strict, understanding of the “separation of church and state” reinforces the boundary of this private realm.

In recent years, an attempt has been made to sanitize spirituality by separating it from religion. This works fine for people who are spiritual-but-not-religious, but not for those for whom their spirituality and their religion are inseparable. I suspect that faith/religion/spirituality offers women a moral foundation (not necessarily the only one) in each sector from which to give voice – though its spiritual basis is more easily recognized in faith-based organizations.

So, back to my original questions, which are admittedly broad and exploratory. I am hoping for reactions to the questions and to my background comments. Resources, citations, observations, radical thoughts, considered opinions, etc. would all be appreciated.

Thank you.

Allen Stout
Adjunct Professor, Public Administration
University of La Verne
stouta@ulv.edu
909-484-3858

---- Original message ----
>Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 21:01:57 -0500
>From: Margaret Benefiel <mbenefiel@ANTS.EDU>
>Subject: I'm in the Boston Globe today, about spirituality and work
>To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
>
>Dear MSR colleagues,
>
>There was a column about me in the Boston Globe today, about
>spirituality and work. You can read the article online at
>http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/18/melding_quaker_ethics_and_business/.
>
>(I'm not sure how long the online link will be live so you might want to
>take a look at it soon).
>
>It's heartening to see a reporter who "gets it."
>
>With all good wishes,
>Margaret

It's a very good topic to research. I can talk about the status of women in Hindu religion. We worship goddesses of "Durga" (Power) "Kali" (Destroyer) "Saraswati" (Knowledge) "Annapurna" (Feeder). BUT the Hindu religion gives priority to men and women are expected to follow the instructions given by their husbands. As a result it does not provide much room for women to raise their voice. Interestingly, in Vedic Period women were the more elite one. We have the names of learned women. However, with the advent of caste structure in India Brahmins being the superior of all created religious rules which is tilted towards men.

Wish you all the best for such a nice study. Just to mention I have been working on women and gender issues for last 6 years. Shall be happy to read your publications.
Regards,

Sunita Singh-Sengupta, Ph.D.
Professor in Organizational Behaviour
Faculty of Management Studies
University of Delhi
Delhi - 110 007
India
Work Phone : 91-11-27667264
Fax No. 91-11-27667183
Cell No. 9873167484, 9213428032

----- Original Message -----
From: Allen Stout <stouta@ULV.EDU>
Date: Thursday, March 23, 2006 1:53 am
Subject: Re: I'm in the Boston Globe today, about spirituality and work

> Margaret,
>
> Thank you for the link.
>
> I would like to pose a couple of questions to you, and to other
> members of this list. If it is inappropriate to consider them on
> the list, I would be happy to receive direct replies. The
> questions are these:
>
> How important is the framework of religion &/or spirituality for
> the empowerment of women's voice in the public square – how does a
> woman’s faith/spirituality help them to be heard, or cause them to
> be silenced? Or, more generally, what is the intersection of
> gender and spirituality? And, is there a difference between
> women’s and men’s spiritualities – vs. between a “feminine
> spirituality” and a “masculine spirituality?”
>
> Background:
>
> I am researching the role that churches (synagogues, temples,
> mosques, etc.) and other faith-based organizations have as
> significant avenues for women's voice in the public arena. While
> other institutions offer avenues for voice, many of them -
> politics, businesses, and academia - appear to be falling short of
> their earlier promise for women. Representation by women at the
> "elite levels" of each of these arenas has expanded considerably
> over the past 50 years, but under-representation continues to be
> an issue (not that numbers are the only concern relating to the
> influence of “voice”).
>
> Women in some areas of academia might have made the most progress,
> but as the recent spat at Harvard shows, that progress has been
> uneven. A recent article in the NY Times cited studies which
> suggest that women have run into a structural barrier in the
> general workplace - forced by demands at home conflicting with
> those at work, and by unhappiness with the content of much private-
> sector work - causing them to be underrepresented at the top
> levels of "major" companies. While women are much more represented
> in state and local level politics, representation at the national
> level remains modest. All of this has the effect of limiting
> women’s voice in the public square more generally/
>
> The family, of course, continues to be an arena strongly
> influenced by women's voice, but that arena is - arguably - the
> very definition of "private." And, one of the complaints by
> feminists has been that the relegation of women's voice to the
> private-family arena has had the effect (if not the intent) of
> largely silencing them in the public square.
>
> Many argue that faith organizations themselves (including non-
> church non-profits) are or should be limited to the private realm.
> Mothers are often (usually?) the driving force in their children's
> moral education. Women also make up the majority of attendees at
> worship services (at least in American Christian churches). Thus,
> unless they have other access to the public square, their
> spiritual voices are silenced, except through their children. The
> dominant, strict, understanding of the “separation of church and
> state” reinforces the boundary of this private realm.
>
> In recent years, an attempt has been made to sanitize spirituality
> by separating it from religion. This works fine for people who
> are spiritual-but-not-religious, but not for those for whom their
> spirituality and their religion are inseparable. I suspect that
> faith/religion/spirituality offers women a moral foundation (not
> necessarily the only one) in each sector from which to give voice
> – though its spiritual basis is more easily recognized in faith-
> based organizations.
>
> So, back to my original questions, which are admittedly broad and
> exploratory. I am hoping for reactions to the questions and to my
> background comments. Resources, citations, observations, radical
> thoughts, considered opinions, etc. would all be appreciated.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Allen Stout
> Adjunct Professor, Public Administration
> University of La Verne
> stouta@ulv.edu
> 909-484-3858
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 21:01:57 -0500
> >From: Margaret Benefiel <mbenefiel@ANTS.EDU>
> >Subject: I'm in the Boston Globe today, about spirituality and
> work
> >To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
> >
> >Dear MSR colleagues,
> >
> >There was a column about me in the Boston Globe today, about
> >spirituality and work. You can read the article online at
> >http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/18/melding_quaker_ethics_and_business/.
> >
> >(I'm not sure how long the online link will be live so you might
> want to
> >take a look at it soon).
> >
> >It's heartening to see a reporter who "gets it."
> >
> >With all good wishes,
> >Margaret
>

Bill,

Thank you very much. I will definitely look into these.

Allen

---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 14:38:36 -0400
>From: "William M. Snyder" <wsnyder@SOCIALCAPITAL.COM>
>Subject: Re: I'm in the Boston Globe today, about spirituality and work
>To: MSR@AOMLISTS.PACE.EDU
>
> Allen,
>
> Sorry for late response. Attached is announcement
> for one of a series of dialogues on topic of "faith
> and feminism" sponsored by the Sister Fund
> (wwww.sisterfund.org) and collaborating
> organizations.
>
> Helen Hunt, founder of Sister Fund (based in NYC),
> has written a book on the topic called "Faith and
> Feminism, A Holy Alliance" (Atria Books, New York,
> 2004).
>
> The book features chapters on Emily Dickinson,
> Teresa of Avila, Sojourner Trust, Lucretia Mott, and
> Dorothy Day; it includes several chapters addressing
> challenges of "gulf between faith-based and secular
> feminism" over past decades, while also elaborating
> on Dorothy Day's belief (as quoted in first
> chapter): "The social justice movement needs both
> voices. We need to be able to move to the next
> step, of dialogue between the rights world and the
> religious world."
>
> - Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Management, Spirituality & Religion
> Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 3:23 PM
>
> Margaret,
>
> Thank you for the link.
>
> I would like to pose a couple of questions to you,
> and to other members of this list. If it is
> inappropriate to consider them on the list, I would
> be happy to receive direct replies. The questions
> are these:
>
> How important is the framework of religion &/or
> spirituality for the empowerment of women's voice in
> the public square - how does a woman's
> faith/spirituality help them to be heard, or cause
> them to be silenced? Or, more generally, what is the
> intersection of gender and spirituality? And, is
> there a difference between women's and men's
> spiritualities - vs. between a "feminine
> spirituality" and a "masculine spirituality?"
>
> Background:
>
> I am researching the role that churches (synagogues,
> temples, mosques, etc.) and other faith-based
> organizations have as significant avenues for
> women's voice in the public arena. While other
> institutions offer avenues for voice, many of them -
> politics, businesses, and academia - appear to be
> falling short of their earlier promise for women.
> Representation by women at the "elite levels" of
> each of these arenas has expanded considerably over
> the past 50 years, but under-representation
> continues to be an issue (not that numbers are the
> only concern relating to the influence of "voice").
>
> Women in some areas of academia might have made the
> most progress, but as the recent spat at Harvard
> shows, that progress has been uneven. A recent
> article in the NY Times cited studies which suggest
> that women have run into a structural barrier in the
> general workplace - forced by demands at home
> conflicting with those at work, and by unhappiness
> with the content of much private-sector work -
> causing them to be underrepresented at the top
> levels of "major" companies. While women are much
> more represented in state and local level politics,
> representation at the national level remains modest.
> All of this has the effect of limiting women's voice
> in the public square more generally/
>
> The family, of course, continues to be an arena
> strongly influenced by women's voice, but that arena
> is - arguably - the very definition of "private."
> And, one of the complaints by feminists has been
> that the relegation of women's voice to the
> private-family arena has had the effect (if not the
> intent) of largely silencing them in the public
> square.
>
> Many argue that faith organizations themselves
> (including non-church non-profits) are or should be
> limited to the private realm. Mothers are often
> (usually?) the driving force in their children's
> moral education. Women also make up the majority of
> attendees at worship services (at least in American
> Christian churches). Thus, unless they have other
> access to the public square, their spiritual voices
> are silenced, except through their children. The
> dominant, strict, understanding of the "separation
> of church and state" reinforces the boundary of this
> private realm.
>
> In recent years, an attempt has been made to
> sanitize spirituality by separating it from
> religion. This works fine for people who are
> spiritual-but-not-religious, but not for those for
> whom their spirituality and their religion are
> inseparable. I suspect that
> faith/religion/spirituality offers women a moral
> foundation (not necessarily the only one) in each
> sector from which to give voice - though its
> spiritual basis is more easily recognized in
> faith-based organizations.
>
> So, back to my original questions, which are
> admittedly broad and exploratory. I am hoping for
> reactions to the questions and to my background
> comments. Resources, citations, observations,
> radical thoughts, considered opinions, etc. would
> all be appreciated.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Allen Stout
> Adjunct Professor, Public Administration
> University of La Verne
> stouta@ulv.edu
> 909-484-3858