NGO Soul + Strategy

020. Feminist leadership and 'deep power structures’ within organizations: Aruna Rao, co-founder of Gender at Work

• Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken • Season 2 • Episode 20

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What are the political or other strategies and tactics that a feminist leader can use to analyze the presence of ‘deep structures’ of power within organizations?

What can a feminist leader practically do to change these power structures?

And in what scenarios does Feminist Leadership shine in particular ways?

I discussed these topics during an interview with Aruna Rao, Co-founder and chair of the board at Gender at Work


Aruna's Bio

  • Co-founder,  former chair of the board at Gender at Work and its former Executive Director. Gender at Work offers thought leadership, training, and consulting services to organizations that wish to create cultures of equality and inclusion
  • Co-host of the podcast Gender at Work
  • Former board member, ActionAid International
  • Former leader on gender issues at BRAC
  • Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Organizational Behavior from Columbia University, USA


Quotes

“Organizations are broken because people are broken”

 “ Organizations tend to default to patriarchal and hierarchical forms unless that is interrupted through intentional leadership practices"

 “What does care mean in an organizational context?"


We discussed:

  • Gender and power dynamics in organizations
  • Who gets access to resources and to information, how priorities are set etc. are all part of these power dynamics
  • The nature of organizational culture as it relates to gender
  • How to practice self-reflectiveness about deep-seated norms in organizations


Aruna has co-authored a book named 'Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations' which is available at several online booksellers, including this one.

Website: www.genderatwork.org 

Aruna’s LinkedIn profile

Medium: https://medium.com/@arunarao_79321

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