Why you should implement Feminist Principles in your organisation...

On our latest episode, we are joined by Natalie Brook, the Co-Founder of a new initiative, We Are Feminist Leaders. 

Natalie started her career in campaigning for NUS and Oxfam. It was whilst working for Oxfam that she became a helpline volunteer for Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, which led to her managing the centre. Since then she has been a passionate supporter of women's sector organisations, working as an independent consultant. 

Together with her Co-Founder, Leila Billing, Natalie runs a Feminist Leadership programme designed for emerging leaders - working in any sector - who would like to lead in a radically different way. 

Credits:

Interviewer Emma Pryke https://thescoopdigital.co.uk

Guest speaker: Natalie Brook:  Co-Founder We are Feminist Leaders

Podcast produced by Let’s Talk Video Production: https://letstalkvideoproduction.com

Transcript

Hello and a very warm welcome to the BIG Bright Podcast! I’m Emma and today as part of our International Women’s Day mini-series, we’re excited to welcome Natalie Brook to the podcast, Co-Founder of a brand new initiative, We are Feminist Leaders.

Natalie started her career in campaigning for NUS and Oxfam. It was whilst working for Oxfam that she became a helpline volunteer for Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, which led to her managing the centre.

Natalie has volunteered in other sexual violence support services and been on the board of Rape Crisis England and Wales. She is also a trustee of Xenia Women, a grassroots charity that brings women together to support English language learning and reduce social isolation. 

Alongside Leila Billing she co-founded We Are Feminist Leaders in 2020 and also works independently as a consultant to gender-based violence and women’s sector organisations, supporting them to develop and sustain their organisations and services.

Your new initiative is named ‘We are Feminist Leaders’. What is your definition of a Feminist Leader? 

It’s about applying feminist principles to the way we lead in order to achieve our social justice aims and to ensure that everyone is able to thrive in the places we work. It is about subverting traditionally masculine notions of leadership and changing the way power is normally exercised in the workplace. Feminist leadership is about the positive and inclusive use of power to build an organisation that is capable of changing the world. It is about reflection, continuous learning and being mindful of the power we have as individuals in any situation, and how we exercise it. It is something that can be practised by anyone, no matter who they are.

If an organisation is interested in becoming more open to the principles of feminist leadership, what are the first steps they could take?

• Ask yourselves what you’re hoping to achieve
• Look at their org values - do they align with feminist values?
• Start to explore how relevant some of the principles are - concepts of power-sharing, accountability, collaboration, alliance building, building cultures of care are all central - does this chime with what you’re trying to achieve and are you willing to look deep into the structures and culture of your organisation and make real changes?

You’ve spoken before about the difference between feminine leadership and feminist leadership and the representation of women in leadership. Can you explain a little more about this?

Feminist Leadership is about so much more than recruiting more women into leadership positions. FL is not necessarily about feminine attributes (there is a big difference between feminist leadership (a political approach) and women's leadership (women as leaders), although we do want to recognise, acknowledge and value the attributes that women bring to leadership. Getting more women into leadership - ensuring women are represented in leadership roles and have access to decision making and other forms of power is vital, but it’s not the only way that change will happen. Assessing what happens once women are ‘at the table’ is just as important - do they have an equal voice, capacity to make decisions and use power? And is every woman able to do these things equally? Are minoritised women, for example, black or disabled women, able to use power in the same way as a white woman?

You’ve recently launched a 12-week course through WAFL to guide individuals to become stronger Feminist Leaders. Can you explain how this came about and who the course is aimed at? 

• Our own experience of leadership development programmes - we wanted something more
• Partnership with a colleague, led us to explore the topic and get a sense of what the need and market could be
• Recognising nothing like this exists elsewhere
• Aimed at 'emerging leaders’

One of the principles you cover in your course is how to build cultures of care, starting from the principle of self-care for leaders. How can people develop this in their company?

Develop a meaningful culture. Self-care has become commercialised and commodified, which inevitably lends itself to a very individualistic view towards it - ie something an individual is responsible for. But it’s meaningless if a company doesn’t understand what self care is, and supports staff to engage in it, as it will always be seen as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a critical part of the business. Self care is vital to FL because if we as feminist leaders don’t understand our own needs and take care of them, how can we do the hard work of social change? But also as leaders we have a responsibility to build cultures that promote care of ourselves and each other, promote wellbeing etc. And COVID has shown us this is more important than ever. 

If someone listening feels like their organisation could benefit from adopting feminist leadership principles in the workplace, how could they encourage senior management to invest in a course like yours?

The benefits for an organisation could be huge - more inclusive, more values-driven, able to attract and retain a more diverse and quality workforce, live and breath the change they’re trying to make in the world. It’s not for everyone, but for any business that wants to make a positive impact on the world it’s a no-brainer!

Finally, we’d love to know which leaders inspire you and why!

One of the key thinkers of FL is an Indian woman called Srilatha Batliwala - look her up!

Women’s sector leaders who’ve been practising this for decades

Nicola Sturgeon because of the compassionate way she has communicated about COVID. 

Natalie, it’s been a pleasure to have you on the podcast today, and it’s been great to discover just how beneficial feminist leadership principles can be in any organisation!