From Sabotage to Support: Women Liberating Women in the Workplace | Joy Wiggins | TEDxWWU

Countless studies on women in leadership have discussed how women can sabotage each other when the work environment is fraught with patriarchal notions of what a successful business should look like. What are some of the pitfalls and traps we fall into that hinder our collaborative relationships? How do we avoid the sabotaging traps of competition in order to bring our full selves to the workplace? This talk discusses ways in which women can support and mentor each other in our own authentic, empowering ways to not only change the daily experiences of other women, but to transform the workplace environment as we go. How do we come together across difference, steeped in the knowledge and understanding of our cultural history to come together in solidarity? How has the feminist movement’s stratification endangered our strength and solidarity and how do we begin to repair it? First working on our self-talk and then educating ourselves to move toward solidarity and liberation.
Joy Wiggins, Ph.D., received her doctorate from The Ohio State University in multicultural education. She works in the Elementary Education department at Western Washington University. She is the director of Global Peaceful Paths, a consulting company that focuses on equity, inclusion and social justice in education. Her current work focuses on actively evaluating the way we are socially constructed and how that plays into our daily intercultural communicative experiences. Her goal is to facilitate transformative learning opportunities infused with empathy, education and liberation for all. She has presented her research through invited, keynote and peer-reviewed sessions at the American Educational Research Association, American Educational Studies Association, International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry among many others and she has published in several educational journals on her work around social justice in education.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@RaeLynnDuPre]

Women need to support women in leadership. Wiggins talk is an important contribution to women's leadership. Her book is amazing.

[@audreylong9170]

Absolutely....

[@MissMiller604]

I remember the most toxic woman in my workplace and she came up to me in a hallway and said," You are such a good worker, You are so strong, You are going to get this new job because you deserve it BUT I think you smile too much and you can sometimes..... I caught on immediatley... I turned and walked away. As I am walking down this long hallway she is still speaking as if to hold onto her power. I took my power back, by shutting down her negativity. I wish her all the best and send her off with love. I am very interested in dynamics of human behaviour, personality etc. and I now know this is called a Poison Arrow or Passive-Aggressiveness. So.. to men and women out there. Shut. It . Down. Do not engage. DNE your new favorite acronym. Big Huggs

[@Drjoywiggins]

Thanks for sharing, there are so many stories like this. I love the idea of calling it a poison arrow. So glad you sent them off with love and know that it's their own insecurity.

[@GSimoneful]

Terrific Talk, Joy! I appreciated that you clarified how feminism is for everyone - it’s not, nor has it ever been, women vs men. Under systemic oppression, everybody loses. One terrific book to add is Mark Gerzon’s “A Choice of Heroes,” which deconstructs the roles that are forced upon men in patriarchal societies; while there is more power wielded y that group, there is still oppression.

[@deziderious6510]

Everyone needs to be nicer to eachother! Don't blame everyone else! Look at what you do!

[@devonjenkins5830]

This video hurts to watch. it's propaganda.

[@PeopleHealthTru]

@@meredithpugh4030 This video is a total lie. She blames patriarchy for women fighting each other. No. It was God who designed emotional women and then cursed women for rejecting God's Word.

[@PeopleHealthTru]

@@meredithpugh4030 Keep laughing until your last day.

[@anniefitzgerald4447]

@@PeopleHealthTru omg, are you serious!? You are part of the problem! And if you can't see that, then you can't be helped.

[@PeopleHealthTru]

@@anniefitzgerald4447 Keep laughing until your Last Day.

[@Feersumenjinn]

I'll save you watching it. It's men's fault.

[@Drjoywiggins]

It's not that simple.

[@teresadalessio1]

I hate when girls say that to me, like I lost 40 pounds, but I really only lost 10, mean

[@MA-ss7pt]

Interesting! I found this aggression even more in certain cultures such as Hispanics and Caucasians, less in Asian culture, and almost none in Middle Eastern culture- we should all rise up to the occasion and support each other!

[@brookechadwell7203]

Z ok

[@victorarregnelle8976]

Lots of women still have no idea. We need to stop lying to them.

[@stealthyroots6514]

victor arregnelle lol yep more integrity and honesty from the men is a good start.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

If you think women should not sabotage each other, why are you shaming them for their career choices?

[@Drjoywiggins]

How am I doing that?

[@schwarzerritter5724]

@@Drjoywiggins If you go to a university and look at the lecture halls for high paying jobs, there will be a majority of male students. So the gender wage gap is the fault of women who are not there. Well, I might have been hasty saying you are shaming women for their career choices. It depends on whether you consider the gender wage gap a bad thing.

[@Drjoywiggins]

@@schwarzerritter5724 Access to opportunity is key to getting into the university. For example, I was not encouraged to go to the university at my school. I certainly wasn't encouraged to get a doctorate. That is probably due to a number of reasons, class, gender, region (south). It's not always just about gender but it's the intersections of one's identity that would determine their access to that opportunity. Once they get there, it's even harder to get promotions, when we advocate for ourselves, we might be characterized as forceful or abrasive. This can hinder our chances of moving up in the workplace. Thus, we are also not always taken seriously so are not paid equally to men. There are so many reasons for the wage gap, it's best to really educate yourself on why it's happening rather than denying it because it's more comfortable to just say women are complaining.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

@@Drjoywiggins Who is "we"? What you wrote could be applied to every demographic.

[@jonathanc3001]

Left as soon as she said patriarchy

[@emreaktas5947]

AS BAYRAKLARI AS !

[@emreaktas5947]

i sell my wife for internet connection

[@emreaktas5947]

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[@estothakill]

i love how feminists argue "wage gap" the always start with: on average... What?

[@victorarregnelle8976]

Why dont start their own corporations instead of trying to invade and conquer everything men created? They will probably say we don't let them lol. Everything needs to be done for them I guess. We need to stop lying to these clueless women.

[@lockandloadlikehell]

@@victorarregnelle8976 "Everything needs to be done for them" And then they complain it was done; and done for them. They *love* complaining about nature and inventing detailed fantasies to make up for their own genetic failings.

[@Drjoywiggins]

@@lockandloadlikehell Wow, interesting. Actually more women have started their own businesses especially since the pandemic so actually we don't really need to "conquer" anything.

[@demianseale501]

I'm sure if women are harming one another, men and patriarchy must be to blame.

[@Drjoywiggins]

It's the cultural norms that originate from systems of power. That power many times comes from white male (in the USA in particular but also in male dominated power structures). Women are trying to live in a system they didn't create. Thus, the fragility of our relationships trying to gain that power. When we realize that we don't have to compete with each other but rather raise each other up, then we can overcome the systemic power of patriarchy. knowing our history is a great example of that. Who created the institutions and the rules of society of how one is to behave.

[@demianseale501]

@@Drjoywiggins I agree, women must take personal responsibility.

[@demianseale501]

@@Drjoywiggins I agree, women must take personal responsibility when they harm other women. Imagine if our justice system operated on an imperative which blames society, or patriarchy - or something other than self. Socially, we must collaborate to solve problems that produce hostility; however, on an individual level, we must take responsibility for our actions. This is my point.

[@trentconnection10]

the wage gap claim has been thoroughly debunked.

[@joywiggins]

By who and what?

[@devonjenkins5830]

do women not understand that everything women face men face... jesus Christ

[@jillwhiting919]

Not a lot of women are reading the Bible and that is unfortunate as I know it has been a lifesaver for me and I know that by talking to some of these women that they do not have faith in themselves and at work I am in their territory. To bad but it is the reason that women do not get ahead as we hold each other back.

[@williamford3860]

It’s not about that....smdh

[@Drjoywiggins]

@@jillwhiting919 That's actually not true in my case. I grew up in a Christian household. Be careful not to just say that's it that women aren't spiritual. Again, none of this is that simple. If I had more time to talk in this video, we could get to how complex and nuanced all of this is.

[@Yourgayauntcaroline]

Thank you so so much for this! I have been sharing this video with all of my family and friends! Honestly, every woman and MAN should watch this. Go learn something from this incredible woman.

[@lockandloadlikehell]

I learned she's suffering from hallucinations and bereft of any academic acumen, to start. "Wage gap"