February 1996: Volume 9, Number 3

Changing Public Roles: Women as Feminists, Leaders, and Mentors


For the benefit of Majority Report readers, Peg Brand talked recently with her student Elizabeth Izzo about her feminist convictions, the importance of providing IU's students with empowering mentors, and women's changing public roles.

Izzo: Do you consider yourself a feminist?

Brand: Yes, I consider myself a feminist. I believe many women are feminists even if they don't say so publicly. Even Princess Diana has been recently labeled a feminist role model by the British press! Of course, feminists are not of one type; many differences exist.

Izzo: It seems that many people, including many younger women, see feminists as male-haters.

Brand: Generally speaking, a feminist is someone (male or female) who believes that women have been unfairly treated by a social system that needs remedying. Women's History Month--the month of March--commemorates visionaries from the past who worked for such changes, for example, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and Alice Paul. They crusaded for suffrage --not by advocating hatred of men--but by arguing that suffrage was an undeniable democratic right. Stereotyping feminists as male-haters reduces their actions and goals to inert emotion. Feminists engaged in change utilize their energies constructively. Failure to see the difference is a refusal to make an effort to understand what "feminist" means.

Izzo: You were the keynote speaker at this year's Women's Leadership Conference for women students. Why did you think it was important to address the recent backlash issues at the conference and how did you go about addressing those issues?

Brand: The focus of the October '95 Women's Leadership Conference was "Breaking Through Barriers, Building Connections." Barriers are, by definition, obstructions in our path toward a goal. A true leader learns how to maneuver around them and past them to achieve her aims. In my address to conference attendees, I tried to highlight and credit the leadership qualities that women on campus continuously exhibit: the courage of returning women overcoming anxieties about their abilities to succeed in school after dropping out, the persistence of women who comprise a minority of a department's student body, the self-confidence to participate in class discussions and assume leadership roles on campus.

Izzo: Attendance was low at the Women's Leadership Conference this year. Does this say anything about how IU's young women perceive themselves as leaders?

Brand: The Conference is a terrific opportunity for students--both undergrad and graduate--to spend a day learning from a variety of women leaders in the community and to discover and nurture their own, perhaps latent, leadership talents. Of course, there are other opportunities on campus for women to utilize such interests and skills (clubs, organizations, athletics); certainly, women are taking advantage of these opportunities and becoming involved. They may not have realized that the focus of the conference was unique: it focussed on them as women leaders. As the conference becomes more familiar to female students, they will come to understand how rare and valuable it is and more will attend.

Izzo: I tend to get real impassioned about certain issues. Sometimes people say I sound angry. I'm bothered that energy and passion can be interpreted as negative and used against someone who is earnest in her concerns. Do you think it has become trendy to say that today's feminist thinkers and activists are just angry?

Brand: As I said earlier, feminists who are active do not simply sit around being angry; they work toward positive change. But unfortunately, yes, I think it has become trendy to characterize feminists in this way. Certainly, Susan Faludi argues this in her 1991 book, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women. By highlighting today's media, she shows that there is a backlash against feminism that results in numerous pejorative associations. The backlash is seen as part of a trend to discredit the advances already made by women and to prevent further progress. Anger tends to incite more anger; it serves no beneficial purpose.

Izzo: It seems to me that women students need to be empowered to believe in themselves, and to believe in their goals. Do you think women students have different educational needs than their male counterparts?

Brand: This bears on the previous question, in that the backlash always serves to undermine women's confidence in themselves. Female role models for women students would help solve this problem. Many departments with low female student population are ones in which there are few women faculty. If a female student has never taken a class with a female professor in a particular academic discipline, she may not feel encouraged to pursue it as a major. If she has taken classes with professors who ignore her achievements or openly discourage her, she may lack the confidence to even remain in school.

Women sometimes suffer from what has been called "the imposter syndrome." They feel that they don't know as much as male students; they're not "real" students but merely imposters. Such an inferiority complex needs to be overcome; it is clearly a barrier in the path of good performance levels. In this sense, women may have different educational needs. Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Izzo: Is it more empowering for girls to be educated separately?

Brand: So it seems, according to statistics gathered in studies done by the American Association of University Women. For instance, girls in grade school do better in single-sex schooling. Boys do better when mixed with girls. Why? Boys tend to dominate the classroom; girls often take on the characteristics of a subordinate group. Sometimes these patterns of social behavior persist into the college classroom. If so, the female student is at a disadvantage. She must overcome internalized barriers to motivate herself to succeed.

Students spend an average of five years on this campus. What can be done to dispel feelings of inferiority, to arm women with skills that will counteract the impostor syndrome? One goal is to increase the number of women faculty, AIs, and administrators who can serve as role models and mentors. This is especially urgent in the case of women of color, in spite of the national shortage in nearly every academic discipline. Second, the university can offer more classes that explore gender differences in a positive light by clarifying what it means to be a female, a woman, and a feminist in diversified societies. (By positive light I mean within a dialogue between both women and men.) I'm not sure how many classes of this sort are available here, but if students do not come across these basic distinctions in their coursework at IU, chances are they will not seek to learn about them on their own, either during or after their years of formal education.

Izzo: This question is a little personal, but it also involves your position at IU. I remember your hectic schedule toward the end of last semester: you were hosting a zillion different functions. Many women have this question--how do you balance your many public and private roles?

Brand: Based on my knowledge of counterparts at comparable institutions, I can honestly say that Indiana has always been most generous in allowing me to be myself. I enjoy teaching, writing philosophy, interacting with colleagues in Women's Studies, serving on graduate students' committees in Fine Arts; in effect, setting my own agenda. In some ways, my role is very traditional and not unlike that of the wife of a CEO or a politician: I work alongside my husband at sporting events, operas, and alumni reunions to promote IU to its loyal supporters. At other times, I am asked to speak to women's groups on campus, throughout the state, and at national meetings. Hillary Clinton is a strong role model for me. She is in the process of carving out a new spousal role at the highest level--one that respects her individual talents and time apart from the President. The columnist Ellen Goodman captured this phenomenon well when she said, "Hillary Clinton is a kind of litmus test for how people feel about changing women's roles....a test of how you feel about wives and how you feel about independent wives."

Izzo: It doesn't seem like the country was ready for Hillary to be a strong presence.

Brand: One could say that the backlash served to influence Mrs. Clinton's change in persona during the 1992 campaign, that it forced her out of the health care decision-making process, that it underlies persistent efforts to uncover illegalities from her business dealings and legal career. This country doesn't seem ready to accept a woman's changing role as quickly as some women would like. Not everyone welcomes the change as good. Many Americans complained vociferously about Eleanor Roosevelt in her day; however, the media coverage was not as extensive as it is today.

Izzo: What about the new class you are teaching?

Brand: My topics class is called "Who am I? Gender , Race, and Persons." It explores the standard philosophical problem of personal identity (what is a person?) But incorporates new material as well. For instance, our study of Plato and Aristotle's views of women includes a feminist critique from Elizabeth V. Spelman. She demonstrates how women slaves were doubly disenfranchised from justice and basic human rights by living both in a male-dominated and white society. Dostoevsky's novel, The Double, allows us to explore issues of identity in works of art. Simone de Beauvoir's ground-breaking classic, The Second Sex, weaves together insights about existentialism and sexual identity.

Izzo: Is there anything in particular you would like to convey to IU students?

Brand: I would like to encourage all students to enjoy their time on campus and to engage in healthy competition: in classes, athletics, on stage, and in campus clubs and organizations. Additionally, I strongly encourage women to support each other -- to gain more awareness of women's activities and to take the opportunity to attend them. Try something new: a women's basketball game, the Women's Little 500, and presentations by prominent women speakers brought to campus. Leadership skills are not developed in a vacuum; open yourself to new experiences and different people...you may find it benefits you long after your days at IU!

Elizabeth Izzo is a returning student pursuing a General Studies degree. Like most returning students, Izzo brings a wealth of real world experiences into the university class room. She has worked in film and video post-production, owned an art gallery, and given workshops in creative expression and women's spirituality. A single mother, a visual artist, and a poet, Izzo has taken classes in the philosophy of aesthetics with Professor Brand. Commenting on her relationship with her mentor, Izzo notes that "Peg has a very gentle way of supporting and encouraging her students. She approaches me as a peer, in a way that gives me a sense of accomplishment and empowerment."

From the Dean


When I first joined the law school faculty more than fifteen years ago, I was hired as a visitor to replace the only woman lawyer on the teaching faculty. I had her office and took over her classes. In retrospect, I guess it was not surprising that the students and the faculty thought I replaced her in all other ways--in personality, ideology, and politics.

As my year went by, my faculty colleagues discovered I was not as radical as the lone woman faculty member who had left, but I still did not fit the mold of a traditional law school faculty member. I chose to introduce "experimental" courses such as Women and the Law and Employment Discrimination to the law school curriculum rather than pursue the more "serious" subjects of tax or corporations. Curious about this new kind of law school faculty member and eager to include me in their conversations, my male colleagues would turn to me at a break to ask "what's the woman's perspective" on whatever subject was under discussion at the moment. In contrast, my students thought I was not radical enough. Like my male colleagues I referred to students as "Ms. Jones" or "Mr. Smith", wore suits on teaching days, and demanded logic and reasons to justify positions rather than relying merely on instincts, feelings, or emotions as they presumably expected.

Today there are eight women on the law school faculty. There are also a number of visitors, adjuncts, and lecturers who are women. In addition to the happy circumstance of having these women as colleagues, the sheer number of women means freedom to each one of us. These women are a diverse group by any number of measures: age, race, politics, marital status. Some of us even teach tax and corporations (although more of us are interested in feminist jurisprudence). My male colleagues are still eager to include us in conversations, but now it is not possible for them to ask any one of us for the "woman's perspective" on a subject without starting a whole new conversation. Students too benefit from our differences. We offer them different models because we have made different choices in our careers and in our personal lives.

My point is simply that expanding the number of women on the law school faculty meant I could return to being me, without the weight of being "every woman." Similarly, our image of women expanded as the number of women law students increased. As I think about Women's History Month, and reflect on women and history, it is important to remember those women who went first or second. But it is also important to celebrate when we are no longer "one-at-a-time players."

1996 Women's History Month Celebrations Calendar


March 1, 11:30am--Eleventh Annual Women's History Month Luncheon. Keynote speaker: Myra C. Selby, Indiana Supreme Court Justice. Woman of the Year: Charlotte Zietlow. Bloomington Convention Center (Call 349-3430 by February 23 for reservations; $12 prepaid, $14 at the door).

March 2, 9:00am-4:00pm--Women and Work Conference. A day of professional growth and career development for IU students and staff.

March 5, 12:00pm--Graduate Women's Lecture Series. TBA. IMU Persimmon Room (855-3849).

March 6, 4:30pm--Women's Studies Sexuality, Feminism, and Culture Lecture Series. Kathy Abrams--"Coercion and Agency in Feminist Jurisprudence." Ballantine 246 (855-0101).

March 8--Rock for Choice Concert. The Emerson, Indianapolis. (For more information, e-mail: aikerd).

March 19, 12:00pm--Graduate Women's Lecture Series. Presentations by Speech Communication doctoral students: Lynn K. Wilson ("Margaret Sanger's Motherhood Story"), Lisa S. Strange ("Elizabeth Cady Stanton's 'The Matriachate': Defining a Feminist History"), and Lisa Bates-Froiland ("The Political Dreams of Anna Howard Shaw"). IMU Oak Room (855-3849).

March 19, 7:30pm--Pornography Debate. Ed Meese and Nadine Strossen. Alumni Hall (855-4682).

March 19-20, 11:30am-2:30pm--Safety Escort Information Table and Volunteer Sign-up. IMU Commons Booth.

March 20, 4:30pm--Women's Studies Sexuality, Feminism, and Culture Lecture Series. Joanne Meyerowitz--"Sex and Gender in the 1950s: The Case of Christine Jorgensen." Ballantine 246 (855-0101).

March 20, 7:30pm--Union Board Lecture. Nadine Strossen, ACLU President. Alumni Hall (855-4682).

March 21, 6:30pm--"Women's Health Issues: A Discussion for Women Scientists." Health professionals discuss women's health issues in scientific depth. Swain Hall West 113 (e-mail: muskavi).

March 21, 6:00pm--"Herstories: International Women Sharing Their Life Journey." Panel presentation and open discussion on the lives of women from around the world moderated by Barb Metcalf. Memorial Hall East 127 (855-3849).

March 26, 12:00--Graduate Women's Lecture Series. Law Student Ursula Doyle: "Educational Tracking in the Public School System--The Effect on Girls" IMU Persimmon Room (855-3849).

March 27, 4:00pm--Annual OWA Awards Award ceremony and reception for the OWA Distinguished Scholar Award and Eva Kagan-Kans Graduate Student Paper Competition. IMU University Club (855-3849).

March 29-April 6--Vinegar Tom British playwright Caryl Churchill's drama about a diverse group of mid-eighteenth-century women persecuted as witches and lunatics. John Waldron Arts Center (334-3100).

On exhibition at the Lily Library: "Handfuls of Lilies: Publisher's Cloth Designs of Sarah Whitman, 1885-1902" and "Hear Me Roar! Songs of Women" (855-2452).

The Affirmative Action Debate: Implications for the Future


In the 1960s, our country embarked on an ambitious effort to eliminate job market discrimination. Federal affirmative action legislation and executive orders sought to raise the relative economic position of persons of color and women. Thus, government agencies, schools, and private industries were required to enlarge their pool of applicants and make sure that persons of color and women were given consideration. Utilizing such tools as goals, timetables, preferential treatment and multiple measures to determine qualifications, public and private sector institutions sought to provide equal opportunity for minorities and women.

When it originated in Lyndon Johnson's Executive Order 11246, this major government initiative escaped the intense scrutiny of the American public. But affirmative action took center stage with the Republican takeover of Congress in the 1994 elections and is currently undergoing a period of intense scrutiny that could have serious implications for all women, particularly for women of color. The arguments against affirmative action are numerous. Chief among them are the following:

Affirmative action does not work because it does not help the masses of poor women and people of color. Affirmative action indirectly helps economically disadvantaged workers by providing them previously denied access to jobs for which they are qualified. To say that affirmative action has been ineffective in eliminating poverty is analogous to saying that aspirin is not an effective medicine because it does not cure cancer.

Affirmative action is reverse discrimination. Before affirmative action, being a woman or a person of color frequently meant exclusion from opportunities to compete for certain job and educational opportunities. In most affirmative-action programs, qualified members of protected groups are given preferential treatment in competition for societal benefits that they ordinarily might be denied due to institutional discrimination, but the practice of preferential treatment applies only when the candidates are reasonably equal. No one is denied the opportunity to compete based on race or gender nor is anyone chosen primarily because of race or gender. Preferential treatment has provided opportunities for qualified protected group members in the same fashion that it has provided opportunities for veterans and children of alumni of educational institutions.

Affirmative action creates ill will. The "ill-will" argument highlights the problem that created the initial need for affirmative action: the feelings of whites and males are given greater weight than the feelings of people of color and females. The "ill-will" argument validates the anger of white males while minimizing the anger of women and people of color.

The beneficiaries of affirmative action are stigmatized for needing special help. The existence of affirmative action implies that women and people of color cannot make it on their own. The existence of affirmative action takes nothing away from the worthiness of members of the protected group. The existence of the policy is an acknowledgment that racial and gender discrimination exists and that such discrimination keeps protected group members from optimizing their career possibilities. Moreover, women and people of color are accustomed to stigma. It is one of the reasons that the policy exists.

Affirmative action lowers merit standards and qualifications. Merit is commonly defined as "to deserve" or "to earn". The goal of affirmative action is simply to make sure that qualified women and persons of color are not discriminated against. It calls for qualified protected group members to receive preferential treatment when all candidates under consideration are reasonably equal. Thus, the concept of merit is not ignored.

For most of its history, America's governmental policies and institutions have discriminated against women and people of color, and women of color have been doubly disadvantaged by both sexism and racism. Current affirmative-action debates characterize efforts to remedy that situation in terms of a zero-sum game--i.e., if people of color and women gain, then it follows that whites and men lose. But in light of the fact that two-thirds of new workforce entrants in the year 2000 will be women and national census data predictions that people of color will comprise 50% of America's workforce by the year 2050, affirmative-action guidelines not only benefit the disadvantaged, but also create a "win-win" situation for everyone interested in investing in America's future.

Contributed by Lawrence Hanks, Dean for Afro-American Affairs and Associate Professor of Political Science.

New Women Faculty


Assistant Professor of Spanish Sonia Colina (Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) previously taught at the University of Illinois. Dr. Colina teaches Spanish linguistics, Spanish phonology, and phonological theory. She also is involved in foreign language teaching and methodology. Her research focuses on translation theory and pedagogy.

Maria Elizabeth (Betsi) Grabe, Assistant Professor of Journalism (Ph.D. from Temple University), specializes in teaching broadcast journalism and mass media content and effects. Professor Grabe has previously taught at Rider University in New Jersey.

Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science Elin Jacob (Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) previously taught at Wayne State University. Dr. Jacob's research and teaching are in the areas of classification, categorization theory, and knowledge organization. Her current research is on emergent structure in adaptive information systems.

Idalene F. Kesner, Professor of Management and Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management (Ph.D. from Indiana University), served on the faculty at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for twelve years where she was named Mary Farley Ames Lee Professor of Business Administration. Dr. Kesner was recently cited as a 4-star instructor by Business Week in its Top Business School survey.

Assistant Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences Laura Murray (Ph.D. from the University of Arizona) previously served as a Senior Research Specialist at the University of Arizona. Dr. Murray's research examines the role that deficits in cognitive functions other than language can have on the communication and cognitive skills of adults with aphasia, with right hemisphere brain damage, or with dementing illnesses.

Julie C. Stout, Assistant Professor of Psychology (Ph.D. from Duke University), studies human neuropsychology and brain imaging. Her research focuses on identifying the brain circuitry responsible for changes in personality, emotion, and cognitive functions in dementing disorders such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases. She also teaches courses in introductory psychology, human neuropsychology, and behavioral neuroscience.

Professor of Accounting and Information Systems Iris Vessey (Ph.D. from the University of Queensland, Australia) evaluates emerging information systems technologies. Dr. Vessey's teaching involves systems analysis and design. Specifically, she is interested in the role of the application in systems development and in how representations, methodologies, and techniques of software development tasks fit cognitively with the design of software. Dr. Vessey is especially concerned with the emergence of Information Systems as a discipline.

OWA's Newest Staff Member

Alejandra Laszlo Capshew joins the Office for Women's Affairs as the new Coordinator of the Women in Science Project. The purpose of the Women in Science Project is to develop and implement programs to promote the participation of women at all levels in science and mathe- matics. The project's long-term goal is to create a positive learning and working environment in which women in science and mathematics can thrive and succeed.

Alex received a B.A. in Biology and History from Cornell University and an M.A. in the History and Sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Her doctoral studies focused primarily on the history of American science with special emphasis on women in science, medicine, and technology. She has published articles on the history of physiology and on women psychologists and gender politics. Alex previously served as Project Manager for the Project on Laboratory Design in Biotechnology under the direction of Professor Thomas Gieryn in the Sociology Department.

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