Visiting Social Activists, CEW Spring News 09

CEW’s Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist program provides activists the opportunity to spend a month at CEW working on a project while stepping away from their usual activities. Each visit is intended to give the selected activist time for reflection, research and/or planning related to her area of activism. Activists can interact with University faculty and students, with other policy activists, and with community members in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and elsewhere in Michigan. Anne Ladky, Executive Director of Women Employed (WE) in Chicago and the 2007 visiting activist, recently reflected on the experience.

Ladky Reflects on the Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist Program

Anne spent her time at CEW researching and developing a persuasive business case for providing Anne Ladkey low-wage workers with adequate wages, benefits such as sick time and health insurance, and greater scheduling predictability. She was particularly interested in identifying and using studies that support the finding that businesses actually save money (e.g. in recruitment and retraining, in customer satisfaction and repeat business) when they provide adequate sick leave and other benefits to their
workers.

While WE was aware of some of the data supporting such a business case, the organization was eager to develop examples in order to use the business case to convince employers to consider offering benefits to low-wage workers. However, they needed to delve deeper into this area of research before creating such examples.

Anne noted, “The nature of my job doesn’t allow me to focus single-mindedly on one issue of importance, making the time at CEW invaluable.” As a busy non-profit director, Anne emphasized, she relished this unusual opportunity to “completely get away,” to slow down, and to re-consider the balance between thinking, planning, and acting. While Anne appreciated the respite from regular responsibilities, she acknowledged that finding even a month to step away from her usual role was difficult.

Upon her return to WE, Anne said, “We integrated the business case research right away. People were waiting for it.” Since then, WE has offered programs on the business case for improving the work lives of low-wage workers, using research and methodological tools that Anne learned about at UM. Most satisfying, according to Anne, was that “I discovered a whole area of research I didn’t know existed: positive organizational scholarship.” A group of UM faculty is involved in this emerging research area, studying how positive organizational cultures are linked to employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and increased profit. Anne has remained active with this cutting-edge group of scholars, and WE has participated in studies conducted by faculty in UM’s Ross School of Business.

Reflecting on the experience of being an “activist in residence,” Anne pointed to several aspects of the TFVSA program that enabled her to accomplish much in a short time span:

The “intellectual resources” of the University of Michigan, including faculty, library resources, and the many speakers and other programs offered across the campus.

A “high-level set of guides” who allowed her to make the most of her time and experiences. In advance of her visit, CEW staff identified faculty for her to meet. During her stay, CEW’s librarian assisted her in searching University library holdings and online databases, providing additional articles and sources of information as needed.

CEW colleagues with whom to reflect on her work as it developed, something that would have been harder to do in isolation.

The dramatic change in her day-to-day activities and the unconstrained opportunity to plan her own schedule and priorities.

Anne explained that, as an executive director, her schedule is regulated by many other schedules and demands, that she has frequent evening and weekend commitments, and that she usually delegates in-depth research to other staff members. At CEW, without competing demands or routines, Anne had the freedom to make decisions slowly, to focus deeply on a single question, and to push boundaries in new ways.

The TFVSA program, established in 2005 to bring social activists who work on gender equity issues to the Center for the Education of Women, was made possible through a generous gift from UM alumna Twink Frey and her husband James McKay.

Mallika Dutt at CEW

This spring, CEW hosted Mallika Dutt, the founder and executive director of Breakthrough, an international human rights organization that uses music, art, radio and television to promote values of dignity, equality and justice. While on campus as a Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist, Ms. Dutt developed a document that outlines Breakthrough's mission and approach to cultivating a global culture where human rights for all people are respected, protected and fulfilled. This description of Breakthrough's vision, along with examples of its strategies, provides a methodology for use by other organizations.

A paper by Ms. Dutt will be posted on the CEW website in May 2009 and a video of her presentation will be online in May as well. www.cew.umich.edu