Building a Workplace for Women
As of 2020, women hold 50.04% of all available positions in the US.
Congratulations! We did it! We finally outnumber men in the workplace!
So…. why are we still operating in a workplace built by and for the patriarchy?
Most traditional jobs operate on the premise that employees should be able to show up to work day in, day out and perform in exactly the same way. Society as a whole operates under the premise that you should be able to wake up, get a workout in, sit through meetings/presentations from 9am till 5pm, engage a social happy hour with colleagues, and then wind down for the day. Rinse and repeat.
But that’s a worldview has been built solely on the circadian rhythm, which operates on a 24-hour cycle, and assumes that human hormones also fluctuate solely on a 24-hour cycle. Women, especially in their reproductive years, operate a bit differently. Yes, we can operate on a circadian rhythm, but we also have an infradian rhythm that cycles our hormones on a monthly cycle. Not shockingly, this follows our menstrual cycle.
Unfortunately, most women don’t know about the details of this cycle. I sure didn’t. I had no idea that in every cycle, I have a week where my creativity is at its peak, a small window where my confidence is at its highest, a week where all my hormones are best suited to quietly cranking out work, and a whole week built-in for reflection and learning. It’s no wonder that imposter syndrome is at an all time high - imagine having to give a presentation when every fiber of your brain and body is telling you to pull back from social settings.
In this week’s episode of Do What You Can For The People, Emily Bruce and Keighlee Anastasia of The Fifth Element Podcast join me to break the silence on these important topics. We dig into these patterns of systemic oppression and think wildly about what a world could look like if we started listening to and living more in flow with our bodies and natural cycles. Matriarchal models, communal well-being, systems of shared leadership, understanding intraconnectivity and interconnectivity — these are all skills needed for the sustainability movement, and they are skills that we as women inherently have.
Change lives within us…. so how could we not be at the forefront of an ever-changing world?
Ladies… we’ve finally got the numbers! And there’s never been a better time to rethink the ways in which we live and work.
THINGS MENTIONED
The Fifth Element Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7E66GAUrIIX5jmywtLg43L (also available on Apple and Google)
Your Womb & The Moon Episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ANXHNKxh6mGW24ZFRUda2?si=e9ce229774d04510
Social sustainability: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/social
Menstruation taboo in India: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52830427
Period shaming: https://menstrualhygieneday.org/nearly-half-us-women-experienced-period-shaming/
The Red Tent: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4989.The_Red_Tent
Infradian rhythms: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/what-is-our-infradian-rhythm
Menstrual cycle phases: https://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/how-your-menstrual-cycle-affects-your-behavior.aspx
Chronotypes: https://www.healthline.com/health/chronotype#about
Women outnumber men in the workplace: https://www.us.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights/workplace/women-now-outnumber-men-in-the-workplace
Matriarchy models: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/international-womens-day-matriarchy-matriarchal-society-women-feminism-culture-matrilineal-elephant-bonobo-a8243046.html
Shared/communal leadership: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/doing-more-with-more-putting-shared-leadership-into-practice/
Imposter syndrome: https://headway.ginger.io/how-imposter-syndrome-becomes-a-mindset-ad085d14174c
Alissa Vitti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vKRj9yV8pI
Enneagram types: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions
Myers-Briggs personality types: https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types
Love languages: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/
Ayurvedic doshas: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vata-dosha-pitta-dosha-kapha-dosha
Body constitutions in Chinese medicine: https://www.tcmhealthcare.com.au/nine-body-constitutions-chinese-medicine/
Emily’s Monthly Women’s Circles: https://leorisingbirthkeeping.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=7745ec445588dd895374b5c4a&id=41088db54a
GET IN TOUCH WITH EMILY & KEIGHLEE
The Fifth Element Instagram: @thefifthelementpod
Emily’s Instagram: @leorisingbirthkeeping
Emily’s Website: leorisingbirthkeeping.com
Keighlee’s Instagram: @kentuckeigh
BE MY GUEST!
If you or someone you know would like to be featured on the show, please get in touch!