Transcript Joan Blades: From the Globe to the Living Room

From the Globe
to the Living Room:
Changing Conversations in
Today's Complex Environment
Joan Blades
MoveOn.org
MomsRising.org
Living Room Conversations
June 14, 2012
MoveOn.ORG’s first message:
• Congress must immediately
censure the President and
move on to pressing issues
facing the nation.
MoveOn’s Growth in
First Four Days (in 1998)
MoveOn Pac makes internet history in 2000
$2.3 Million
60,000 Donations
(~$35 each)
Washington, DC
Provost, Armenia
Ladakh, India
“The fracturing of the Western
alliance over Iraq and the huge
antiwar demonstrations around the
world this weekend are reminders
that there may still be two
superpowers on the planet: the
United States and world opinion.”
Patrick E. Tyler, Feb 17, 2003, NY Times
Strong Vision,
Big Ears
Disruptive Technology
MoveOn.org
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3 viral moments
Massive citizen engagement
The ability to raise big $ from average
citizens
Thousands of online/offline organizations
empowering citizens to work on the issues
they care about
SignOn.org
The Pay Gap (Same Education & Experience)
$100
$90
$73
Waldfogel, J. 1998. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(1)
~$60
80% of American women
become moms
Mothers
are more than 80%
LESS LIKELY to be HIRED
than non-mothers
with the same resumes
US Census Bureau, Fertility of American Women
Corell, S. et al. 2007. American Journal of Sociology 112
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M Maternity/Paternity Leave (paid)
O Outstanding Flexible Work
T Toxics- Free Childhood
H Healthcare for All
E Early Care and Education
R Realistic Fair Wages for Mothers
S Sick Days (paid) for All
Stories Across the Nation
“I am very concerned about
people trying to repeal
healthcare reform. My 8 month
old son was diagnosed with
Cystic Fibrosis when…”
“When I gave birth to my
daughter three years ago, not
only was I fired from my position
but my health insurance was
terminated the day she was
born...
READ FULL STORY
Deirdre
READ FULL STORY
Rachel
“As a self-employed professional
I’ve always had to secure my own
health insurance. In the past,
whenever I’ve gotten a plan,
there was always…”
READ FULL STORY
Dawn
Sandwich Mom!
Defining the Conversation
A 2007 newly coined buzzword
-- 'Maternal Profiling'
Defined in the New York Times as:
"Employment discrimination against a woman
who has, or will have, children. The term has
been popularized by members of MomsRising,
an advocacy group promoting the rights of
mothers in the workplace."
Change powered by Moms
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
• Affordable Care Act
• Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act
• Multiple extensions of unemployment
insurance
• Won paid family leave in NJ and WA
MomsRising.org
• The next wave of the Women’s
Movement
• Collaborating with over 100 policy
partners to turn up the heat on back
burner issues
• Maternal Profiling/Sexual Harassment
Work Practice Options
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flexible work
virtual work / telework
modern career tracks
contract work
babies at work
high commitment work practices
Disruptive Technology
Tradition –
Fear of Change
DISTRUST
Increased
Business Productivity
and Profit
Good
for National Security
Reduces
Smog and
Carbon Dioxide
Tipping Towards Telework
Increased Worker
Happiness; Better
Work/Life Fit
Reduces
Trade Deficit
Reduces
Traffic Congestion
Huge annual savings from
part-time Telework
• Business: $242 billion
• Employees: $2-9 K per*
• Community: $19 billion**
Total: $631 billion
*Assuming 50 million additional teleworkers
** Oil not burned
Green Savings:
235 million barrels of oil
43 million tons of greenhouse gases
Telework-Many players facing the
same direction
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Business
Government
Workers
Academics
Business Consultants
Environmentalists
So far, 27 states support
telecommuting…
Sloan Work and Family Research Network, 2010
The Custom-Fit Workplace
• At the leading edge of a culture shift
• Telework appears to be a foot in the door
• Strategic engagement of many potential
champions
A Future We All Want…
Pilot Project’s Key Findings:
The Challenges
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We live in self-segregated communities.
Most people have deep anxiety about
speaking to people with different views.
We were unable to create a fact sheet that
felt non-partisan to participants. The
climate change issue now carries a partisan
taint.
Pilot Project’s Key Findings:
The Successes
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Every conversation was a success.
Participants found common ground on
conserving energy, and creating greater
energy independence.
People felt they were heard and learned
something about others’ views.
“This evening exceeded my expectations. I was
skeptical when you asked me to co-host.
I expected more strident views from the other
side and thought that they would expect the
same from my side. This was a great dialogue
and I have genuine interest in continuing.”
DW, California (conservative)
Conversation Ground Rules
Be Curious and Open to Learning
Conversation Ground Rules
• Be Curious and Open to Learning
• Balance Advocacy and Inquiry
• Show Respect and Suspend Judgment
• Seek Alignment Rather Than Agreement
• Be Authentic, & Welcome It from Others
• Be Purposeful and to the Point
• Own and Guide the Conversation
Living Room Conversations –
Could This Spark
a Civility Revolution?
Conversations in the Mix
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Energy
Money in politics
Immigration
Food/obesity/health
Parents and the media
Voting practices
Faith community
Tea Party/ Occupy Wall St.
Living Room Conversations
• Citizens are sick of the status quo
• Empower citizens to lead and tap the
wisdom of crowdsWikipedia/YouTube/Open Source
• Make it simple and trust people
“Crisitunity”
Crisis
Opportunity
Consider the value of having telework
policy and capacity ready for the next…
• Snowmageddon/hurricane/earthquak
e
• Oil shortage
• Bird flu
• Deep ocean spill that we are
unable to plug
Concern About Climate Change
Brulle, RJ. 2012. Climate Change Feb 2012 DOI 10.1007/s10584-012-0403-y
“Research
shows that many of our
assumptions about how to reach
people different from us are flat
wrong. We can't count on facts to
change minds - emotions and values
trump facts almost every time.”
Chris Mooney (author)
What Citizens United means…
45
BILLION
$
10
0.75
Obama’s
2008 Election
Campaign
Warren Buffet’s
2008 Profits
[Richest Man 2008]
Exxon Mobil’s
2008
Profits
Theory of Change
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Fill vacuums of leadership
Leverage disruptive technologies
Listen & Serve/Strong vision–Big ears
Tap into cultural and media hot spots
Persistence- Goldie Locks moments
Trust Citizens
Rainbow Picture
“The arc of the moral universe is long,
but it bends toward justice”
― Martin Luther King Jr.