Legal, Ethical, Moral

Recent news events have reminded me of the final lesson in my Negotiations class, as we discussed negotiation ethics.

Keeping in mind that the professor was a lawyer, he pointed out that:
1) What is legal is not always ethical.
2) Less commonly, what is ethical is not always legal.

Since this was a business class, we were reminded that companies are obligated to follow the law. There are personal and corporate consequences for not doing so.

I've added "moral" to this discussion, in part because I was raised in Catholic schools where we regularly discussed the moral issues of the day.

In reviewing my memory, it seems as though many of the ethical "grey areas", the things that might be ethical in one circumstance and unethical in another, were often given a solid moral line by the Catholic church. For example, the hot topic of abortion. (Be forewarned, more on that subject will likely be coming this year.)

The thing to know about moral issues, is that where ethics are rooted in proper relationships between humans, morals are based in particular theological or religious perspectives.

Remember that there are approximately 5 major world religions, another 7+ "minor" (my term) world religions, and perhaps hundreds of other native, aboriginal, traditional, or non-traditional modern practices.

Also, I've been given to understand that not every religion provides a clear-cut authority on moral questions. A Jewish friend once explained that when they have a question, the Rabbi will gather the relevant passages of the Tanakh and writings about the question, and give at least two or three positions supported by the scholarship to date. The decision, then, is not the Rabbi's to dictate, but rather the individuals to study, weigh, and then make.

Culture, criticism, and power dynamics

Yesterday I wrote about the military child, particularly military daughters. I referenced Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress. I don't know if you clicked on the link, if you read the blurb. Two sentences stand out to me:

Wertsch employs extensive research to probe the consequences—both positive and negative—of being raised in a family characterized by rigid discipline, nomadic rootlessness, dedication to military mission, and the threat of war and personal loss. With its clear-eyed, sometimes shocking depictions of alcoholism and domestic violence, and its empathy for military parents caught up in an extremely demanding way of life, Military Brats provides catharsis, insight, and a path toward healing.

Last week I wrote about the Power of Children, how so much of modern history traces back to World War II. I pondered how we can stop hate and genocide from happening. Lao Tse had something to say about that, 2500 years ago, connecting wars among nations to violence in the home, and conversely peace at home leading to peace among the nations.

Why I Cannot Bury My Head in the Sand

There is a story told, of two young fish swimming along.  An older fish swims by, and asks them "How's the water?"  The one young fish looks at the other, and asks "What's water?"

In the Harvard Business Review article "Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers" (Registration required, paywall may exist), the authors explain that "Most women are unaware of having personally been victims of gender discrimination and deny it even when it is objectively true and they see that women in general experience it."

In my short class this spring, we discussed seven forms of power.  Over the discussions, I asked my classmates to tell me where women stand on examples of those seven forms of power.  Rather than answer the question, they spent two days arguing that a problem does not exist, because they could point to specific women who had achieved power.

Image courtesy of blakeimeson covered by Creative Commons license.

Ignoring it works for them, because they are not affected by the problem.  I do not have that luxury.  One cannot solve a problem one does not acknowledge.

I answered my own questions:

1. Expert power – 2012 doctorate degrees awarded[i]:

Total: 27,390 (54%) men        23,562 (46% ) women

Life Sciences   5,331 men       6,698 women

Physical sciences 6,393 men   2,551 women

Social sciences 3,488 men       4,861 women

Engineering 6,527 men           1,883 women

Education 1,501 men  3,297 women

Humanities      2,654 men       2,847 women

Other   1,496 men       1,425 women

2. Reward power

Fortune 500 CEOs – 23 women (4.6%)

Fortune 1000 CEOs - 46 women (4.6%)[ii]

Graphic visible here: http://www.catalyst.org/charts/2462

3. Coercive power - Women make up less than 25% of most US reserve forces, less than 20% of active duty personnel, and the percentage decreases for Flag/general officers.

Graphic visible here: http://www-tc.pbs.org/prod-media/newshour/photos/2011/03/10/chart3_slideshow.jpg

4. Legitimate power

As of July 14, 2013, 19 women were presidents or prime ministers.[v]  Women hold 99 seats (18.5%) in the U.S. Congress.[vi]

5. Referent power - This is subjective.
6. Informational power – Computer Scientist statistics:

Women earned 34% of Computer Science degrees in 1984.  It had fallen to 25% in 2004.[vii]

7. Personal power – This is subjective.

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[i] National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Doctorates http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/sed/2012/excel/tab19.xlsx

[ii] http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-ceos-fortune-1000

[iii] http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-ceos-fortune-500

[iv] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/military-report/, particularly: http://www-tc.pbs.org/prod-media/newshour/photos/2011/03/10/chart3_slideshow.jpg

[v] http://www.filibustercartoons.com/charts_rest_female-leaders.php

[vi] Women in the U.S. Congress 2014. http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/documents/cong.pdf

[vii] http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2008/06/doesnt-compute-more-women-enter-scientific-fields-their-numbers-computer-sci