Gender Section
Gender Articles
How Can We Fix Legal System Failures to Properly Handle Sexual Offenses?
Over the past year, we have witnessed growing evidence of the massive failures of our legal system to deal properly with a rampant system in which powerful men sexually dominate others, especially women.
Norms and Nonviolence
This article discusses the impact of gender equality on nonviolent conflict.
See That Lake Over There? Fancy a Swim?
Masculine control of our culture is like that woman-eating crocodile: some of us never experience its bite, others see a glimpse of its toothy grin, but it only need destroy one woman once in a while, in order for the fear of it to affect all women.
Negotiating Like a Woman - How Gender Impacts Communication between the Sexes
Anyone who has ever been married will admit that men and women argue differently. It should be no surprise to learn that women and men negotiate differently as well.
Interview with Clarence Cramer
This is the complete interview by Robert Benjamin with Clarence Cramer, long-time leader in the field of court-connected family mediation, including the mediation of cases involving domestic violence, filmed as part of the Mediate.com 'Views from the Eye of the Storm' Video Series.
How to Make Mediation Safer in Cases of High Conflict
This article considers issues of safety in mediation, with practical advice for all mediators to consider before, during, and after a mediation session to ensure participant and mediator safety.
Culture & Gender Issues in Negotiation & Mediation (video)
This is a video sample from Nina Meierding's seven-hour online course on Culture & Gender Issues in Negotiation & Mediation.
Orlando and Radicalization
As a former member of the IRA, and one who admits to violence, Sean O'Callaghan has clearer insights into this concept than a lot of commentators and psychologists who have not gone through this process and, more importantly, rejected it. His comments, made after the violence in France, are equally applicable to Orlando.
Diversity Matters
A casual look around the room at any major mediation conference will quickly confirm that women and minorities are still significantly under represented.
2015’s the 100th Anniversary of the Women at the Hague: Lessons for Today (Fall 2015)
If you are looking for a inspiring read, consider 'Women at The Hague: The International Congress of Women and Its Results' authored by three American women: Jane Addams, Emily Green Balch and Alice Hamilton. I have two copies. An original published November 1915 by Macmillan Company. The second is a soft-cover published in 2003 by the University of Illinois Press with an enriching preface by Professor Harriet Hyman Alonso, City College of New York.
In Many Respects, Women are People Too...
Thomas Manfield offered UK employees the chance to submit some of the most disturbing things they had overheard in their workplaces. The research found that rude and insulting remarks are still very much commonplace in offices today.
Divorce Mediation: The Best Forum for Families with Special Needs Children
Families who have children with special needs constitute a significant percentage of the divorced population. Children, all children, present a mixed blessing. Some times they may help to save a marriage; other times they add to the stresses of daily living in ways that parents are not able to handle.
Labels are for Cans, Not for People
Coca-Cola organised a social experiment in for their no-label campaign. While we are not supporting Coke’s products, we do feel this is a great message to share!
Sacred DR Story–The Wise Woman of Abel of Beth-maacah
There’s a sacred ADR story in the Second Book of Samuel, which relates how the negotiating skills of a “wise woman” saved her city of Abel of Beth-maacah. 2 Samuel 20: 1-22*. A man named Sheba son of Bichri tried to incite a rebellion among the people of Israel against King David and the people of Judah.
Conflict and the Mediator: Peace Within – Redefining Interpersonal Conflict
This article introduces a feminine (emotional-relational) approach to interpersonal conflict. I will redefine interpersonal conflict as a mental representation, and as a basis for defining inner peace.
Instead of Eliminating Negotiation, How About Eliminating Backlash?
Reddit announced that they will no longer negotiate starting salaries (in order to avoid gender bias). The Program on Negotiation followed up Ellen Pao’s gambit noting three problems with her approach: (1) women aren’t the problem (it’s the backlash and societal expectations that are the problem)l; (2) negotiation isn’t a competition; and (3) forbidding negotiations could backfire (people will go elsewhere for their jobs.)
Ellen Pao: Reddit has Stopped Negotiating Initial Salaries
The Wall Street Journal ran an interview with Ellen Pao yesterday. She discusses many things, but her quote regarding salary negotiations really hit a nerve.
Become a World Class Negotiator
It's not rocket science and it's not a secondary sexual characteristic. You don't "negotiate like a man" or "like a woman." You read, you practice, you fail, you succeed, you learn.
Whisper It Quietly?
This is a blog I have shied away from writing. Several times. Even now, as I do so, I am wary of it. But here goes. I’ll come right out with it.
Arbitration in Evolution
The arbitration survey conducted by Professor Tom Stipanowich and the Straus Institute revealed current practices and trends in arbitration. This article specifically examines the demographics of the arbitrators and questions whether these demographics are the best for the business.
Themes in Mediation
Hidden beneath the arguments of a couple in mediation there is a repeating theme. The argument is like Joseph’s coat of many colors. Each disagreement on the surface appears to be about something different, like one of the many colors on the coat. Under the coat, however, there is only Joseph, who remains mostly unchanged.
Gender and Decision-Making
Men and women are pretty much equally good decision-makers when under low stress levels, but “When stressed, men are more prone to taking risky bets with little payoff.”
Just Don’t Ask and Get Good Karma??!!
As many are probably aware, Microsoft’s CEO recently said that women who don’t ask for raises will enjoy “good karma.” So, his negotiation advice seems to boil down to just don’t ask and you count on the universe rewarding you in this life (or the next).
Do Women Shy Away From Mediation?
Women believe that mediation is something like a venus fly trap. The appearance is beguiling, but the results are deadly. In mediation, couples look at the well-being of the family unit, what it will take to forge new lives. A mediator’s responsibility is to make sure that women and men have the knowledge and the know-how to make intelligent choices, that both parties understand their options and opportunities.
ABA DR Section Survey on Gender Differences
The ABA Section on Dispute Resolution conducted a survey last year of its lawyer members and the results are in!