Meeting Highlights

Here are summaries of meetings I organized and facilitated in 2002 while I was giving public talks at Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce to women.  The format consisted of a talk by me and then an open discussion.  See my Next Meeting page for additional locations where I am currently speaking and facilitating.

June 10, 2002 meeting

May 13, 2002 meeting

Apr. 9, 2002 meeting

Mar. 6, 2002 meeting

Feb. 12, 2002 meeting

Jan. 7, 2002 meeting

Nov. 13, 2001 meeting

Oct. 2, 2001 meeting

June 10, 2002

Topic: Can we live like human beings or are we destined to become a virtual reality in a technological society?
The Important Role of Women as Keepers of Embodiment

We spoke of how not to let technology overrun your life and thus unconsciously make you ignore your body and your humanness.  Women, with their innate awareness of the body and humanness, are key influencers in the world to preserve and maintain the balance between humans and technology.

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May 13, 2002

Topic: The Mystery and Wisdom in Women's Bodies:
Women's creativity/power/sex center, bodily sensations as a manifestation of deep feminine wisdom

There are many impulses, physical sensations, and intuitions which we ignore or overlook.  If these impulses are listened to, they will reveal a profound wisdom which every woman possesses.  Life in today's society tends to devalue these intuitions.  I use different words like sensations, intuitions, and impulses because each woman receives these subtle signals in ways unique to her individuality.  Review your life for all the times these impulses helped you out.  You'll be amazed and learn to trust your intuitions more and more.

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April 9, 2002 meeting at Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce

The topic was: "Surviving/Thriving in the New Economy: body, soul, and spirit".

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March 6, 2002 meeting at Association of Women in Computing, San Francisco

The topic was "Women Transforming the Workplace". (Jan. 7th talk at WCCC was similar to this talk.)

I reviewed two books by Sally Helgesen: The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leadership and The Web of Inclusion.  The Web of Inclusion showed corporate women creating a structure akin to a spider's web.  Women create a physical, central hearth in their company where people can meet and eat.  People are frequently rotated in jobs thus creating greater expertise about the company in every employee as well as greater relationships among employees.  Other traits of women's webs at work are: "everyone does a little of everything", ongoing training in a master-apprentice model, piecemeal evolution (as opposed to setting goals), constant dialogue across all levels, the staff on the front-line possess decision and execution rights, less supervisors are needed, managers and CEOs become coaches and teachers.  The companies mentioned are: Intel, Anixter (system networks), Miami Herald, Nicklelodean, and Beth Israel Hospital.  These companies which work by the web model instead of the top-down hierarchical model are any employee's dream workplace!  And this is because feminine values are being upheld in these companies.  The tools and techniques of feminine power in the workplace can be summed up by this: building relationships and increasing communication across all levels.

I also included Gore Associates as described in Macolm Gladwells' The Tipping Point.  Gore Associates works on the 150 rule which states that no more than 150 people can work in one physical place at a time without an alienation occurring in some staff.  Up to 150 people allows people to know everyone in their workplace.  Strengths and passions and hobbies are informally known by everyone about everyone.  Thus, this informal web of relationships and storing knowledge by knowing which person is right for a project results in the best traits of each individual being expressed in a friendly peer pressure environment.  As one person remarked, "You work a lot harder for your peers than you ever would for a supervisor."  There are no compartmentalized departments which become alienated or hostile to other departments.  People just work together selecting who's best for the job at hand.  So "departments" are always intermingling; staff expertise in the business is greatly increased by this method.  It's all about relationships, talking and listening, and individuals!

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Feb. 12, 2002 meeting at Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce

The topic was "The Best Advisors for Women in Business: Intuition and Dreams".  I shared personal experiences of how intuition has guided my life.  Interactive exercises allowed those present to experience their intuition immediately!  I shared dreams I had had (see Symbols) as another type of guidance women can learn to trust.

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 Jan. 7, 2002 meeting at Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce

The topic was "How to bring feminine power into the workplace?"

I (Lynn Finegan) gave a talk on how women are at a important crossroads today.  Feminine qualities are badly needed to help humanity in the areas of business and other community and global concerns.  Women often manifest their excellent qualities with family and friends but may not manifest these qualities as often in public, at work, or in the world.  I listed some of the feminine qualities as: intuitive guidance, relationship building skills, process orientation, compassion, communication skills, initiating collaboration between people, concern for the wider needs of the community.

I spoke of the great need now to form women's circles and referred to Venus and Eve as the 231st circle on www.jeanshinodabolen.com's web site. There is an energy which can only flow if women's circles form and meet together. As a result of these circles, our consciousness can be raised to a higher level.  There is a shift in human consciousness happening today in which our creativity and our intuition can be greatly heightened in order to further the evolutionary development of humankind.   We can experience greater and deeper insights, new ideas, and more that is not yet known...   By participating in a circle women can experience a greater awareness of what they can be and do in today's world.

Never doubt that a circle can change the world...or that 1 million women's circles can tip the scales and bring the world into the post-patriarchal era...

I reviewed two books by Sally Helgesen: The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leadership and The Web of Inclusion.  The Web of Inclusion showed corporate women creating a structure akin to a spider's web.  Women create a physical, central hearth in their company where people can meet and eat.  People are frequently rotated in jobs thus creating greater expertise about the company in every employee as well as greater relationships among employees.  Other traits of women's webs at work are: "everyone does a little of everything", ongoing training in a master-apprentice model, piecemeal evolution (as opposed to setting goals), constant dialogue across all levels, the staff on the front-line possess decision and execution rights, less supervisors are needed, managers and CEOs become coaches and teachers.  The companies mentioned are: Intel, Anixter (system networks), Miami Herald, Nicklelodean, and Beth Israel Hospital.  These companies which work by the web model instead of the top-down hierarchical model are any employee's dream workplace!  And this is because feminine values are being upheld in these companies.  The tools and techniques of feminine power in the workplace can be summed up by this: building relationships and increasing communication across all levels.

The group discussion which followed for an hour was "stimulating and exhilarating" according to participants.  A woman asked how to implement the web model in her current workplace.  I feel that it is very important that women be 100% themselves and the web model will emerge even in hierarchical companies.  Ms. Helgesen's The Web of Inclusion book gives great examples of creating consensus between hostile departments when a staff person asked a subset of staff in each department to participate in a problem solving team which brainstormed solutions to difficult issues inside the company.  This kind of collaboration can be encouraged by women wherever they work.  See the Miami Herald and Nicklelodean examples in Ms. Helgesen's The Web of Inclusion.  Someone mentioned that the web model no longer seemed popular at organizational development conferences.  I then emailed Ms. Helgesen who responded that she noticed that some (not all) companies were reverting to older, hierarchical structures because of fears and the recession but she warned that she thought this would backfire in the long-term.  Since employees will feel the hierarchical devaluing of employees in the top-down structure,  employees will most likely flock to web model companies where employees are more greatly valued and have greater autonomy.

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Nov. 13, 2001 meeting at an Afghan restaurant in Walnut Creek, CA:

The topic was "How can women take advantage of the power of the Internet?"

I also reviewed the book, "Will Women Rule the Internet?" by Clarisse Behar Molad since it was relevant to the topic.  I highly recommended Clarisse's web site: www.weavingwebs.com view the 100 top web sites about women and for women which Clarisse has compiled.  I mention that I can obtain 10 free copies of this book if women are interested in reading it.  It has a section on how to market to women also.  Email me at mail@venusandeve.net if you'd like a copy of this book.

I noted how some of the examples of women who took advantage of the power of the Internet in this book were women who were disabled, isolated (farms in Australia), or did not live in the West and wanted to know more about the West (like a woman in eastern Europe who uses the Internet at work).  We discussed how women who do not have these type of needs do not seem as eager to learn more about technology or build a business web site.  I am referring to surveys which Clarisse mentions in her book and my own experiences with women I know who do not work in technology.  Women say they don't have time and are too stressed and busy to use the Internet.  We spoke about the isolation which mothers who stay at home experience and how the Internet could help them stay in touch and build home businesses.  Job sharing and the availability of part-time work was mentioned as possibilities which could help women with families.  We also mention how women need to support each other and more child care options are needed in our society.  One woman mentions how her workplace is in the top 100 workplaces for women and people are allowed to bring their children to work.  We discussed how women who have families and are in technology fields do not always want a more responsible position or a position they desire since they are unable to work long hours which that position demands

So we saw how family responsibilities, fear of computers, ignorance of what computers can do for women, and the masculine approach to computers (whether in software or hardware design, in the workplace, at home) can be intimidating for women; these factors keep women from taking advantage of the power of the Internet.  How can we reach more women?

Women view the Internet as one more technology obstacle to overcome. But Clarisse is trying to tell women  in her book that they need to view the Net as a technology which can empower them to master technology in unprecedented ways. Clarisse Molad states that her book "is a ‘call to arms’ to all women to take charge of the Internet & make it work for them, for their local communities, and for their global communities in ways that will proactively meet all their needs.”

As a solution, I encourage those present to contact at least one woman we know who is not using the Internet and encourage or help her to get online.  I mention that I see wonderful programs to mentor girls in technology and the sciences but I don't see programs to mentor women.  I quote a wonderful project which mentors women in Australia: www.womensweb.org.au.  We discuss the simple idea of just getting all women to use email even if they don't use anything else.  We talk of how an energy could flow among women like never before.  It's started to happen but greater participation by women is essential.

I also think women have become very masculine in technology in trying to measure up to men but I think there is another way for women to be themselves in technology.  This will be the next topic of discussion at our next meeting.

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Oct. 2, 2001 meeting at a cafe in Walnut Creek, CA:

Regarding Jean Shinoda Bolen’s The Millionth Circle (book), we spoke of adding our group as a circle on Jean Bolen’s web site: http://www.jeanshinodabolen.com/ .  Dr. Bolen proposes that women’s circles can speed up the coming of a post-patriarchal era for humanity. She believes that women’s circles can be not only a revolution but also an evolution. And she feels that these circles can transform society.

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