The Sisterhood model was built with the desire to create social and political change through the use of both bottom-up and top-down practices. It is a hybrid strategy of traditional community organizing and identity-based online activism. Bay Area 9to5 tested the model by conducting a four-week campaign appropriately titled Campaign Equivalent. A study of Bay Area 9to5’s use of the site reveals how a bottom-up online activist strategy can enhance traditional organizing strategies by supporting consciousness raising and motivating political change through grassroots data collection. Serendipitously, the study also found that women’s interests in computing increased as they recognized technology could have relevance to their lives. 6.1 User and Invoice Statistics Through its campaign, Bay Area 9to5 registered a total of forty users with Equivalent: a working woman’s invoicing system. Volunteer organizers and chapter members were asked to adhere to the five-step process outlined in Section 5 that emphasized the support of personal interactions with the online tool. Campaign participants respected the process. Therefore, findings of the study properly reflect the assets of the Sisterhood model as a hybrid traditional/online strategy. To demonstrate that online participation was grounded in offline interactions, each user during registration was asked to indicate who had invited her to the site. Eight users registered with site as a result of their interactions with a campaign organizer. Nine users came to the site because someone other than an organizer referred them to the site. (From oral reports, it appears that 9to5 members who had not volunteered to be organizers invited several of them). Two users were not personally invited to the site, but somehow came upon it and decided to try it. As campaign manager, I recruited twenty-one participants. Five of the users I recruited had a strong background in computer science or community organizing. Users were asked to complete a survey during the registration process. Results for the survey indicate that eighteen users are married, thirteen are single, three are divorced, one is partnered, and the relationship status of one user is unknown. A majority of users who chose to disclose their age are between twenty-one and forty years old. A total of thirty-three invoices were submitted to the site. Twenty of twenty-nine (68%) registered users who were personally invited to the site submitted at least one invoice. Only two of eleven (18%) registered users who were not invited by organizers submitted invoices. These statistics suggest a connection between offline interactions and a person’s interest in participating in the site. 6.2 Equivalent: an Identity-Based Model of Online Activism Sisterhood, the community organizing model proposed in this paper, builds upon traditional organizing practices and is enhanced by an identity-based approach to online activism. Current online practices emphasize political change by encouraging users to express a public policy preference through automated messages to decision-makers. In contrast, Sisterhood uses an on-line tool to promote the identity-based strategy of consciousness raising. Feminist consciousness raising was popular in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Women would exchange ideas and experiences as a means of developing a sense of community[16]. In my experience, consciousness raising allows women to develop trust and respect amongst one another. Strengthened relationships provide a forum for examining social values and relationships. Women have opportunities to explore the diversity of the female experience and propose radical ideas. Strategic use of consciousness raising techniques can support organizing efforts by changing personal attitudes and behaviors. The campaign organizers and I found Equivalent: a working woman’s invoicing system enhanced our ability to raise women’s consciousness. The website is an excellent tool to introduce and discuss the state of gender relations. Women who were approached during the campaign were almost immediately willing to share information about themselves and their experiences as wives, mothers and women in general. Most women felt their work is frequently undervalued in the workplace and/or at home. The approaches Equivalent uses to addressing the problem interested them. The website’s strategy is dependent on their willingness to provide accurate and quality information over the internet about their experiences. In contrast to current forms of online activism that require users to have prior knowledge of public policy or be aware of current affairs, Equivalent users rely on only their personal experiences to effectively use the site or participate in discussions about the value of women’s unpaid work. When a woman was first introduced to Campaign Equivalent, there was a common and unpredicted response: a giggle. Many women made statements such as “I’ve always threatened to do this.” A woman’s body language and demeanor would change. She became less guarded. It was as if the organizer had been let in on an inside joke. Pointed questions that followed about the division of labor in the home did not make women uncomfortable. They were willing to stay, talk about their experiences, and learn more about 9to5. The giggle-response, as I will call it, demonstrated that novel strategy could assist a community organizer to quickly establish trust and articulate a common ground. There was an interesting diversity of reactions as women were told details of how the website attributed value to women’s work. It encouraged women to discuss a variety of questions relating to gender equity. It also provided them with the space to challenge one another’s ideas. Below I profile some of the more interesting and common responses the site received. 6.2.1 Blending Cultural Values and Equitable Gender Roles Some women questioned the morality of billing a child or a spouse for work done out of genuine affection. The first objection came during the 9to5 training session held in March of 2004. A member agreed that care work should be valued by society, but felt it was inappropriate to attribute a dollar value to it. She stated that she would be more comfortable with the site if she could simply list her daily, unpaid activities. She described her objection in terms of her cultural upbringing stating she felt she was taught that both men and women should practice humility when they do work for the benefit of their families. Her opinion was not popular with the others attending the meeting. Other members argued that many women from many cultures are taught similar value systems, but in practice women still fulfill the role of primary caregiver. Even if there is a discomfort with assigning a dollar value, measuring women’s work in dollars could be a powerful means to achieving gender equity. Over the course of the campaign several other women expressed similar concerns. Women posed thoughtful questions about successfully blending gender roles and cultural values. 6.2.2 Individual Decision-Making’s Impact on the Distribution of Care Work As an individual, what role does a woman play in allowing inequitable distribution of care work in the home? I met a woman at a Women’s History event sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Water District who essentially posed this question by telling me its was her own fault that she had to do all of the care work in her home. She told me she had stayed at home for thirteen years. She cooked, cleaned and raised children. She enjoyed the work and was proud to say she did it well. She now works full-time outside the home. Her husband arrives home from work everyday one hour before her, yet when she arrives he always asks her what she is going to make them for dinner. He assumes cooking is her responsibility. She contrasted this to a woman she knows whose husband is retired and cooks her dinner every night. She blamed herself for allowing her husband to not share in the care work. Because she cared for her home so many years, her husband’s expectations of her role were firmly set. Even though she felt overburdened by being wholly responsible for her home and working full time, she did not believe her husband would willingly take on work at home. She argued that had she expected him to do some care work during the years she stayed at home, perhaps now he would pitch in more. She was adamant that how work was distributed in her home (and others’ homes) is a reflection of each woman’s individual willingness to set limits and expectations. 6.2.3 The Liberated Woman and the Fear of Freeloading Many women I and other campaign organizers approached declined to participate because they believed that their male counterpart cooked, cleaned and cared for their children just much as they did, if not more. They feared their husbands and boyfriends could invoice them more than they could. Women who made statements of this sort can be described as liberated women. They were generally young (in their 20’s or 30’s) and career-oriented. They sometimes explained how their partner’s willingness to equally care for the home made him more desirable. Some of these women were challenged with simple questions such as “Does he really do 50%?” Some quickly backed down and stated that perhaps he did not. Others stuck to their guns and stated they were confident he did at least 50% or more of work in the home. It is likely these women who appear to live and love in egalitarian relationships are evidence of the successes of previous eras of women’s rights activism. These liberated women did not often did not see how their invoicing system could benefit the majority of women who do not have the luxury of sharing care work with their partners. They worried that they were freeloading off their male partners. They did not want the invoicing system to be personally used against them. 6.2.4 Step 4 – Bill Someone As a group, it can be argued that women in the United States are highly liberated. Women have rights to: vote, pursue an education and career, and choose whether or not to marry. They are afforded these rights, but do they exercise them? Do these rights translate into equal gender relations? Evidence gathered from use of Equivalent suggests that women’s rights have dramatically liberated only some women. Step 4 of the invoicing process asks women to print an invoice and submit it to someone who benefits from their unpaid work. The aim is to force a conversation with the other person about the value of women’s work. It was natural to suggest to a woman to invoice her spouse or boyfriend. When the suggestion was made it appeared that several women were uncomfortable with it. In discussion, some women made references to domestic violence. In practice, some women implemented strategies to minimize conflict with their spouses. The first reference to domestic violence was made during a business meeting in late fall of 2003. During a discussion of the Sisterhood/Equivalent concept at a 9to5 business meeting, a member wondered outloud if presenting a husband or boyfriend with an invoice would lead to a woman being hurt. Other women at the table believed it was a possibility. I had never contemplated the possibility of domestic violence. The website is intended to make it easier for women to communicate their wants, needs and desires. It was not intended to put women in jeopardy. I began questioning how real the threat of domestic violence was in the context of this project. I decided the possibility was very real after doing a presentation at a local adult school for CalWorks participants . Seven students were women and one was a man. While describing Equivalent and the five-step process a gregarious woman interrupted me. She joked about a woman trying to “invoice her man”[her exact words - from my notes] and coming back with a black eye because he gave her some chingosas. She and others laughed. I did not. Instead I said that no woman should put herself in physical danger. A woman could still participate in the campaign but it would make more sense for her to share her invoice with a female friend so they could support one another. I felt this was an appropriate response and it became my general advice to all women who had interest in the site: Invoice someone you feel comfortable having a conversation with. If you do not have anyone to share an invoice with, share them other Equivalent users. Effective use of the website requires both confrontation and conversation. A woman must feel comfortable confronting a person with the idea and emotion that she does not believe her work is appropriately valued. Although this may not seem like a challenging thing for some women to do, it was not the case for all women. Without suggesting fear of domestic violence or serious conflict, some women formulated their own strategies to indirectly invoice their respective spouses. Take for example a mother of three married to her second husband. A talkative woman, she expressed immediate support for the idea of assigning value to a woman’s work. She often told me that her husband did not understand why she was always tired because she stayed home all day. She believes his life was a lot easier than hers because he leaves for work at 6 AM and returns home at 4 PM. She wakes every morning at 5:00am to cook him breakfast and prepare this lunch. While he is away she takes two of her children to and from school and cares for her three year-old daughter while she cleans her home. According to her, when her husband returns home he showers, eats dinner, watches television and then goes to sleep. While he unwinds from his day she ensures her daughters have done their homework, serves and cleans dinner, bathes her children and puts them to bed. She felt Equivalent would be a way to finally show him that she did more work than he did. The woman does not own a computer and she had only seen, but never used, the internet. I volunteered to go to her home with a laptop. I dialed her in and walked her through the website. She does not know how to type or use a keyboard so I did it for her. When it came time to create an invoice I asked her who she wanted to invoice. I assumed she would give her husband’s name, but instead she billed her middle daughter. After completing the invoice I allowed her to view it before it was submitted. Although the bill was addressed to her daughter she made comments about what her husband might or might not say after he saw it. I printed the invoice and dropped it off at her house later on that same day. Again she commented on her husband’s possible reaction to the invoice. Perhaps he would finally understand that she did a lot of work all day long. A week or more later I saw her and asked what she did with the invoice. Instead of describing reactions from her daughter, she imitated her husband’s annoyed tone as he said, “Ah, shut up. Take that God damn thing away from me. I don’t care.” She did not seem surprised by his reaction. I asked her what she thought about the website and concept overall now that she had a chance to try it out. She still strongly felt there was great value in it. She told me that she thought it would be good thing to talk to her friends about at a party in her first language, Spanish. She said if all of her comadres got together they could figure out how to get the men to do what they wanted them to do. From my perspective, she does not have an equal voice in her relationship, but felt strongly that she controlled the household by puppeteering her husband’s actions with the help of her friends. Fortunately, there were no reports of domestic violence as the result of the invoicing process. However, whenever a married woman asks that her work be valued conflict appears inevitable. Reports back from users showed that men would:
- attempt to diffuse the potential impact of the website by making jokes
- challenge the legitimacy of the assigned dollar values
- get angry and/or defensive
- attempt to re-frame the issue to their benefit
In one report from a campaign organizer a user’s husband demonstrated all of these reactions. The user is a woman in her mid-20’s with three children and one stepchild. Married for six years, her husband often attempts to express dominance by describing himself as the breadwinner. The user registered, logged in and produced an invoice for the first time in the presence of both the campaign organizer who had recruited her and her husband. The organizer was there to support the user with the technical assistance. As the user began the invoicing process, her husband asked the women what they were doing. After hearing their reply the user’s husband, who the organizer described as “always having something smart to say,” began joking around attempting to belittle the value of women’s work. The organizer attempted to explain to the user’s husband the service catalog model of attributing value to care work. In her words, “I was educating him while she did the invoice.” He challenged the legitimacy of the assigned values. The organizer invited him to view the justifications provided in the service catalog. They followed a link to the California self-sufficiency wage standard that justifies many of the catalog’s figures. After seeing that the values were backed by reputable research, the user’s husband became angry, defensive, and finally speechless. The man, who always had something smart to say, had nothing to interject. The user previewed her invoice and in the words of the organizer “her mouth dropped.” Filled with excitement she danced in her chair as she printed the invoice. If she was paid for her work, she would be the breadwinner. She would be the one buying the family a house. She attempted to hand the invoice to her husband. He sat with his arms crossed refusing to accept it. The user posted the invoice on the refrigerator. The organizer and user celebrated with laughter and cheers. “She (the user) finally showed him.” After the user’s husband calmed down he attempted to regain control of the situation by appropriating use of the website. He explained that he agreed that women’s work should be valued. He suggested that he and his wife could take the address of the website to church so women and men could acknowledge the value of women’s role as mother and caretaker. He re-framed the site’s purpose to support traditional gender roles. His wife agreed it was a good idea. The organizer suggested that the real purpose of the site is to have them equally share in the responsibilities of home. The user agreed that it was a desirable goal. Her husband did not respond. 6.3 Motivating Political Change through Grassroots Data Collection Mid-way through Campaign Equivalent Bay Area 9to5 showcased Equivalent at a resource fair sponsored by Catholic Charities. San Jose City Councilmember Cindy Chavez came to the event to give a keynote address. After her speech I took it upon myself to introduce her to Equivalent. Well-known in the community for her feminist disposition, she had a strong reaction of support. She believed it was a radical concept with practical outcomes. She speculated on possible impacts it could have on gender relations and how it could assist her and other elected officials develop better public policy for women in San Jose. She asked if the site had been publicly launched. I indicated that it had not. She suggested connecting it to San Jose’s Equal Pay Day event organized by the Coalition for Equal Pay of Santa Clara County. She would speak in favor of Equivalent and call women to use the site. As a result of that chance encounter, Bay Area 9to5 and the Coalition for Equal Pay agreed to work together to honor Equal Pay Day. They organized a media event to encourage women to use Equivalent as a new tool for achieving gender equity. Bay Area 9to5 designated a member to read a statement written by the chapter president on behalf of the group. A portion of it stated: We have always known what the (gender equity) problems are, but then, we have always said there is no way we can totally reorganize society just to solve them. We used to sigh and go back to the laundry. But now we are filling out the invoices and handing them in to our community and elected officials. Equivalent itself changes the playing field by giving voice to our demands for justice. It will take all our voices, all our invoices, all our persistence and persuasion. But the personal is still political [17]. The statement roused the crowed. I and another member of 9to5 issued an invoice to the community for nearly $5 billion to mark the earnings lost by the wage gap and an additional $1 in recognition of the unpaid work women perform. A call to action to women throughout Silicon Valley was made to contribute to Equivalent so the real dollar value of their unpaid work could be reflected in a future invoice. Equivalent has quickly gained the attention of many decision-makers. The Chief Executive Officer of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins also spoke at the event encouraging women to use Equivalent. Many elected officials who could not attend the event sent representatives from their offices. At the conclusion of the event a woman running for city council in Milpitas approached me to discuss ways in which she could encourage women of color, particularly East Indian women, to use the site. She was excited with the prospect of having quantitative data available to demonstrate the experience of women in her community. The site appears to have the potential to connect grassroots consciousness raising to policy change. While women begin to grasp the idea that their voice can be heard through grassroots data collection, there is a growing sense that women’s quantified experiences have the potential to motivate public policy change. In the matter of just a few months it has piqued the interests of local elected officials, so the women of Bay Area 9to5 and the Coalition are beginning feel this effort holds promise in affecting policy change. 6.4 Relevance, a Key in Bridging the Digital Divide This project never set out to bridge the digital divide. It assumes the digital divide is real with troubling consequences. Technical and social implementations of the Sisterhood model attempted to remove as many barriers to involvement as possible. Campaign organizers were instructed to offer technical assistance to any woman they encountered who did not have access to a computer with a connection to the internet or the knowledge needed to access and successfully use the website. In terms of access, bridging the digital divide was simple. As campaign manager I visited two women without easy access to computers. Neither had a computer in her home because the cost of even a low-end machine is beyond their means. I took a laptop computer to each of their homes. Individually, I walked them through the process of booting up, dialing in, and browsing to a website. They were timid – afraid pressing the wrong key or not knowing what to do would next would lead to disaster and embarrassment. After many verbal reassurances that they could do nothing to harm the machine or themselves they relaxed some. As I helped them negotiate Equivalent and I further described how their use of the website could support women’s rights you could see their confidence build. They would hover their fingers over keys and the mouse with quick glances to me wondering if they were doing the right thing. Both users expressed extreme appreciation for introducing them to the internet. Even though the interfaces seemed to confuse them they were surprised that they were able to master use of the mouse effectively in just over an hour. The digital divide is not limited to access and knowledge of how to navigate complex interfaces. The digital divide is also a concept that also reflects a self-imposed belief that some people are computer-people (for example, men, educated people and the young) and other people are not (for example, women, those who are not book-learned and older people). There is a belief that some people simply have an affinity for computing while others do not. Many women who had access to computers and knowledge of how to use them would makes statements like “I am not a computer person” or “I do not enjoy surfing the web.” They understood Equivalent’s strategies and believed supporting them could be helpful in supporting women’s rights. Use of Equivalent would be an exception in their general lack of interest of computing. As some Bay Area 9to5 users became familiar with the Sisterhood strategy and its use of Equivalent, they began asking me questions about computing. Did I know JavaScript? Could I teach them how to write a webpage? Is it difficult? Did I have other ideas on how to use the web for women’s rights? Did I always have an interest in computing? They also offered suggestions relating to the site’s interface and content. They suddenly saw that computing could have relevance to their life experiences. It is not likely these women are going to make the transition to full-fledged hackers, but they are beginning to buy into my assertion that women should be innovators of technology and not merely consumers of it.