Where Are the Men?

In terms of moving forward I agree with you both that the women in the field have a great opportunity to move volunteer management forward, but I also believe that those (few) males who work in volunteer program management also have a key role to play in bridging the gap and breaking down the "volunteering" stigma that was inadvertently created by our previous generations.

This subject brought this to mind: A few years ago, I was put in charge of recruiting more attendees to a local DOVIA's monthly meetings, and the board requested for me to recruit men in particular.

It wasn't difficult -- I sent e-mails to various Rotary Clubs and Lions Clubs and Firemen's associations and churches and, ta da, at our next meeting was an audience that was about a quarter male (up from about two previously).
All were very excited to be there, and said they'd never heard of DOVIA until they saw the e-mail (or the print out of such showed up on their bulletin board in their break room).

However, they never came back. The meeting they attended was on ways to recognize volunteers. There was lots of discussions about thank you teas and receptions and party favors and pins and pot holders.

No mention of using the Internet as a way to thank volunteers. Or writing letters of recommendation. Or inviting outstanding volunteers to serve on internal, decision-making committees. The group leadership appealed only to those that were just like them.

Anyway... thanks for a thought-provoking article.

Thanks for the thought provoking article Susan and Steve. It is one I have thought about often and now offer these few comments. From my own limited (and male!) point of view, having spoken to many older women volunteers, volunteering 50+ years ago was very much a social exercise for many women. Susan's idea that a woman volunteered to demonstrate her husbands earning potential is sure an interesting one, and while there may be some truth to this being an avenue which prompted many women to volunteer, I believe that more importantly the volunteering a woman undertook actually gave her some status, social standing and most importantly a purpose to life beyond the mundane task of "caring for the husband and kids." In other words volunteering for this group WAS important and, while seen as secondary and perhaps not important by the men of the generation, it was always a paramount activity for women.

For men, the roles of firefighter, coach etc. were always an extension of what they did outside of the work place, which gave men greater status amongst their peers and were usually age old traditional activities. In the same way, volunteering gave women a greater status. The only differences really were that firstly, the roles women undertook were often newer (and were often created by these women trail blazers) and secondly, the society of the day deemed that the important things were the things men said were important!

In Reference to the Computer Humour:
The goal of the exercise was to identify a computer's gender--previously a friend emailed me a similar list. However, I had a negative reaction because thirty after the women's movement (and others) the list included 50's and 60's gender stereotypes. We discussed my concern that the list reinforced such stereotypes. We also questioned if I had lost my sense of humor.

Words we use; methods for problem solving; influences from our work environments; and power are all part of this discussion. Before becoming a volunteer administrator, I volunteered for a committee (men and women) that produced monthly fundraisers/friend raisers at a Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender Center. I eventually enrolled in a volunteer management class at NYU and enthusiastically attempted to introduce: volunteer assignments; standards for conduct during the events; systems for signing up volunteers based on seniority, etc. I was called "control queen" and "patriarchal". (Was it my intent to take over power or simply propose effective business techniques?) I eventually volunteered (co-chaired) the annual fundraiser. I introduced systems/structure for the leadership volunteers (15 team captains/steering committee) and one-day volunteers (250)--with the support of some staff and volunteers. I was working as a volunteer administrator by this time. (Was I donating my professional services?) My critics called me a "suit" and accuse me of pushing a corporate mentality (male dominated) within a grass roots organization.

Over the years, my fellow volunteers/friends and I discussed our desire to help yet our feelings of rejection/ feeling disenfranchised. Was the problem with us or them? Most likely all parties shared some responsibility. Susan and Steve, thanks for this discussion.