39: Paula Williams: I’ve Lived as a Man and a Woman
Every passing month gives Dr. Paula Williams more and more insight into the experience of women. She knew from a young age that she was transgender. She felt more attuned to the world of women than the world of men – but not really. As a male CEO of a large non-profit organization, Paula didn’t realize just how much male privilege she had.
From her first week living as a woman, it was a daily experience being confronted by how much privilege she no longer had. From a male passenger on a plane having his wine glass refilled four times while Paula had none, to a business meeting where her 35 years of expertise in the field was completely ignored, the reality of being a woman was all too apparent. And before you ask, it’s not a transgender thing. It’s a men/women thing, ubiquitous to all cultures, all over the world.
More in this episode:
- The essential things men can do in the workplace to make sure women’s voices are heard
- The difference between thinking you’re a good guy and knowing you actually weren’t
- The disparate ways women and men think in the workplace
- How the pay equity act also advances the cause of people of color in the workforce
- How religion may actually be encouraging the sexualization of women in the office
- Paula’s realization that as a man, she was judged by her body of work, while as a woman she was judged by the last thing she did
- The most effective way for women to work, and why
- How the GDP in the US would be impacted if we had true gender equality
Dr. Paula Williams is an internationally known speaker on gender equity and LGBTQ advocacy. She is the Pastor of Preaching and Worship at Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colorado. She is also the president of RLT Pathways, where she provides pastoral counseling and corporate consulting. Paula has consulted with international corporations, religious denominations, media outlets, including NPR’s Radiolab, and state governments.
As a transgender pastor and keynote speaker, Paula has been featured in the New York Times, TED, TEDxMileHigh, the Denver Post, New Scientist, Radio New Zealand, The Huffington Post, and Colorado Public Radio. Paula’s TEDxMileHigh talk on gender equity has had over 1.6 million views on YouTube.
RESOURCES
Dr. Paula Williams | Website | TEDxMileHigh Talk
“Feminist Fight Club” by Jessica Bennett
“What Works for Women at Work” by Joan C. Williams and Rachel Dempsey
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