Challenging the Old Boy's Club In Yalta

by Janet Hunkel & photo by Janet Hunkel

Soviet propaganda promoted women as equal partners. They were not. Over time, that reality became women's advantage, because they acquired unique skills by surviving such disenfranchisement. Those skills aptly equip them to be effective players in a free market economy and democratic society. Today they are adding new skills, joining together to support each other, and envisioning themselves in control.

"Women Can Do Everything; Men Can Do the Rest": A Timeless Russian Proverb

In 1917, the Soviet Union was the first nation to adopt an equivalent of the American Equal Rights Amendment. Today women constitute half of the work force, but at the time of the Soviet Union's break up they held only 11 percent of management positions. After 70 years of "equality" under communism and five years of new opportunities, the daily journal of a Ukrainian woman would typically record: work, watch the kids, shop, stand in line, clean, cook, no-good husband watching TV, no money...

The Soviet experience and the hardships of centuries before developed powerful characteristics in Ukrainian women. Ukrainian women are strong, not by a definition based on bringing in the harvest or climbing mountains-although they do that too-but in terms of endurance and ability to stay focused and serious. In addition, they developed special skills as a survival response to their exclusion from the Soviet power structure: they resisted the army-barrack mentality approach to authority; they did not make decisions by mob rule nor manage by command. The style they developed is responsive to individuals and bases decisions on consensus building. In Yalta, ten aspiring women applied this style and their endurance to create something that had no precedent in Ukraine-a Business Women's Club.

Hope Starts with Sharing Anecdotes and Dreams

The Yalta Business Club started out as a group of my women friends and some friends of theirs, who would occasionally ask me vague questions about how to develop a business. We got together to talk, although what to talk about was embarrassingly unclear at the time. These women did not know each other, and culturally they were not used to sharing information with people they did not know. The Soviet system fostered distrust. People generally limited open communication to family and close friends.

The beginning of the first meeting was most awkward, as they looked to me for direction. To break through the silent embarrassment, I shared one of my favorite women in business stories, from when I first arrived in Yalta. I had been assigned to an alleged private consulting firm (one of the principals was a former bodyguard for Brezhnev, another was selling personal items, including remaining body parts, of German WW II soldiers who had lost their lives on Crimean soil.) The group fussed over the scheduling of a crucial meeting concerning the firm's finances. It was finally set for Sunday afternoon at the home of one of the principals, and included just the higher-ups, myself, an American man and our translator. One question remained-will Janet cook? With my answer-you can guess what it was-they canceled the meeting. Before the laughter subsided, one woman related how she had been snubbed by the head of the local Businessman's Union. It turned out we all had. We bonded. The group took off.

After a few hours, the women had itemized most every women's empowerment issue that had taken us, in the West, years to articulate. Women make the purchasing decisions in the family and therefore have power. Women are concerned about how fellow workers feel toward their work and they want to support and encourage them. The term "old boy's club" easily translates, as does the "glass ceiling" (they call it concrete). The list goes on: child care is needed, stereotypes need to be shed, women need to be in management positions, and the system must be more open and transparent for all.

The proposed solution to these problems was to start their own businesses, support each other, share business tips and develop their own organization, a sort of old girl's club. It was time to change the rules.

A building to meet in wasn't enough, they wanted to own one. A group member was assigned exclusive rights to an annex to develop a "place of beauty" where they could come for an hour or a day and be pampered. Big deal? It was. "This is the first glint of hope that I've had in a couple of years," confided Irina, a violinist who wished to save the local symphony, her employer, from extinction and restore the Chekov theater to its days when the namesake himself directed from the aisles.

Dreams evolved into reality because of the unique skills the women brought to the process. Their attitude defied the prevailing: "it won't work." They didn't expect somebody to take care of them. They looked for solutions instead of dwelling on problems. Failure was met with an enthusiastic "let's try another approach." They defined a vision and developed goals to get there.

Talking is a Time Honored Ukrainian Tradition; Taking Action Is Not

At first, there was more talk than action. Their ability to form a club was hindered by the fact that an organization outside of the Soviet infrastructure had no local precedent so there was no trail of information on how to do it. Ironically, the Businessmen's Union came to their rescue; upon hearing that the women wanted to found an organization, they offered to register the group under their auspices.

Ten infuriated women switched from talk mode into high-octane overdrive. Their energy focused on one and only one task-to get their Club registered with the local government on their own, even though they knew the system was corrupt and offered them little benefit.

Registration required by-laws, and they chose ones from a Boston-based women's organization, called the Boston Club. Unbeknownst to the Ukrainians, the Boston Club is a high-powered group of women who have made it to the top and into the board room. Over the better part of two weeks, the women methodically reviewed, argued and rewrote the Boston Club by-laws to suit the needs of former-Soviet women in search of better lives for themselves and their families.

The registration process drew upon all their skills. Decisions were made by listening to each other, discussion, consensus building, considering the choices and then deciding how to best achieve their goals. This is not to suggest a trouble-free course. Along the way two women, curious about the group, joined one of the early meetings. They argued that the group shouldn't exist. A loyal diehard told them to leave. Such challenging of opinions is expected in the US, but not so in Ukraine, and even weeks later the diehard was still questioning whether she should have engaged in the confrontation.

When the first substantive dilemma-defining the group's purpose-emerged, the issue was not pushed aside, another typical reaction, but dealt with immediately. They debated whether the club would support specific political candidates ("its our only way to power") or support women's entrance into the political process ("this way we will support all women"). By a narrow majority, they decided on the latter. They clearly stated that if some disagreed with the decision, then they could spin off a women's political party.

Such resolution of conflict represented a major break from Soviet thinking, which focused on the group, not the individual. Even when an individual didn't perform, he or she could reap the benefits of the group. Our Western thinking is so dominated by the individual that it is difficult for us to imagine a language and culture where "self-identity" doesn't readily translate. Nor would we conduct business or organize civil society without speaking out and taking risks. Having been excluded, these women were forced to take action on their own. They took a small step away from mob mentality and towards becoming individuals who could accept the responsibility of credit or blame.

Networking

None of the women in the initial group were in positions to get things done in a system based on bribes and who you know. The group's English teacher, however, had a second job as translator and facilitator for the recently arrived Salvation Army and had made it her business to know who was who at City Hall. She and another member went to the three highest ranking women in the local government to ask for help. Two were supportive, but the women couldn't join due to jealous husbands. The response of the most powerful of the three came as a pleasant surprise: "I myself have always wanted to see a group like this form in our society, but I never had the time and didn't know how to do it. How can I help you? Can I become one of the founding members?" She put the group on the map. The group had meetings in her office and she cut through the bureaucracy and saw to it that the group got registered.

After the organization was registered, the women brought in outside experts to instruct them on new skills, such as how to manage business in the new economy, and how to take leadership roles in business and society. They women are now learning practical skills to complement their ability to make decisions and network

These new practical skills will allow them to take advantage of the fantastic new opportunities that are opening in Ukraine. Capitalizing on such a fluid situation doesn't come easily to anyone, but these women's inherent strengths give them an edge. They rewrote the by-laws to suit their needs, why shouldn't they help rewrite the rules for the democratic and economic transition?

Janet Hunkel is a business consultant on the former Soviet Union who spent two years living in Ukraine. Yalta Business Club, Nataliya Kaluis, e-mail: nata@yaltaus.cimera.ua.