Kylee Sanders
Dr. Karla Knutson
IWC
April 8th, 2022
The views presented are those of the individual interviewed and/or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.
Spot at the Sitting Table-Ellen Reed
For knowing my stepmom Ellen Reed as long as I have, it’s baffling to realize just how little I know about her life. So, as you can imagine, when this assignment rolled around, I just knew this was as good a time as any to get to know her on a more personal level rather than just on the surface. This assignment gave me the ability to gain insight into her own perspective and experience throughout both her college and professional career. After interviewing Ellen, it became clear how important and necessary it is to take advantage of as many opportunities that you can and to always push yourself to further broaden your perspective.
…
Growing up in the upper north region of Idaho in the small city of Hayden, Reed remembers her first day of class at Concordia college to have been quite the culture shock. As someone coming from a western part of the United States, Reed had never experienced the extreme levels of friendliness and hospitality that one regularly receives in the Midwest.
“The memory I tell the most to others is the first day of classes, when I was walking from the gym to Knutson,” said Reed. “So many tall, blonde people said hello to me or asked, ‘how’s it going?’, I was utterly confused-I wasn’t sure if I had met them before or not!”.
Reed had originally chosen Concordia based on both cost and personal fit. Because her family technically had made “too much money” to receive any sort of need’s-based assistance, Reed was drawn to the scholarships and the athletics program that Concordia had to offer. Upon visiting the campus, she ultimately knew that this was the college for her. She explained that while this kind of school was much different than anything she had been used to, she felt as though it was the place she should be.
Coming from a family that didn’t have the means to fund her education, Reed had to take up a multitude of part time jobs to cover the costs of her education that wasn’t already covered by scholarships. From mopping floors in the Knudson dining hall, to taking up a Resident Assistant position and a variety of front desk shifts, Reed was always working at least 3-5 jobs simultaneously. Even on her school breaks she could be found working at either her hometown gas station as a cashier or at the local resort’s restaurant as a dessert chef and prep cook.
Reed looks back to her time at Concordia very fondly. She recalls her religion 101 class and how refreshing it was to express the complexity of her beliefs on an intellectual level with her peers. She remembers her German professor, Herr Clark, and his sheer enthusiasm and humor as well as his ability to put practically every student on the spot, an experience that I too have come to know very well. She also remembers Dr. Larson’s novel class, a favorite of Reed’s, who she explains had had a unique collection of paperclips, one of which was gifted to her in her final year at Concordia. She still has that very same clip to this day.
After going on to receive her undergraduate studies at Concordia, in which she had majored in German and English Literature with a minor in History, she later went on to take up a teaching job in Korea. While she had been accepted to a couple good schools with the goal of pursuing a Doctorate in German and teaching, she wanted to ensure that teaching was what she had really wanted to do with her career. So, after graduating in 2006, Reed stumbled upon a paid opportunity to teach English overseas in Korea. She decided to take the plunge.
Working as a part of the English Program in Korea (EPIK), Reed worked as a teacher at a public elementary school. This program sought to have at least one English speaker in every public school in Korea. Because of her experience with languages, she was located to a school that was in the process of developing a curriculum to teach English to its students. She worked alongside fellow teachers, writing, and refining lessons to be taught in their classrooms, with Reed even creating voice-over dialogues for the books that they had written. These sets of lessons and voice over recordings were used throughout the Korean elementary school system. Reed looks back on these times warmly and is so grateful that she was able to partake in such a rewarding experience. “The kids there were amazing, they treated me like a rock star,” said Reed. “I got to travel a lot too! We went to Seoul, of course, and festivals all over the country. I visited monasteries and old fortresses, tombs, and gardens. I remember going to the Boryeang Mud Festival-literally a festival about mud, on the ocean with thousands and thousands of people.”
Now, Reed finds herself in the contracting field working for the government as a civilian, acting as a contract negotiator, contract specialist, or Contracting Officer, mostly depending on the kind of contract she is working on. Her day-to-day duties include evaluating and setting the Government’s position for negotiations as well as working with technical experts, program officers, and contractors, working to come to an agreement on contracting pricing and conditions.
Contracting hadn’t always been in the cards for Reed. She explained how she was in Germany with her ex-spouse and had been looking for a job after being a stay-at-home mom to her three daughters. She explained that while she had had a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Business Law, she didn’t have any work experience other than teaching overseas. Luckily, she had found a posting for Contracting and had met the requirements based on her education as she had good experience in reading, writing, communication, and the evaluation of legal terms. Her prior experience with German and English Literature were also impressive components to her resume. While she had assumed that she had failed the interview, she was hired. After previously working on the civilian side of contracting for the United States Air Force, Reed currently works for the Office of Naval Research as a contract negotiator for research and development.
“I can tell you, the things they are developing are fascinating,” said Reed when asked what about her job truly motivated her. “I really value being a part of an organization that is interested in learning for learning’s sake, and who are interested in developing their workforce and people. The solutions that they are researching are so far-flung in their applicability, and the scope of the good that can be done through this research is simply astounding.”
On a more personal note regarding her motivators, Reed had also expressed how important it is to her that she sets a good example for her three girls and to show them that a woman can be successful in her field and can stand on her two feet.
From knowing Reed on a personal level, I know how important of a topic gender equality is to her, especially when it comes to her career field. I asked her plainly if gender had ever been an obstacle in her field, hoping to gain her perspective from a professional career lens.
“I have been shocked to find that, for all the egalitarian ideals espoused in the world, and within the DOD [Department of Defense], there are still ingrained social hierarchies and norms that work against females in every sense,” said Reed. “One of the reasons I left my last job is because I was not treated as an equal, even after proving myself to be so.” She recounted how on many occasions that she was overlooked simply because of her gender. She recalled many examples of how in staff meetings a male colleague would recite the exact same words that she had spoken and received praise whereas she had received blank looks and silence.
Defined by the clauses of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the use of racial and gender status distinctions in employment is deemed illegitimate and illegal (Hersch and Shinall xii). While on paper it is illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their gender, examples of prejudice and discrimination are still very prevalent for women in the workplace. Although, these situations that Reed has reflected on do not always elicit a clear issue regarding gender bias or prejudice, but instead exhibit rudeness and frustration. While these situations may clearly be exasperating, it is very hard to prove that the source is derivative of gender discrimination. Therefore, situations that lack clear and blatant indications of gender discrimination are very difficult to hold up as violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
She spoke of another occasion in which she had been promised for years that she would receive a promotion. She had already been handling the workload and responsibilities of the higher pay grade that the male equivalent position had had, but without the pay. She did not end up receiving the pay grade. She was told repeatedly that it just wasn’t the right time and that she had to wait just a little longer. After about 2 years of the same repeated lies and unfair treatment, Reed left the position.
She also spoke on the more subtler issues that come with being a woman in the workplace. She explained how she has met many women that project their voice in a higher tone to increase higher degrees of femininity and vulnerableness to protect themselves from their male colleagues and even sometimes much lower than their regular tone so that they may attempt to gain legitimacy. I was shocked to learn that she had even needed to alter something as simple as her email to gain more validity. She expressed that she receives much wider acceptance and authority over email as E. Reed as opposed to Ellen Reed, with the only difference being that one is more feminine than the other.
These subtler forms of gender prejudice and bias that Reed spoke of is not an entirely uncommon experience for working women and, unfortunately, are experiences that tend to go overlooked. When a woman experiences extreme and blatant gender discrimination, they will be more likely to elicit some form of protest or objection to the behavior of the source (Baretto, Ryan, & Schmitt 117). Comparatively, when a woman experiences forms of bias and prejudice in a more subtle and indirect way, they are less likely to protest the source of the behavior or even attempt to address it (Baretto, Ryan, & Schmitt 116). While the occurrence of direct and blatant discriminatory behavior is not nearly as prevalent as it once was, it is more than fair to suggest that subtle discriminatory behavior is.
In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, about four in ten working women within the United States have faced gender discrimination. “Women are roughly four times as likely as men to say they have been treated as if they were not competent because of their gender (23% of employed women versus 6% of men), and they are about three times as likely as men to say they have experienced repeated small slights at work because of their gender (16% versus 5%),” (Parker & Funk, PEW Research). Additionally, subtle discrimination is much harder to prove than that of blatant discrimination, which allows for these instances to continue to reoccur.
According to a journal article by Naomi Ellemers, these forms of subtle discriminatory acts can negatively affect a wide range of variables such as a woman’s success regarding her career and performance, stress, substance use, cardiovascular health, emotions, self-esteem, and satisfaction. Gender discrimination is hurting women, not just on a surface level, but through every aspect of society, including the workforce. While Reed did not necessarily express great concern regarding her physical health in alignment with gender discrimination, she did express concern regarding her self esteem and confidence in the workplace.
When Reed first started contracting, she was given simple advice by a female mentor: if you are offered a spot sitting at the table, you take it. She recalled a point in time in which a Contracting Officer had offered her a seat at the table and she had politely declined, opting to sit in the corner by the wall. “So often, women in particular diminish ourselves often out of habit in order not to ‘threaten’ others,” said Reed. “Don’t depreciate yourself on behalf of others, especially when you’ve been invited to the table.”
This piece of advice travels well beyond just the scope of taking advantage of opportunities within one’s career field; it can be applied to every aspect of your life. Reed has come to show the importance of what it means to take opportunities and expand your perspective. From coming to Concordia for college, traveling to a totally foreign country to teach English, and lastly taking up a job in contracting, she has consistently looked to build upon her own perspectives and experiences, and she hopes that other students learn to do so as well.
“If I were to give advice to college students, it would be to travel. Take the May seminar, take out the loan if needed. It is worth it. Someday your life will be full of careers and kids and mortgages, and all the wonderful terrible things that tie you down for all the good reasons. Take the opportunity to see the world and gain perspective on your place in it.”
After Reed finishes her Doctorate in Strategic Leadership in addition to her Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis in Business Law, she hopes to get back into leadership positions and possibly Senior Executive Service. Although, she doesn’t like to have an entirely scripted view of her future so she’s making sure take into consideration the many potential and varying opportunities that are available to her throughout her career.
Reed is not only a major role model for her three daughters but in my life as well. She is quite honestly a major reason I was drawn to enrolling in Concordia. She encompasses the many qualities that I actively strive to possess strength, initiative, knowledge, perseverance, and passion. I hope that I too can one day represent all of these qualities and come to stand as a powerful role model like she has for me and her daughters.
Works Cited
Costa, Barreto Manuela da, et al. The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding Barriers to Gender Equality. American Psychological Association, 2009.
Ellemers, Naomi. “Women at Work.” Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 1, no. 1, 1 Oct. 2014, pp. 46–54., https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732214549327.
Parker, Kim, and Cary Funk. “Gender Discrimination Comes in Many Forms for Today’s Working Women.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 7 Aug. 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/.
Stainback, Kevin, and Donald Tomaskovic-Devey. Documenting Desegregation: Racial and Gender Segregation in Private-Sector Employment since the Civil Rights Act. Russell Sage Foundation, 2012.
Reed, Ellen. Personal Interview. 7 February 2022.