WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE THE MOST REWARDING PART ABOUT WORKING AT A MEN’S FRATERNITY? NR: While sitting in a membership review, I asked a newly initiated member about his associate member process and what he gained from the experience. His responses astounded me. They were authentic, venerable, and encompassed what we hoped the associate member program would do. I took immense pride in this because I created the AM program and trained this specific chapter on how to use it. It was very rewarding to see something I created come to life and contribute so positively to Delta Chi.
WOMEN WORKING AT MEN’S ORGANIZATIONS NICKI ROWLETT LAUREN HOPKINS GRETCHEN FORAN
Within the fraternal industry, popularity of working at organizations that are not one’s own has grown in recent years. Specifically, we see more women working at men’s organizations than ever before. Perspectives had the opportunity to chat with Nicki Rowlett, Director of Education and Leadership Programs at Delta Chi Fraternity, Lauren Hopkins, Deputy Executive Director at Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity, and Gretchen Foran, Director of Undergraduate Education at Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, to gather their thoughts and experiences on working at men’s fraternity organizations.
I also find it rewarding to work with the staff that I do. My male co-workers are very receptive and truly value my input as both a non-member and a female. The staff has never forgotten an important date or milestone in my life and consistently celebrates my accomplishments with me. My co-workers also challenge me in ways that enable me to think critically about my role and the work I do for the organization. This balance of challenge and support has allowed me to feel a part of a team and drastically increased my performance on the job. I am supported, my ideas are welcomed, and my work is celebrated. It is rewarding to work for an organization whose employees give me confidence and treat me with respect. LH: As a woman living in the time of #MeToo and #TimesUp, my work at a men’s fraternity reassures me every day there are still tons of incredible men out there treating every person with dignity and respect, taking action and ownership to address societal issues, and working hard to challenge and raise the standards for what it means to be a man.
WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE THE MOST CHALLENGING PART ABOUT WORKING AT A MEN’S FRATERNITY AND BEING A WOMAN? GF: If you would have asked me this question in 2009 when I first began at a men’s headquarters, I would have said working with alumni. While I met many fantastic alumni, I experienced just as many that were angry I was on staff and/or made sexist comments. In the decade since I started though, I rarely, if ever, encounter that issue anymore. Most of the alumni have now been interacting with women working at headquarters --- particularly in chapter services roles --- for quite some time and the novelty isn’t there anymore. I do find I push myself a little harder to prove myself, but for me it’s more of an internal than external pressure. NR: It often seems like men --- and more specifically male members of the fraternity --- are seen as the “natural leaders” in the organization. For most of my life I have been seen as a natural leader, so I am sure you can imagine the intrapersonal conflict this caused when I Issue #2 PERSPECTIVES 26
