Pink Magazine: Who will save Wal-Mart’s soul?

Pink Magazine - “a beautiful career, a beautiful life” - devotes the cover story of its July/August issue to the top women of Wal-Mart. Included in the write up are Wal-Mart heavy-hitters Susan Chambers, Pat Curran, and Linda Dillman, as well as execs Betty Marshall, Wan Ling Martello and Rosalind Brewer. The title of the story: “Can These Women Save Wal-Mart’s Soul?”

What follows seems to be a Victorian-era lesson on the moral superiority of women, with Wal-Mart in the role of a beast/man to be civilized by the women of its executive workforce. Says one analyst in the article, “To be likeable you have to be more civilized, and to be civilized, you need to have women rising up the corporate ladder.” Emily Post would have been so proud.

Glibly passing over details like class action discrimination lawsuits and “longtime criticism surrounding associate wages and benefits,” the article emphasizes the “result of a more sympathetic female touch on the controls” of the company: greater likeability, emotive advertising and “female styles of collaborative management.” In one fell swoop, author Joanne Cleaver manages to insult both women AND Wal-Mart, simultaneously calling the retailer an untamed corporate heathen and relegating women to the role of doting school marms.

This ill-conceived characterization of Wal-Mart’s female executives is both misguided and misleading. If Ms. Cleaver had looked beyond the talking points of these few well-positioned women, she would have seen serious, systemic problems with Wal-Mart’s treatment of female employees. Susan Chambers is quoted in the piece saying “We’re not saturated [with women leaders] by any means,” and that’s an understatement. Wal-Mart is currently being sued by 1.6 million female associates for gender based discrimination. Ironically, fighting discrimination in the workplace is the subject of the article directly after the Wal-Mart piece in this magazine. If ending workplace discrimination is something that concerns the Pink editorial staff, perhaps it should reconsider writing a feature on the company embroiled in the world’s largest class action discrimination lawsuit.

The article also fails to take in to account the other women of Wal-Mart: the hundreds of thousands of women working in Wal-Mart’s stores around the world. Those women, who make bare minimum wages and are the unfortunate casualties of the insufficient health care plan this article so extensively discusses, might not agree with Susan Chambers’ cheerful descriptions of company policy. Nor would the millions of women working in the sweatshop-like conditions of Wal-Mart’s supplier factories around the world. Some estimates put the female-to-male ratio in Shenzhen factories at 7-to-1, meaning women disproportionately bear the brunt of Wal-Mart’s inhumane sourcing practices as well. They would most likely have a different view of Wal-Mart, too.

Pink Magazine’s article is right about one thing - Wal-Mart’s soul does need saving. But executives buzzwords aren’t the way to do it. We hope Wal-Mart will someday make advances for women working all the way along its supply chain, not only promoting more women to executive positions, but paying better wages and providing better health care for store employees as well as sourcing from factories with fair working conditions for women overseas. Until Wal-Mart looks at the entire scope of its production chain, it hardly deserves accolades for progressive leadership.

Can These Women Save Wal-Mart’s Soul? [Pink Magazine]

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, June 25, 2008

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COMMENTS

~~~~~The article also fails to take in to account the “other woman “of Wal-Mart......HILLARY CLINTON!........What follows seems to be a Victorian-era lesson on the moral superiority of women, with Wal-Mart in the role of a beast/man to be civilized by the women of its executive workforce. Says one analyst in the article, “To be likeable you have to be more civilized, and to be civilized, you need to have women rising up the corporate ladder"~~~~~~~Gosh,why didn’t they publish this earlier and give Hillary some props?

ddrb in
Wednesday, June 25 at 07:14 PM

Props? Here’s a good one:

I also heard our Muslim Presidential candidate state that he wanted to raise inheritance taxes to 46%.  ??????

Windfall Tax on Retirement Income

Adding a tax to your retirement is simply another way of saying to the American people, you’re so stupid that we’re going to keep doing this until we drain every cent from you. That’s what the Speaker of the House is saying. Read below...............

Nancy Pelosi wants a Windfall Tax on Retirement Income.  In other words tax what you have made by investing toward your retirement. This woman is a nut case!  You aren’t going to believe this.

Madam speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to put a Windfall Tax on all stock market profits (including Retirement fund, 401K and Mutual Funds! Alas , it is true all to help the 12 Million Illegal Immigrants and other unemployed Minorities!

This woman is frightening. She quotes...” We need to work toward the goal of equalizing income, (didn’t Marx say something like this), in our country
and at the same time limiting the amount the rich can invest.” ( I am not rich, are you?)

When asked how these new tax dollars would be spent, she replied:  “We need to raise the standard of living of our poor, unemployed and minorities. For
example, we have an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in our country who need our help along with millions of unemployed minorities. Stock market windfall profits taxes could go a long way to guarantee these people the standard of living they would like to have as ‘Americans’.” (Read that quote again and again and let it sink in.  “Lower your retirement, give it to others who have not worked as you have for it”. 

Send it on to your friends. I just did!! This lady is out of her mind and she is the speaker of the house!

THE CONSTITUTIONALIST in
Wednesday, June 25 at 07:56 PM

[we have an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in our country who need our help]

That’s just great, taxing American retirees, to support “ILLEGAL’ immigrants (you know, those people who aren’t supposed to be here in the first place).  I realize that we already support criminals, but at least they are in prison.

[Included in the write up are Wal-Mart heavy-hitters Susan Chambers, Pat Curran, and Linda Dillman, as well as execs Betty Marshall, Wan Ling Martello and Rosalind Brewer.]

Are these some of the women that Walmart discriminated against?  Wonder how they managed to rise to the top, if Walmart doesn’t allow women to advance in the company.

Charles in Brighton, Tn.
Wednesday, June 25 at 11:30 PM

These must be the same illegals Walmart locks in their stores overnight as cleaning crews. I am paid however to not give a shit.

E. Chao in charge at the Bushco Department of Labor
Thursday, June 26 at 01:31 AM

oh bs they lock in their cleaning crew.get a life you morons.more bs as usual on this piece of crap site

m att hew vantress in gresham,oregon
Thursday, June 26 at 04:55 AM

You Swift Boaters have me a little confused, CONSTITUTIONALIST. Are we supposed to hate Barack Obama because he’s a Muslim, or because he was a member of Rev. Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ?

Fight the Smears

Under the heading of:

Subsidizing Wal-Mart’s Workforce

<a >Wal-Mart Joins Sen. Schumer and Rep. Emanuel in Support of EITC Education</a>

“We want to provide our associates with useful information to help them save money and live better.” ~ Susan Chambers

It warms my Liberal bleeding-heart to think more of my tax dollars will go to help all those poor Wal-Mart workers.

Ken V in Texas
Thursday, June 26 at 06:28 AM

Ken V in Texas
Thursday, June 26 at 06:30 AM

“ with Wal-Mart in the role of a beast/man to be civilized by the women of its executive workforce. Says one analyst in the article, “To be likeable you have to be more civilized, and to be civilized, you need to have women rising up the corporate ladder"~~~~~~~" Nothing like the civilizing influence of Hooters on the male beast managers,eh? I wonder if Linda Dillman,Susan Chambers,etc. were expected to attend exec meetings there,as OTHER female management have complained about?

ddrb in
Thursday, June 26 at 10:19 AM

Ken V: In regards to your link,Fighting the Smears, I just eliminated some particularly offensive air(wave) pollution-(I zapped the radio OFF,when Mr.Oxyincontinent came ON). I was shocked to hear Limbo refer to Obama as “The Messiah”. I thought the Messiah ,in this country,is Jesus Christ! Does Bimbo ,I mean Limbaugh,believe Jesus is Muslim?

ddrb in
Thursday, June 26 at 11:24 AM

BTW: Are not” Good Chrisitans “offended by the use of the term The Messiah to smear someone for political gain? If not,WHY not? Would that not constitute blasphemy?

ddrb in
Thursday, June 26 at 11:27 AM

I am very offended ddrb by the Rev. Limbaugh and his deliberate air of abuses. But I’ve got enough problems with a guy up in L.A. that does The Jesus Christ Show named Neil Saaverda. He claims on the radio the first person declaration of his being Jesus Christ. On his website he makes a well hidden claim that he does not believe he is Jesus Christ as the Holy Host of The Jesus Christ Show… but the radio listeners would not really know that since especially on Clear Channel where in terms of blasphemy and self-declarations of godhood this Neil Saaverda has beaten Limbaugh to the ultimate blasphemous arrogant attention getting scheme radio talk show punch.

SanDiegoView in
Thursday, June 26 at 12:09 PM

SDV; I would like to recommend a new book called “The Family -The Secret Fundamentalism at the heart of American Power"-it is excellent .Christian Dominionism at work in the political landscape.( Mother Jones did a story on this also.) The group is also known as the Fellowship.

ddrb in
Thursday, June 26 at 12:39 PM

you morons.keep crapping about wm.get your asses out ofyour bull crap.your favorite ufcw expensive krogers and your crap is junk

m att hew vantress in gresham,oregon
Thursday, June 26 at 03:20 PM

<a >Tourette Syndrome Fact Sheet</a>

Perhaps the most dramatic and disabling tics include motor movements that result in self-harm such as punching oneself in the face or vocal tics including coprolalia (uttering swear words).

Ken V in Texas
Thursday, June 26 at 03:49 PM

ddrb-

Thank you for the recommended read on “The Family- The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power” and the Mother Jones item. I will check them both out. Also I’ve not forgotten you on the eugenics topic we have looked at, my study was on the Edwin Black materials among others and the U.S. development work and practiced history through the states and counties and the actions taken up through the 1970s. The Manhattan Institute is showing up disproportionately in the financial background of the American eugenics crowd. The Bush family business tree goes right into Nazi Germany through banking interests and Prescott Bush for another aspect of this type of eugenics through economics.

SanDiegoView in
Thursday, June 26 at 05:15 PM

SDV: You’re very welcome.Incidentally, the Hoover Institute has a strong association with the eugenics movement in this country. In particular, William Draper, one of its founders. Hoover Institute ,at Stanford University, has been referred to as Bush’s brain trust.Rumsfeld became a fellow last fall. Milton Friedman was a fellow there,also,and a foundation exists there in his name. Hoover is also at the forefront of flat tax and also,charter schools-a particular interest of Rob Walton,according to my understanding,as is tax reform. I find the Hoover Institute has a common thread in the libertarian leanings relating to much discussed here.If you have time, don’t miss the opportunity to Google up and read “Christian Mafia”,by Wayne Madsen. A definitive article on the Christian Dominionist theocons currrently in Washington. Not to be missed! (BTW,Greg Penner-Rob’s son in law ,and his wife,Stanford graduates-,recently donated $6,000,000 to Stanford University.)

ddrb in
Thursday, June 26 at 08:35 PM

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