Its About Respect in the Workplace
I am not a writer or blogger - in fact, I hate to write, but... I found myself compelled to comment on Kelly Ripa's brief departure from and return to Live with Kelly & Michael show this week.
I am so proud of Kelly as a fellow professional woman. She stood up for herself to a HUGE network which is owned by and even BIGGER company. Kelly handled herself with dignity and professionalism while advocating for herself and demanding the respect that she earned and deserved! As women, we all walk a fine line between being assertive and aggressive: between speaking up and running the risk of being called a nasty word and remaining silent and being considered inconsequential or a push-over.
When Kelly first emerged in public leaving her NYC home, she was seen holding the book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell. Without uttering a word, Kelly made it clear that she was not to be ignored or disrespected. In her opening dialogue on her first day back at the show, Kelly stated "what transpired over the course of a few days has been extraordinary in the sense that it started a much greater conversation about communication and consideration and most importantly respect in the workplace".
Of course we realize that Kelly had lots of leverage in this "negotiation" due to her and the show's popularity and the media firestorm that ensued. I'm sure her employer wanted to settle this quickly and quietly. As employees we do not always have this leverage but I hope that Kelly's resolute moxie will inspire other women to stand their ground, find their voice and demand respect in the workplace!
Art Fashion Philanthropy Power Networker
8 年like in any family especially today with so much competition - business success is the result of morals, values and ethics. and saying thank you for doing a great job. xod bthebuzz.com
Health, Wellness, and Caregiving Professional
8 年I followed this story with interest, and will continue to follow the issue. What's interesting to me, in reading the comments of general public, the prevailing opinion seems to be: "What's she complaining about? She's paid millions. Quit crying and get back to work!" Obviously, it's a much bigger question. The satisfaction we derive from work is based in large part on the quality of our communications, connectedness, leadership, respect and finally remuneration. It's the whole package. I think very few women work solely for the money. As we know, the money is often not fairly distributed. It is one of the reasons we focus on the other components of of our workplace. I am also interested to see how Strahan handles this matter, as it's clear, Kelly is not one of his football buddies and may not follow "the game plan."