Ways and tools for change

3. Legal: The result of legitimate expression by those with authority to determine life styles. The woman's roles are replicated from one generation to the next through beliefs, perceptions, values and norms and even laws, and mainly since the patriarchal world thereby maintains control in male hands who exploit the ideology, the education, and all the means to exclude women keeping them in the narrow, inferior, domain. (Foucault, 1979)

Thus, many changes have occurred in everything pertaining to women in the 20^th century, although

1. Not all women around the world benefit from them;

2 The changes that occurred did not alter the social foundations that permit female inferiority still rampant in all domains and nations around the world;

3. Most change concerns the question of legitimate 'rights', although legislation in this matter is not translated into daily life. Ways must now be found to empower women in order to convert their legal rights to daily reality (Status of women ,Canada 2005)

which exists (Peres, 2006). Thus one can differentiate between external⁸⁸ and internal⁸⁹ agents of change. An internet study conducted by Canterucci (www.corpchange.com) finds that in 68% of the cases, it is difficult to create internal agents of change and external agents should be used. But establishing change depends on both internal and the external agents (Fullan and Stiegelbauer, 1991).

Discussion of the subject of change, as we have already mentioned, focuses usually on changes in the business and administrative world, distinct male domains, so that descriptions and definitions of agents of change in these domains are derived from to the 'male suit', and have an organizational, administrative, character embracing the domain and the world.

Reference to women as 'agents of change' is associated with areas of weakness and mainly pertains to such subjects as education, health, welfare, poverty and violence, which are clearly social domains of a female gender or geographical-local character. Women are therefore distinct agents of social change.

The female agents of change who are committed in their behavior and thought to the subject of change face the need to cope with double loyalty. They are torn between the interests of women as a group (as regards the topic of this thesis) and those of the system – the state, society – that are mostly opposed to these interests or are not aware of them.

Furthermore, women mostly fill the role of the socialization agent as mothers and educators. This is a role that preserves and replicates the existing. Making them agents of change designates, apparently, a role contradictory to the traditional role of women and necessitates a set of tools and suitable emotional readiness.

To be an agent of change is a role with attributes and abilities, some of which are innate and some of which can be acquired and polished, for which reason they are important (Canterucci, www.corpchange.com). It is therefore important

88 External agents of change – a factor that proposed change (Sharan, 1990), provides new tools, advises the administration, supports the choice of diverse possibilities for action/activity, works to assure the application processes and strives to offer long-term support that will express establishing the change.

89 Internal agent of change - a factor from within the organization/group with impact that relies on a) being liked and accepted by members of the organization/work/group; b) has access to the foci of decision-making in the organization/group as a result of seniority, experience, connections or sources of knowledge. They are not usually defined as formal leaders by the organization.

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1. To locate and identify 'good agents of change' according to three components:

a. Does she have the right approach?

b. Does she have the knowledge?

c. Does she have the right skills? (Tan& Kaufmann www. europe.isixsigma.com) 2. To train agents of change for their position;

3. To construct a professional support mechanism for them.

An agent of change is a key figure who leads a complex process of change, and in our case of social change in the status of women, while understanding and recognizing that this role is in fact a profession.

Organizational researchers define two main areas necessary for the work of an agent (leader) of change – the ability to manage a project and the ability to motivate people (Recklies, 2001), which, at first glance are liable to also be suitable to the process of social change However, since the social change with which this study deals is extremely broad and complex, one should continue to explore the other components necessary for training agents of change. One of the questions that must be considered is whether the social change is identical to another organizational process of change and how this difference or similarly measured

The organizational agent of change needs the ability to set clear, realistic goals and targets. He must be flexible and sensitive in his way of conducting himself regarding the reality and goals of change. The understanding that team work is needed rather than individual work is one of the keys to success. To this end, the agent of change must develop an effective work team, define authority and clear areas of responsibility, and conduct good communications with colleagues and subordinates while developing a network of connections within and outside the organization, to reinforce the work.

Another tool is the ability to function efficiently in an environment of uncertainty, for which extensive interpersonal abilities that include attention, gathering necessary information, identifying needs and managing communications channels.

As leaders of a process they must be able to manifest personal excitement which helps to encourage and plant motivation and commitment in others. The success of an agent of change depends on the ability for a spatial view, identifying possible coalitions, and the ability to influence

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and achieve commitment by those in opposition or lacking faith in the project (Buchanan and Boddy, 1992).

In the absence of a model for agents of change suitable to the type of change discussed here, the researcher has chosen to examine the daily reality in the State of Israel, where, in the year 2000, advisors on the status of women were appointed⁹⁰. The essence of their position, believes this researcher is not defined by law, is to be an agent of change. Their appointment from the municipal system and their responsibility for social change sets them at the junction between systemic loyalty and being agents of organizational change, and between the feminist perspective and being agents of social change. This complex junction necessitates professionalism, manifested in knowledge, agenda and skills, while training, support, monitoring and status are also needed.

The appointment of advisors positions them in a new role not only from the organizational perspective but from the social perspective. Without a detailed role definition, and based on her accumulated experience, this researcher would claim that the advisor fills two more functions simultaneously, that combine to the former previously-mentioned functions. She is the external agent of change for the group of women of whom she is in charge (all women in her municipal area) and in this role she must move processes of change amongst women there, and she is also an internal agent of change in two areas in parallel:

1. In the local municipal realm – part of her role is to create a process of change in the organization to which she belongs organically;

2. In the professional realm – amongst the advisors themselves, as a colleague.

The advisor's training for the position thus first necessitates a self-definition at two levels – the personal level, in which the female identity undergoes change from an identity under patriarchal influence, to a feminist female identity within patriarchal society, which is a basic and primary source of conflict. The second level is the professional level at which she should develop a professional identity based on the feminist personal identity within distinct patriarchal systems. This is the source of the second conflict. Developing this identity is the awareness that is the first stage in the empowerment process, needed for the position.

90 Everything stated in this context is the result of drawing conclusions and analyzing reality by the researcher based on close familiarity with the subject and relevant materials mentioned in the suitable context.

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Another tool for transformative change in the status of women is empowerment - the focus of this thesis. Several ways exist of attaining such empowerment, including through courses. This researcher intends to discuss the concept of empowerment and the above courses in the next section.