Ever wonder what goes on in those all-male corporate boardrooms? Well, here's a sample from one corporation:
Maybe, Andreas suggested, he should promote a couple of women to vice president and make another woman president of the western department.
"What the [...] do I care?" he shrugged.
"Yeah, just a title, just a title," Whitacre said. "Don’t mean anything."
We like to think we've come a long way from "you've come a long way, baby." A new book by Kurt Eichenwald would seem to indicate that we haven't come that far after all. The Informant: A True Story, just published by Broadway Books (a division of Random House) details the government investigation of possible price-fixing by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). That investigation included tapes of executive conversations and meetings, secretly recorded by a cooperating witness - the president of ADM's Bioproducts Division, Mark Whitacre.
Included on those tapes were a few recordings of these top level executives talking about the women in the company. Conversations about women are only a very small part of the book; women don't really appear on these executives' radar screens, except as sexual targets. But those comments, recorded in 1993-94, read like something from the pre-feminist dark ages. The conversations generally centered on speculation regarding women's sexual activities, proclivities and abilities, in rather disgusting detail. Even in the two discussions regarding the promotion of women, there was no mention of the women's capabilities or accomplishments in their work. The only concerns voiced about promoting the women were about whether they would be demanding "women's libbers," or take whatever the corporation offered them and be grateful for it.
I know that, in a sense, I'm grateful - for the reminder that such men still exist in positions of power. Most men like this have learned to keep such thoughts hidden from female view, and it has become easy to believe that women in the workplace are now valued for their contributions to the company. And it is true that there are many men who do recognize and appreciate women's contributions - I know, because I have worked with many such men over the years. But, as the conversations documented in The Informant show, there are still men whose "appreciation" for female co-workers and employees begins and ends with sex.
| Excerpts from the book By special arrangement with the author and publisher, excerpts detailing the rampant sexism at the highest levels of ADM are now available on this site. |
Please note, both the language and the subject matter of these excerpts are offensive, and include liberal use of a common vulgarism for sexual intercourse. The first two excerpts are from conversations between Michael "Mick" Andreas, Vice-Chairman of ADM, and Mark Whitacre, President of the Bioproducts Division. The third excerpt includes those two, plus Terrance "Terry" Wilson, president of the Corn Processing Division of ADM.
Despite the offensive nature of these excerpts, the decision to make them available here was, in the end, an easy one. The passages remove any doubt that women continue to face challenges of sexism in the workplace. It is my hope that this documentation of those continuing challenges will re-invigorate the effort to end such sexism.
As the author wrote to me:
I can honestly say that these recordings are far more disturbing than the infamous Texaco Tapes, which documented discrimination against minorities at the oil company -- and I say that as the reporter who revealed the existence of the Texaco recordings to the world.
When the existence of the Texaco tapes was revealed, Texaco quickly settled on a discrimination lawsuit which had been languishing in the courts for almost two years. While there is no such ongoing sex-discrimination suit pending against ADM, I hope that the material in this book will, at the very least, help spark a national dialogue about the causes of, and cures for, such persistent and mindless sexism.
I know that many blame the pervasive "objectification of women" in our popular culture for the persistence of sexism such as that exhibited by these executives. In movies, billboards and magazines across the U.S., women are portrayed as sex objects, they say. Why then, are we surprised when women are viewed as sex objects? I have to agree that the pervasiveness of such images in our culture plays a part in perpetuating this sexism. But ultimately, I think the responsibility lies with the men who refuse to recognize or value contributions by women at work, in academia, and in society. Those contributions are not invisible. The men who do not see them, choose not to see them.
Karen
About the Book
I started reading this book shortly after dinner one night, and remained glued to it for about eight hours, aside from breaks for necessary caffeine intake and outgo. About 3:00 A.M., I discovered that I couldn't read with my eyes closed, so I went to bed and finished reading it the next day. The Informant reads like a good spy novel, with well paced, clean writing, and enough plot twists to defy any sense of predictability - despite the fact that the outcome is generally known.
While this book offers evidence of high-level sexism at ADM, it also provides insight into the political power of international corporations, and the near-total lack of accountability that such power confers. Included too, is an accounting of the damage to ordinary citizens - damage that often gets ignored when political powers collide in high-stakes confrontations.
Author Chat |
Author Kurt Eichenwald is a senior writer for the New York Times who has written about white collar crime and corporate corruption for over a decade. He has twice been awarded the prestigious George Polk award for excellence in journalism, and was a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize.
More about The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald
Dateline NBC
The 9/10/00 Dateline NBC report detailing the story, including interviews with Kurt Eichenwald, Mark Whitacre and his wife Ginger, and FBI agent Robert Herndon.
The Informant: A True Story
The Random House website includes background information, including an additional excerpt, clips from the audio and video tapes from the FBI investigation and a link to purchase from the Random House online catalog.
"Pat 'Em Down For Wires"
An excerpt from the book detailing some of the price-fixing evidence taped during the investigation. Exclusive to Forbes Magazine.
More about the ADM case:
ADM Price Fixing: Who's Next?
Transcript of the October 15th, 1996 report on the PBS Newshour of the settlement by ADM, and its plans to help the Department of Justice with other price-fixing investigations.
Sentencing in the ADM Price Gouging Case
A July 21, 1999 report by the Agribusiness Examiner about the sentencing of ADM executives. Federal Judge Blanche Manning called the executives "wonderful family men," citing letters vouching for the men by political luminaries such as former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young and Robert S. Strauss, former U.S. ambassador to Russia. Both are ADM directors and friends of Andreas's father.
More about sex discrimination:
Discrimination
Index of information about gender discrimination available on this site, organized by topic. Includes sexual harassment, affirmative action, pay equity, laws, court cases and more.
Gender Bias
Information about gender bias in U.S. institutions, media and culture, and its effect on women in America.