Author:  Eleanor Sogialofa
The Alliance would like to support the thoughts and visions of our youth.  Eleanor Sogialofa supports our media team, and she provides a voice for the youth.  Each month Eleanor will write a piece based on her perspective.  As we look to develop change agents we are proud to support her writings. 


What is 20/60/20?
Most work places have 20/60/20 staffing. 20 % of those staff members are visionaries. They carry the vision and mission of the work place and aid in pushing everything forward. 60% of those staff members are maintenance. They come in, get the work done; they’re on time, do the best that they can nothing more and nothing less. The last 20% of those members are resistors. This 20% are in the resistance phase, where they challenge why you are doing things a certain way and makes sure that everybody knows that they are not happy at the workplace.

Why is it important to know?
It is an important fact to know because you get a general idea of people you work with. As management and leadership it is how you set the tone around putting your efforts in challenging your employees to grow. The 60 and 20 percent is where your energy lies most because you mentor and coach them. That’s 80% of your staff that are there to show up and collect a paycheck. That is a conflict because their work is not genuine, they can cause conflict amongst other coworkers, and they can be careless to certain duties in the workplace.

Who does it affect?
It is great for both management and staff. This visual will help Management and leadership find ways to help that 80 % grow and see what can be done to help them (the staff). This will also help the staff in a way that will reveal to them as they self reflect if there is something that can be done. It gives the stat stuff under the 80% to see what makes them feel the way they do at work, why does work make them feel that way and what are some solutions that can help resolve this conflict.

 For the past few years the Alliance Team has invested in an exercise “My One Word” from a book by Mike Ashcroft & Rachel Olson.  The two authors focus on the power and beauty in words, and how they help to create movement. Words help us to focus and expand our horizons, and place in our minds a world of possibilities.  This year one of our staff chose the word “unravel”.  The intersections of oppression, domestic violence and sexual assault requires a lot of unraveling.  In our ASTA (Awareness, Sharing, Training, Action) bimonthly sessions we focused on “Unraveling Oppression”.

                The funding provided to the Alliance dictates our workplans to educate, promote awareness and build capacity for our member organizations, and partners regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.  Discussions center on power and control. The Duluth Model of power and control provides the framework which includes tactics used by perpetrators to control victims.  Feminists who work in areas of domestic violence and sexual assault believe the foundation of power and control stems from oppression.   Oppression comes in many forms, with sexism being one of the most well-known form.

                Sexism is a system of power in which men have power in society over women.  For physical and sexual violence men will use their power to isolate victims.  They will control who they see, where she goes, and limits any outside connections.  Abusers will use intimidation, making the victim feel afraid through looks, actions, smashing things, or destroying her property.  Male privilege, where the victim is made to feel like a servant, and he acts like the “master of the castle”.   Abusers will define men’s and women’s roles to keep the victim under control. 

                The most prevalent and unnoticed cultural impact on the lives of women is the treatment they receive by society because they are female.  In Samoa we have a patriarchal society, where men hold power in matai settings, church settings, and system of government.  It is important that we understand how our cultural messages influence the lens in which we see the world.  In our ASTA what we unraveled is our cultural foundations, the “Fa’aSamoa”, religion, and government, are tangled with the oppression, and violence. 

                There is much to be unraveled as we look to define our stories (i.e. where a woman is unable to take care of herself and requires a man to be sole provider, and authority in the home.  In the coming months we will share our discussions on gender roles, and its intersections with violence. We invite you to learn from our sharing.