Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide

Women are often more overlooked for leadership opportunities, promotions, and essential resources than men. How women are viewed and treated by society is partly to blame for these inequities. The book, Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide explores how institutions, child-rearing practices, and implicit assumptions discourage women from asking for the opportunities and resources that they have earned and deserve—perpetuating inequalities that are fundamentally unfair and economically unsound.

In this presentation and discussion, WSU alumna, Davi Kallman will delve into how institutions unintentionally suppress women from asking for opportunities and how we can, and why we should change the narrative. Group discussions will be used to understand what women and allies are already doing at WSU to encourage the equal treatment of women across the WSU system.

Davi Kallman, PhD

Director of Access Services, Tacoma Community College

Bio:
Dr. Davi Kallman is the Director of Access Services at Tacoma Community College (TCC). Previously, she worked as Assistant Director, Access Advisor, and Awareness Coordinator for the Washington State University (WSU) Access Center. While at WSU, she used disability awareness programming to help normalize disability across the WSU system.

She received her Ph.D. in Health Communication from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at WSU and her master’s in communication theory from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Kallman uses media literacy and other media-based interventions to break down prejudices and stereotypes in institutional settings. As the incoming Program Director of Access Services at Tacoma Community College (TCC), she applies her research on disability in higher education to help students get the accommodations they need and deserve.

Kallman, who is herself dyslexic, does not hesitate to challenge the status quo. She established the Disabled Student Services Task Force through the Student Government Association at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) to increase awareness of the needs of students with both obvious and “hidden” disabilities and was the driving force behind the creation of the Appreciation of Diverse Dispositions (ADD) a student-driven disability advocacy organization focused on providing scholarships for university students with disabilities.

She is relocating to Tacoma, Washington with her husband Kyle and their four cats, Mozzy, PomPom, Ash, and Leeloo.