Our Separate Ways Prologue & Introduction - Reading Guide #1

Prologue & Introduction:

• Provides context for why Edmondson Bell and Nkomo began the study that led to the book
• Outlines the structure of the book: Part I: "Flashbacks" - meet the womy in the study; Part II: "Flashpoints" - organizes the professional histories of the womyn; Part III: "The Self and The Other" - looks at the way womyn of color and white womyn views themselves and others
• Explains methodology of the project, including: recruitment and selection of interview participants, interview participant criteria, and interview process.
• Gives overview of startling statistics regarding womyn in the "C-Suite" - citing for instance that "32 percent [of ] the CEOs could not name one black woman in a leadership position in the United States." (Edmondson Bell and Nkomo, p. 3)
• On page 5 of the Prologue, Edmondson Bell and Nkomo outline the broad spectrum of possible readers for Our Separate Ways
• On page 15, the authors outline the theoretical framework - the principles and ideas they accept and that ground their work

To Consider:

• Edmondson Bell and Nkomo open Our Separate Ways with the poem "Word Problems," from Kate Rushin, how does this poem reflect the (dis)connection between womyn of color and white womyn in the workplace?
• How would you identify yourself as a reader, according to Edmondson Bell and Nkomo's list of possible readers on page 5?
• Are you represented on page 5? Whom else might you suggest could benefit from reading Our Separate Ways?
• Why are the acknowledgements which begin the book important to understanding the two chapters that follow?
• Review the 6 questions on page 19 - what questions resonate with you? What question might you add and why?
• "Colleagues wonder whether gender connects women across racial lines, or whether race determines commonality." As we prepare for our dialogue, what are your thoughts on this statement? (Edmondson Bell and Nkomo, p. 5)