Glass Ceiling, Glass Cliffs, and a Shard of Glass to the chest: Women in Leadership

On the recent firing of Pillar Non-Profit CEO/President Mojdeh Cox.

Pillar NonProfit has been a staple in the London Ontario ecosystem and is known for its leadership, stability and progressive values. Innovation Works, Pillars’ social enterprise co-working space, is a space for community building, networking and finding collaborators and co-conspirators for people in the London community.

So when Pillar’s former ED, Michelle Baldwin, stepped away from her leadership role to pursue something new, the community buzzed with who would take over, build on Michelle’s legacy and help Pillar evolve in a way only a new ED with a fresh perspective could do.

After all, the stakes were high as the wrong choice for leader could make Pillar stagnant and stuck in the past, while the right choice would help evolve the organization and make it more prepared to meet and operate in our new normal.

In my opinion, the organization Michelle Baldwin left behind, could not be the organization that continued. This isn’t a slight against Baldwin, but rather a reflection of the changes we’ve all experienced over the last couple of years. We have a new global awareness of systemic inequities that the pandemic gave us, including an understanding of the deeply embedded systemic racism (specifically anti-Black racism) that exists in our systems (which came to light after the murder of George Floyd).

As a former employee and volunteer of Pillar Nonprofit, I was nervous for my former colleagues and friends - I knew how important a new leader in this role would be and understood how critical the right fit was to make Pillar grow in the best ways. After all, the stakes were high as the wrong choice for leader could make Pillar stagnant and stuck in the past, while the right choice would help evolve the organization and make it more prepared to meet and operate in our new normal.

for women of colour in senior leadership roles, advancing has historically required us to minimize all the brilliant and unique things that make us different.

So, when Mojdeh Cox was brought in as ED (her title later changing to President/CEO), I was cautiously optimistic. I’d only heard the most incredible things about Cox, and I was excited to see her start in the role. A woman of colour in the highest leadership role at Pillar could be exactly what the organization needed, and a way to ensure that Pillar adapted to the times.

I say cautiously optimistic because the thing is, for women of colour in senior leadership roles, advancing has historically required us to minimize all the brilliant and unique things that make us different, such as our ethnicity, in order to get that promotion.

Don’t worry, this isn’t in the job application, this requirement is much more covert in nature. The more “white” you act, the more likely you’ll advance. This unofficial requirement for consistent code-switching in the workplace (is exhausting and) can result in these brilliant and talented women of colour being afraid to take risks, challenge the status quo, and show up fully when finally in significant leadership roles with decision-making power.

So even though Mojdeh had become the first WOC in this major leadership role at Pillar Nonprofit, I remember feeling just a little nervous that it wouldn’t be everything I hoped it would be.

In our limited interactions, I always left feeling inspired. Mojdeh was proof that it was possible to show up fully and be in a prominent leadership role - something that meant a lot to me as a young professional woman of colour.

To my delight, it would turn out those nerves was not necessary. Mojdeh takes up space fully, leads with compassion and believes in radical accountability. I’ll admit, I don’t know her very well, but I’ve yet to come across someone that has a negative thing to say about her (- well, except apparently the Pillar Nonprofit Board of Directors).

In our limited interactions, I always left feeling inspired. Mojdeh was proof that it was possible to show up fully and be in a prominent leadership role - something that meant a lot to me as a young professional woman of colour.

When I probed my former colleagues about their new leader, they were quick to sing her praises. I’ve heard rumblings of Mojdeh wanting to ensure the staff are paid competitive rates, that she wanted to ensure there weren’t ageist salaries in play and even talks of offering health insurance to staff members (!!!). The people at Pillar do important work, and it warmed my heart to see that these discussions were being had. In addition, everything Mojdeh did seemed to really center diversity, inclusion and equity. She championed all of these beliefs from the most senior role in the organization, meaning the organization would be required to really walk the talk and practise their values in an ongoing nature.

So when I heard rumblings from friends that something was going on at Pillar, I genuinely didn’t think it would turn out to be that Mojdeh walked into a board meeting, was fired and then escorted out. I was even more surprised to receive a mass email from the board chair, after the news spread, announcing that she would no longer be in her role and that they “wished her well in her future endeavours”. Um…what? The email is written like it has Mojdeh’s choice, but we know she was fired.

It looks like the Pillar Nonprofit Board fired the first woman of colour in the most senior leadership role. It looks like they wanted a woman of colour for the melanin in her skin so that Pillar is afforded her diversity clout, but wanted a leader that was willing to codeswitch and minimize her full self.

So the board should own it. If the board made a decision to dismiss a qualified woman from her role, own that you fired her. Tell us what happened, engage with your community and explain why she’s no longer in her role or fit to lead. Don’t act like this was Mojdeh’s choice unless it was.

In not doing so, in not planning for a comms strategy the board has failed both the community and Pillar staff (who are now left in the position of knowing very little, having to clean up the board's mess, and do it all while under a strict gag order).

I almost hope the decision the board made to fire Mojdeh was reasonable and not rash and biased, for Pillar, the staff and the communities sake. Regardless the board has failed the community and staff in its lacklustre attempt at comms, making me wonder how Pillar will recover from this.

The reality is, even if (and that is a big if) the board had the most valid, non-racially charged, reason for firing Mojdeh, the Board of Directors has failed at their responsibility to protect Pillars's reputation.

I hope the board takes a page from Mojdeh’s book, and try their hand at radical accountability because the community and staff deserve it.

Because it looks like the Pillar Nonprofit Board fired the first woman of colour in the most senior leadership role.

It looks like they wanted a woman of colour for the melanin in her skin so that Pillar is afforded her diversity clout, but wanted a leader that was willing to codeswitch and minimize her full self - someone who looks different but acts the same. I can tell you, from being in that position before, it is a harmful space to be forced into, that doesn’t allow for your best work to come through.

I hope the board takes a page from Mojdeh’s book, and try their hand at radical accountability because the community and staff deserve it. As the board looks to choose a replacement for Mojdeh, I hope they either hire someone as brave and bold as Mojdeh is, that’s willing to bring Pillar into the world it says it wants to be in.

Alternatively, Pillar’s board could change its vision and mission to reflect that it’s an org operating in 2022 with a 1998 mindset, because at least then it would be honest.

Worth Noting:

Pillar is a membership organization, so if you are a Pillar member you can call for a meeting. Members have rights! Here is a link to membership by-laws.

ARTICLE 4 – MEETINGS OF THE MEMBERS 4.1 General Meeting The Board may at any time call a general meeting of the Members for the transaction of any business, the general nature of which is set out in the notice calling the meeting. A general meeting of Members may also be called at the request, in writing, of twenty-five percent (25%) of the Members.

Based on current Pillar Membership, you need 96 members to agree, in order to call a meeting.

5.4 Removal of Directors

The Members may, by resolution passed by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast at a general meeting of which notice specifying the intention to pass the resolution has been given, remove any Director before the expiration of his or her term of office and may, by a majority of the votes cast at that meeting, elect any person in the place of the person so removed for the remainder of the term of the removed Director. If any Director is removed pursuant to this Section 5.4, such Director shall concurrently immediately cease to be a Member.