Academic literature on the topic 'Self-discovery in women'

Alice Walker was an American writer whose novels, short stories, and poems are noted for their insightful treatment of African American culture. Her novels, most notably The Color Purple (1982), are focused on the struggles of black people, particularly women, and their lives in a racist, sexist, and violent society. Walker’s Pulitzer prize and American Book award-winning novel, The Color Purple, marks the apex of her career. It gained international prominence, as the writer did herself. Her novels, short stories, poetry and essays are all about a search for truth. The Color Purple is unique in its pre-occupation with spiritual survival and with exploring the oppressions, insanities and triumphs of black women.

This article studies the relationship between women and nature by analyzing nature as a possible means for women’s self-discovery in Margaret Atwood’s novel Surfacing, having as a theoretical reference notions of contemporary ecofeminist literary theory.

This paper, qualitative in nature, aims to explore the experience of solo woman travellers who were selected in solo travel challenge of Swo-Yatra. For the study purpose, 15 solo female travellers among 50 have been studied in terms of diverse identities, destinations and challenges they faced during their solo trips. There are several difficulties within the gender stereotypes in the Nepalese social structure. Women have not stopped travelling solo; rather, more solo women travellers are participating in the challenge. Despite various limitations, the fragments of their experiences are worthwhile to initiate the narratives of self-discovery and inner freedom of women in Nepal.

This qualitative research identifies Foucault's idea of panoptical surveillance (1995) based on Jeremy Bentham's ideal prison in The Story of a Widow by Musharraf Ali Farooqi. Research draws parallel between 'panopticon' and societal surveillance which is in the form of traditions, norms, male gaze and resistance strategies and traces behaviour of characters in response to surveillance. The character of novel's protagonist – Mona is particularly analyzed through panoptic lens of theory. This study traces notion of “ideology” and “interpellation” from Althusser's essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” (1971) in order to depict struggle of Mona against ideological surveillance. Social ideologies form identity of individuals and thrust their power and subjection on Mona who in turn fights for creating her own identity. The research endeavours to explore struggle of women in finding 'Self' under societal surveillance and ideologies which hail people as 'subjects'. It also aims to study whether it is possible for a woman to attain self-satisfaction by rebelling against prevailing societal notions which act as hurdle in practicing their rights or not. This research will further help to discover dynamics of power and authority for both genders and shall establish humanistic approach of gender equality. It will aid in inculcating the notion that societal surveillance should be beneficial for growth of all individuals rather than restricting the autonomy of some (women) in society which leads to social unrest.

East Wind West Wind registers the coming of age of Chinese women as seen with Western eyes. Buck’s novel deals with the clash of two ideologies: the Chinese tradition, which assigned a specific and very limited role to women in society and promoted submission, and the Western world, which is epitomized in multiple ways in the story. The image of 1920s American society as a liberating force is perceived in the relationship with the husband and the daughter-in-law representing alterity and sorority at the same time. Buck makes her political allegiance to the West explicit and East Wind West Wind showcases how the Western world helps the protagonist to know herself better and to accept herself.

The objective of this paper is to mirror the feminine quest for freedom, self-discovery, identity, revelation and the declaration of equal status along with their male counterparts in society. Hence, it does not justify the male domination which tries to establish a right to impose their will upon the fellow-creature. Feminism is a theory that investigates the various aspects of culture which are inherently patriarchal and the unequal treatment meted out to the women in the established sections of society. Isabel Allende’s Daughter of Fortune points out the various aspects of feminism through the portrayal of the hostile atmosphere where the women strive for their eternal quest for freedom and self-identity. The paper also intends to analyze and explain the transition of a young girl into a powerful woman figure which is indicative of the inner strength and power of the living spirit which is inherited in each woman. Eliza acts as a representative who stands against the constricting forces of patriarchy. This points out the ability of the woman to come out of their cocoons to explore the world. It asserts the value of every woman’s self-identity. The paper analyses how the “quest” of Eliza turns out to be the quest of the woman folk for genuine freedom and self-identity.

Abstract In her latest novel Willow Trees Don’t Weep(2014), the writer Fadia Faqir decided to go against the grain as a Muslim woman coming from the Middle East but lives in Britain and write about jihad, terrorism and Taliban. In this novel, the author negotiates meanings of secularism, fundamentalism, jihad, fathering, women and wars. The novel’s protagonist, Najwa is torn between her mother’s secularism and her father’s religious fundamentalism. In her homeland, Amman, Najwa is different from many other girls of Amman because she does not wear the headscarf that represents hijab, a religious garment, in many Muslim countries. However, when she travels to Afghanistan to trace her father, Najwa meets women wearing the burqaa, a head-to-toe veil. This might be an unexpected re-consideration of this garment as a symbol of freedom because she met veiled women who are self-determined and emancipated from within. Therefore, this article sets out to explore how the novel’s protagonist re-considers the veil, home and self-discovery.

This paper is a close reading of Raja Alem’s 2005 novel, Fatma: A Novel of Arabia. I argue that Alem depicts the erotic in ways similar to Audre Lorde’s definition – as a doorway to self-fulfillment and in honor of the “fullness” of the erotic’s depth of feelings. The Saudi Arabian writer employs the fantastic, which has been used by writers to express feminist politics, to give textual embodiment to the relationship between the erotic, self-actualization, and women’s empowerment, central to which is self-knowledge and self-discovery. Alem suggests that a deeper knowledge of the self can open women to unlimited possibilities of being and perception, including a closer relationship to the natural and the supernatural worlds. Alem thus presents a female mythology that creates an alternate reality and undermines the binaries of patriarchal thinking, such as the corporeal/transcendent, the human/nonhuman, man/woman, and nature/culture.

Having been defined as an ‘incomplete man’ or an ‘incidental being’ that lacks certain qualities, women have gradually internalized the patriarchal ideology, claiming that they are essentially insufficient. Considering themselves as the insignificant ‘Other’ in relation to men, women are full of self-loathing and shame over their bodies. Thus, always seeking men’s approval, women drown out the inner voice of their bodies and resort to being ‘the body for others’. However, for Woolf, it is a self- destruction not a salvation. She claims women have to get rid of those docile bodies and disembodied minds to be able to take control of their own lives cleared from all the social constraints, society constructed gender roles and patriarchal demands. For Woolf, this is only possible when women assert themselves through their bodies, thereby realizing a new sense of being inside themselves that is powerful and autonomous ready to actualize its potential. Therefore, basing its argument on those assertions of Virginia Woolf and one of her most influential novels, To the Lighthouse, this study puts forward women’s body image largely influenced by phallocentric world and its typical patriarchal system can be challenged and subverted through the ‘visionary body’ that enables women to achieve the unique process of self-discovery and wholeness.

Having been defined as an ‘incomplete man’ or an ‘incidental being’ that lacks certain qualities, women have gradually internalized the patriarchal ideology, claiming that they are essentially insufficient. Considering themselves as the insignificant ‘Other’ in relation to men, women are full of self-loathing and shame over their bodies. Thus, always seeking men’s approval, women drown out the inner voice of their bodies and resort to being ‘the body for others’. However, for Woolf, it is a self- destruction not a salvation. She claims women have to get rid of those docile bodies and disembodied minds to be able to take control of their own lives cleared from all the social constraints, society constructed gender roles and patriarchal demands. For Woolf, this is only possible when women assert themselves through their bodies, thereby realizing a new sense of being inside themselves that is powerful and autonomous ready to actualize its potential. Therefore, basing its argument on those assertions of Virginia Woolf and one of her most influential novels, To the Lighthouse, this study puts forward women’s body image largely influenced by phallocentric world and its typical patriarchal system can be challenged and subverted through the ‘visionary body’ that enables women to achieve the unique process of self-discovery and wholeness.

This project is a translation of ideas I have encountered in my journey through Women's Studies. With this interactive book, I offer a concise, understandable, and empowering method for self-discovery from one feminist's perspective. Traditional self-help materials often set the reader up as the one with the issue or problem and they rarely call out the functioning systems of oppression as a stumbling block or offer ways to circumvent them. With this project, I hope to shine light on the functioning systems of gender discrimination, racism, classism, and heterosexism, and to provide a framework for understanding. There are three main theoretical contexts for this project. The first context includes perspectives on language and the ways in which language limits women's communication with themselves and with each other. .The second is gender socialization and how it enforces norms of "appropriate" female behavior. The third context is recent work in feminist spirituality and the possibilities it offers for recovering a spiritual self in direct relationship to a higher being. By narrating my own experiences in these three areas, and by offering resources and tools for further exploration, I hope this thesis will enable readers to understand that it is not they who are sick or in need of "self-help" but the society and culture in which they live.

This PhD submission constitutes a novel and accompanying critical commentary. My novel Nobody Killed Her provides an alternative history of the assassination of Pakistan's only female Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. The thesis questions the choices I made in order to develop the writing of this novel and the decisions I took in order for it to reach its readers. I discuss the issues of creative integrity and the role of the publisher as an enabler, and as a modern day censor. I examine the role of literary influences and publishing pressures on the multi-layered and shifting strains of the creative process and explore fiction as a powerful tool for communicating the paradoxical state of modern Pakistani women, which my novel draws upon. Accordingly, my research narrative is interspersed with personal vignettes that helped shape my writing. Reflecting upon the role of memory, history and politics, and literary influences that shape our writing, I try to interrogate the ‘flash-bulb’ moments of inspiration and argue that creative writing is actually a series of complex thought processes that shape our consciousness. I have also, during the compilation of this essay, looked critically at the role of the publisher in shaping an author’s creativity and the author’s desire for publication in influencing his or her creative choices. I have examined the role of the audience, by asking who the writer is writing for, concluding that the creative journey is more important than the destination i.e., the culmination of the writing into a published form. I conclude by contending that creative writing is above all communication, not just with the reader but also with one’s self. It is about self- expression and therefore must remain true to the self.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-200). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This essay argues that The Awakening treats the 1890s “modern woman” that arose from feminist ideas and the women’s movement, challenging patriarchal society with an independent lifestyle. Following Ringe, this essay suggests that the novel has a purpose of showing the process and the development of the protagonist’s individual self. But rather than connect this theme to the transcendentalist notion of the self, as Ringe does, this essay looks at this theme in the light of the notion of the “modern woman”. By arguing that Edna develops into a modern woman during this process, the essay finds that she moves from the traditional position as a “patriarchal woman” towards the role of an “emancipated woman”. Further, the essay shows that Edna’s development and thereby her attempt to change her position fails as the process of self-discovery is conflicted, resulting in Edna’s suicide. Finally, by also arguing that the novel treats a woman’s self and the process of a development, the essay visualizes that the novel is built-up by seven steps that together constitute the process from “patriarchal woman” to “emancipated woman”. This process awakens a self-awareness and self-image within Edna that are strengthened with each of these step as she becomes a “modern woman”.
Denna uppsats argumenterar för att The Awakening skildrar 1890-talets “moderna kvinna” som uppstod från feministiska idéer samt kvinnorörelsen och utmanade det patriarkaliska samhället med en självständig livsstil. Då jag följer Ringe påvisar den här uppsatsen att romanen har ett syfte att visa processen och utvecklingen av huvudpersonens individuella jag. Men istället för att koppla detta till den transcendentalistiska uppfattningen av jaget som Ringe gör, så kopplar denna uppsats detta till begreppet den “moderna kvinnan”. Genom att argumentera för att Edna utvecklas till en modern kvinna under denna process finner uppsatsen att hon flyttar från den traditionella rollen som en “patriarkalisk kvinna” mot rollen som en “emanciperad kvinna”. Uppsatsen visar vidare att Ednas utveckling och således hennes försök att ändra sin roll misslyckas då självupptäcktsprocessen står under konflikt, vilket resulterar i att Edna tar självmord. Genom att också argumentera för att romanen skildrar en kvinnas jag och processen av en utveckling visar slutligen uppsatsen att romanen är uppbyggd av sju olika steg som tillsammans utgör processen från ”patriarkalisk kvinna” till ”emanciperad kvinna”. Denna process väcker en självmedvetenhet samt en självbild inom Edna som förstärks med varje steg medan hon blir en “modern kvinna”.

碩士
淡江大學
英文學系碩士班
103
This thesis aims to examine Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, and investigate female characters’ development of self-discovery as related to diverse experiences. This thesis is divided into three chapters. In Chapter One, “Awareness of Self: Identity, Recognition, Difference,” I explore the development of awareness of self in the growing experiences. The growing awareness of self is related to three concepts about self—identity, difference and recognition. I elaborate two types of formations of identity. In the first stage, they learn to locate their identity by “root formation.” In the second and third stage, they locate their identity by “route formation.” In Chapter Two, “Searching for Female Social Space,” I investigate the female characters’ quest for social growth by analyzing their different experiences of social space. I analyze how and why some female characters’ social space is fixed and stable, while others overcome social restriction and extend their social space. In Chapter Three, “Practices of Ideas of Self: Experiences of Gaze and Diaspora,” I analyze the female characters’ practices of ideas of self and how the practices are related to the experiences of gaze and diaspora. In discussing the experiences of gaze, I analyze how they respond to other people’s expectations and how such expectations influence their practices of ideas of self. In discussing the experiences of diaspora, I focus on the female characters’ challenges and difficulties in adapting to the immigrant country.

This study aims at building dialogue among culturally diverse groups by examining people's perceptions of social reality through the application of projective techniques. In this study the projective techniques consist of a set of original pictures drawn by the author based on participants' accounts of their living situations. The set of pictures combined with the process of inquiry applied in this study comprise the FotoDialogo Method. This study conforms to the following objectives: (1) developing and testing an original model of inquiry and education which promotes dialogue and self-discovery; (2) fostering dialogue skills and reflective thinking among disadvantaged Latino women; (3) promoting effective intergroup communication between health and human service providers and their client population; and (4) developing guidelines for the production of research and training materials that encourage effective intergroup communication, and empowerment of traditionally disadvantaged groups. The research methodology is grounded in qualitative and participatory research principles. The research design stems from Paulo Freire's Thematic Investigation Model, and Henry Murray's Thematic Apperception Test. This study was carried out within a community-based organization serving the Latino population in Massachusetts. The author took a leadership role in all phases of the study, as moderator of the Latina Women's Dialog Group (LWDG), and of a series of FotoDialogo Workshops addressed to health and human service providers. The LWDG sessions were conducted entirely in Spanish—the participants' native language—and recorded by audio tape. These sessions were later transcribed and translated by the author. Throughout this study pseudonyms for actual persons are used to protect participants identities and to maintain confidentiality. Accounts are based on actual interviews, and transcriptions of dialogue sessions. The results of this study revealed that the FotoDialogo Method can be a powerful strategy for Latinas to break silence about their particular experiences of oppression. The LWDG participants began a process of self-discovery which enabled them to analyze and value their experiences, and to fully participate in their community's social change. The FotoDialogo Workshops were also effective in raising awareness among practitioners regarding intercultural communication, and in reflecting upon the sociocultural context in which the Latino community is immersed.

How are women rewriting myth as metaphors that fit the modern realities and circumstances of their lives? How and to what extent might sharing these stories in niche communities reinforce empowered ways of being in public life? This descriptive study follows the heroic journeys of self-discovery as experienced by three professionally successful women. Having found resonance with characters from popular stories that addressed inner questions of “who I might be in the world” and through participating as fans in niche online fandom communities, the women discovered self-empowerment, were able to act as models for and guides to others of the niche community, and were empowered to act with agency in their everyday lives and careers. Additionally, the women developed skills of writing and insights of storytelling; the stories they created re-ordered interpretations of how the world might be for future women.

Michelle Mayorga's story is one of drive, self-determination, and unwavering tenacity. Becoming interested in politics while in high school, Mayorga decided then that she wanted a career in that field and began her quest to achieve that goal. During her college years, she made a discovery when she became active in local politics-there were few, if any, people involved in that world who looked like her. It was that realization that motivated her and changed the course of her life. Michelle Mayorga has spent more than two decades since that time creating a noteworthy career in political strategy and research, while encouraging, training, and mentoring young people of color to follow their aspirations to create their own careers in politics.

This chapter discusses the dilemma faced by black female visual and performance artists Faith Ringgold, Barbara Jones-Hogu, Dindga McCannon and Ntozake Shange – at the height of the Black Arts movement. It is questioned that if the goal of the Black Arts movement was to reclaim and redefine what it was to be black in America - was it propagated at the expense of black women's mental, physical, and emotional health? The chapter chronicles the efforts of each of these black women artists to use their works of art to center their authentic lived experiences collectively and individually as a vehicle for critical thought and critique, policy change, and inclusion. Lastly, writer Erin Kendrick, discusses how the contributions of these black women artists created an opportunity for both self-discovery and self-preservation in her own contemporary body of work.

This chapter presents the nontraditional path taken by its author, the 2001 Catherine Prelinger Award recipient, as she completed her PhD. Summarized in the phrase, “From Mormon Wife to Feminist Life,” the essay integrates self-discovery with dissertation research on working women during the revolutionary 1871 Paris Commune, which introduced her to André Léo’s statement, used in the title. Discovering women’s history and the scholarship of mentors such as the lesbian feminist theorist Monique Wittig and the historian Rachel G. Fuchs encouraged persistence and an avid dedication to teaching. The essay outlines her continuing research on subjects who defied limits traditionally placed on women and girls, including the athlete and educator Ina E. Gittings (1885-1966).

This chapter presents a critical study of female writing practices in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in contrasting cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and educational levels. It studies 10 personal narratives by Arab and American women responding to the global coronavirus crisis in writing. The authors' responses vary and their narratives of crisis, whether short stories, personal essays, or testimonies, represent the heterogeneity of each woman's life experience. The study examines women's gendered reactions in these narratives as presenting a new kind of subjectivity that women adopt to respond to life crises, to overcome pain, to express emotions, to create meaning, and to build communications and coalitions. Writing becomes an instrumental voice for these women to self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. By adopting a transnational literary feminist theoretical approach as well as a sociolinguistic one, the study explores a complex relationship between crisis, gender, and writing that reveals how female subjects use the narrative form in times of crisis.

This chapter focuses on the impact of a culturally relevant course centering the experiences of Black women attending a Historically White Institution (HWI). This chapter will provide an overview of the course creation, implementation, and positive implications of a gender-specific course steeped in the African Diaspora. Using Black feminist thought, the authors examine how Black female students experience community, self-discovery, and academic success. The chapter highlights student voices and discusses the lasting impact of the case design on the students and collegiate community. In addition, the co-creators share the impact of the course on their own well-being and its larger impact on the collegiate campus.

This chapter gives an analysis of reproduction and the role of new technologies in creating and recreating contemporary families. It takes into account both Martin Heidegger's depiction of society as an alienating force and Jan Patocka's emphasis on the social foundations necessary for individuals to engage in “caring” for their “souls.” The chapter reflects on what the role of the family might be in providing possibilities for self-discovery or “self-realization.” Specifically, it examines how to reconcile the rise of new European family lifestyles with a strongly patriarchal culture that emphasizes women as pre-eminently talented in taking care of children and questions what the drawbacks are for men if the family cannot function as a site where they too can find a higher purpose in life. The chapter also considers the pressures and possibilities of creating identities that do not accede to the demands of twenty-first century capitalism.

Attention to safety and health are of ever-increasing priority to industrial organizations. Good Safety is demanded by stockholders, employees, and the community while increasing injury costs provide additional motivation for safety and health excellence. Safety has always been a strong corporate value of DuPont and a vital part of its culture. As a result, DuPont has become a benchmark in safety and health performance. Since 1990, DuPont has re-engineered itself to meet global competition and address future vision. In the new re-engineered organizational structures, DuPont has also had to re-engineer its safety management systems. A special Discovery Team was chartered by DuPont senior management to determine the “best practices’ for safety and health being used in DuPont best-performing sites. A summary of the findings is presented, and five of the practices are discussed. Excellence in safety and health management is more important today than ever. Public awareness, federal and state regulations, and enlightened management have resulted in a widespread conviction that all employees have the right to work in an environment that will not adversely affect their safety and health. In DuPont, we believe that excellence in safety and health is necessary to achieve global competitiveness, maintain employee loyalty, and be an accepted member of the communities in which we make, handle, use, and transport products. Safety can also be the “catalyst” to achieving excellence in other important business parameters. The organizational and communication skills developed by management, individuals, and teams in safety can be directly applied to other company initiatives. As we look into the 21st Century, we must also recognize that new organizational structures (flatter with empowered teams) will require new safety management techniques and systems in order to maintain continuous improvement in safety performance. Injury costs, which have risen dramatically in the past twenty years, provide another incentive for safety and health excellence. Shown in the Figure 1, injury costs have increased even after correcting for inflation. Many companies have found these costs to be an “invisible drain” on earnings and profitability. In some organizations, significant initiatives have been launched to better manage the workers’ compensation systems. We have found that the ultimate solution is to prevent injuries and incidents before they occur. A globally-respected company, DuPont is regarded as a well-managed, extremely ethical firm that is the benchmark in industrial safety performance. Like many other companies, DuPont has re-engineered itself and downsized its operations since 1985. Through these changes, we have maintained dedication to our principles and developed new techniques to manage in these organizational environments. As a diversified company, our operations involve chemical process facilities, production line operations, field activities, and sales and distribution of materials. Our customer base is almost entirely industrial and yet we still maintain a high level of consumer awareness and positive perception. The DuPont concern for safety dates back to the early 1800s and the first days of the company. In 1802 E.I. DuPont, a Frenchman, began manufacturing quality grade explosives to fill America’s growing need to build roads, clear fields, increase mining output, and protect its recently won independence. Because explosives production is such a hazardous industry, DuPont recognized and accepted the need for an effective safety effort. The building walls of the first powder mill near Wilmington, Delaware, were built three stones thick on three sides. The back remained open to the Brandywine River to direct any explosive forces away from other buildings and employees. To set the safety example, DuPont also built his home and the homes of his managers next to the powder yard. An effective safety program was a necessity. It represented the first defense against instant corporate liquidation. Safety needs more than a well-designed plant, however. In 1811, work rules were posted in the mill to guide employee work habits. Though not nearly as sophisticated as the safety standards of today, they did introduce an important basic concept — that safety must be a line management responsibility. Later, DuPont introduced an employee health program and hired a company doctor. An early step taken in 1912 was the keeping of safety statistics, approximately 60 years before the federal requirement to do so. We had a visible measure of our safety performance and were determined that we were going to improve it. When the nation entered World War I, the DuPont Company supplied 40 percent of the explosives used by the Allied Forces, more than 1.5 billion pounds. To accomplish this task, over 30,000 new employees were hired and trained to build and operate many plants. Among these facilities was the largest smokeless powder plant the world had ever seen. The new plant was producing granulated powder in a record 116 days after ground breaking. The trends on the safety performance chart reflect the problems that a large new work force can pose until the employees fully accept the company’s safety philosophy. The first arrow reflects the World War I scale-up, and the second arrow represents rapid diversification into new businesses during the 1920s. These instances of significant deterioration in safety performance reinforced DuPont’s commitment to reduce the unsafe acts that were causing 96 percent of our injuries. Only 4 percent of injuries result from unsafe conditions or equipment — the remainder result from the unsafe acts of people. This is an important concept if we are to focus our attention on reducing injuries and incidents within the work environment. World War II brought on a similar set of demands. The story was similar to World War I but the numbers were even more astonishing: one billion dollars in capital expenditures, 54 new plants, 75,000 additional employees, and 4.5 billion pounds of explosives produced — 20 percent of the volume used by the Allied Forces. Yet, the performance during the war years showed no significant deviation from the pre-war years. In 1941, the DuPont Company was 10 times safer than all industry and 9 times safer than the Chemical Industry. Management and the line organization were finally working as they should to control the real causes of injuries. Today, DuPont is about 50 times safer than US industrial safety performance averages. Comparing performance to other industries, it is interesting to note that seemingly “hazard-free” industries seem to have extraordinarily high injury rates. This is because, as DuPont has found out, performance is a function of injury prevention and safety management systems, not hazard exposure. Our success in safety results from a sound safety management philosophy. Each of the 125 DuPont facilities is responsible for its own safety program, progress, and performance. However, management at each of these facilities approaches safety from the same fundamental and sound philosophy. This philosophy can be expressed in eleven straightforward principles. The first principle is that all injuries can be prevented. That statement may seem a bit optimistic. In fact, we believe that this is a realistic goal and not just a theoretical objective. Our safety performance proves that the objective is achievable. We have plants with over 2,000 employees that have operated for over 10 years without a lost time injury. As injuries and incidents are investigated, we can always identify actions that could have prevented that incident. If we manage safety in a proactive — rather than reactive — manner, we will eliminate injuries by reducing the acts and conditions that cause them. The second principle is that management, which includes all levels through first-line supervisors, is responsible and accountable for preventing injuries. Only when senior management exerts sustained and consistent leadership in establishing safety goals, demanding accountability for safety performance and providing the necessary resources, can a safety program be effective in an industrial environment. The third principle states that, while recognizing management responsibility, it takes the combined energy of the entire organization to reach sustained, continuous improvement in safety and health performance. Creating an environment in which employees feel ownership for the safety effort and make significant contributions is an essential task for management, and one that needs deliberate and ongoing attention. The fourth principle is a corollary to the first principle that all injuries are preventable. It holds that all operating exposures that may result in injuries or illnesses can be controlled. No matter what the exposure, an effective safeguard can be provided. It is preferable, of course, to eliminate sources of danger, but when this is not reasonable or practical, supervision must specify measures such as special training, safety devices, and protective clothing. Our fifth safety principle states that safety is a condition of employment. Conscientious assumption of safety responsibility is required from all employees from their first day on the job. Each employee must be convinced that he or she has a responsibility for working safely. The sixth safety principle: Employees must be trained to work safely. We have found that an awareness for safety does not come naturally and that people have to be trained to work safely. With effective training programs to teach, motivate, and sustain safety knowledge, all injuries and illnesses can be eliminated. Our seventh principle holds that management must audit performance on the workplace to assess safety program success. Comprehensive inspections of both facilities and programs not only confirm their effectiveness in achieving the desired performance, but also detect specific problems and help to identify weaknesses in the safety effort. The Company’s eighth principle states that all deficiencies must be corrected promptly. Without prompt action, risk of injuries will increase and, even more important, the credibility of management’s safety efforts will suffer. Our ninth principle is a statement that off-the-job safety is an important part of the overall safety effort. We do not expect nor want employees to “turn safety on” as they come to work and “turn it off” when they go home. The company safety culture truly becomes of the individual employee’s way of thinking. The tenth principle recognizes that it’s good business to prevent injuries. Injuries cost money. However, hidden or indirect costs usually exceed the direct cost. Our last principle is the most important. Safety must be integrated as core business and personal value. There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve learned from almost 200 years of experience that 96 percent of safety incidents are directly caused by the action of people, not by faulty equipment or inadequate safety standards. But conversely, it is our people who provide the solutions to our safety problems. They are the one essential ingredient in the recipe for a safe workplace. Intelligent, trained, and motivated employees are any company’s greatest resource. Our success in safety depends upon the men and women in our plants following procedures, participating actively in training, and identifying and alerting each other and management to potential hazards. By demonstrating a real concern for each employee, management helps establish a mutual respect, and the foundation is laid for a solid safety program. This, of course, is also the foundation for good employee relations. An important lesson learned in DuPont is that the majority of injuries are caused by unsafe acts and at-risk behaviors rather than unsafe equipment or conditions. In fact, in several DuPont studies it was estimated that 96 percent of injuries are caused by unsafe acts. This was particularly revealing when considering safety audits — if audits were only focused on conditions, at best we could only prevent four percent of our injuries. By establishing management systems for safety auditing that focus on people, including audit training, techniques, and plans, all incidents are preventable. Of course, employee contribution and involvement in auditing leads to sustainability through stakeholdership in the system. Management safety audits help to make manage the “behavioral balance.” Every job and task performed at a site can do be done at-risk or safely. The essence of a good safety system ensures that safe behavior is the accepted norm amongst employees, and that it is the expected and respected way of doing things. Shifting employees norms contributes mightily to changing culture. The management safety audit provides a way to quantify these norms. DuPont safety performance has continued to improve since we began keeping records in 1911 until about 1990. In the 1990–1994 time frame, performance deteriorated as shown in the chart that follows: This increase in injuries caused great concern to senior DuPont management as well as employees. It occurred while the corporation was undergoing changes in organization. In order to sustain our technological, competitive, and business leadership positions, DuPont began re-engineering itself beginning in about 1990. New streamlined organizational structures and collaborative work processes eliminated many positions and levels of management and supervision. The total employment of the company was reduced about 25 percent during these four years. In our traditional hierarchical organization structures, every level of supervision and management knew exactly what they were expected to do with safety, and all had important roles. As many of these levels were eliminated, new systems needed to be identified for these new organizations. In early 1995, Edgar S. Woolard, DuPont Chairman, chartered a Corporate Discovery Team to look for processes that will put DuPont on a consistent path toward a goal of zero injuries and occupational illnesses. The cross-functional team used a mode of “discovery through learning” from as many DuPont employees and sites around the world. The Discovery Team fostered the rapid sharing and leveraging of “best practices” and innovative approaches being pursued at DuPont’s plants, field sites, laboratories, and office locations. In short, the team examined the company’s current state, described the future state, identified barriers between the two, and recommended key ways to overcome these barriers. After reporting back to executive management in April, 1995, the Discovery Team was realigned to help organizations implement their recommendations. The Discovery Team reconfirmed key values in DuPont — in short, that all injuries, incidents, and occupational illnesses are preventable and that safety is a source of competitive advantage. As such, the steps taken to improve safety performance also improve overall competitiveness. Senior management made this belief clear: “We will strengthen our business by making safety excellence an integral part of all business activities.” One of the key findings of the Discovery Team was the identification of the best practices used within the company, which are listed below: ▪ Felt Leadership – Management Commitment ▪ Business Integration ▪ Responsibility and Accountability ▪ Individual/Team Involvement and Influence ▪ Contractor Safety ▪ Metrics and Measurements ▪ Communications ▪ Rewards and Recognition ▪ Caring Interdependent Culture; Team-Based Work Process and Systems ▪ Performance Standards and Operating Discipline ▪ Training/Capability ▪ Technology ▪ Safety and Health Resources ▪ Management and Team Audits ▪ Deviation Investigation ▪ Risk Management and Emergency Response ▪ Process Safety ▪ Off-the-Job Safety and Health Education Attention to each of these best practices is essential to achieve sustained improvements in safety and health. The Discovery Implementation in conjunction with DuPont Safety and Environmental Management Services has developed a Safety Self-Assessment around these systems. In this presentation, we will discuss a few of these practices and learn what they mean. Paper published with permission.