A Sinking Ship - Coordinator SHE-CAN Employee Review

SHE-CAN is a highly dysfunctional org, and that is put lightly and coming from an employee who left on my own accord and on good terms (something that is uncommon for this organization). There are many issues with SHE-CAN that range from simply unprofessional to incredibly harmful and problematic. First, it’s important to mention that new-hires to SHE-CAN are usually individuals who are desperate in their job search and willing to accept the role despite its severe lack of benefits while overlooking notable red flags. I was among these people. Along with this, while I worked there, the entire staff consisted of cis white women, and historically this has proven consistent. It was rarely mentioned that perhaps this group of women don’t have the lived experiences or even studied knowledge to be making decisions on the behalf of young women of color from very diverse backgrounds. The structure. Young women, labeled “scholars,” are recruited from various countries and awarded a scholarship to a US college as well as a team of “mentors” - theoretically high achieving individuals (usually women) meant to guide the scholars in their college and career journey. This structure is riddled with conflict of interest. Mentors are also donors by design and many of the mentors are friends of the Executive Director. Because of this, decisions are often made in the best interest of the mentors instead of the scholars, and often to the harm of the scholars. There is also a common theme and complaint among mentors that their scholars “are not grateful enough” and demand that staff correct this, which often happens. This is not what mentorship is. Not only that, but mentors often treat staff poorly with incredible disrespect that is rarely corrected by leadership. There are far too many instances to count of the Executive Director and mentors acting in a racist manner and being racist directly towards the scholars. The most recent example: There are scholars from Liberia, Cambodia, and Guatemala but the ED is only requiring the Liberian scholars to take an “etiquette class” which includes dining etiquette because she believes them to be too “loud and rude.” Also, she consistently pressures the scholars into shortening their names because she believes them to be too long “and since they’re in America now, they need to make them shorter for people to say.” This is not empowering at all, and is intolerant and ignorant at the least. The organization is a women-empowerment org at first glance, but when hired, one quickly learns that it is a neocolonial project. The scholars receive their scholarship with the unenforceable requirement that they sign a pledge promising that after graduating college they return to their home countries to “be changemakers” and improve the country. They are given little guidance on this and no monetary assistance at all to do so. Scholars in anonymous surveys have expressed that they feel immense pressure in this regard which manifests in unhealthy feelings of guilt. If scholars do not keep their pledge, those involved in SHE-CAN are required and instructed to cut off all contact with the scholar and provide no further assistance. This is abusive manipulation. Along with that, SHE-CAN does not even have any research that supports the claim that by getting a Western/American education, these young women will be able to most successfully improve their countries. In fact, SHE-CAN has not published an annual report since 2021, and the reports that ARE published are flimsy and weak, providing no real supporting evidence that any of this work is accomplishing what it claims to. The org severely lacks credibility and transparency. I always told myself that at the end of the day that these women got a free education, and that's what kept me going for the time I was there. However, it’s actually a lie that all of these scholars receive a free education. Some scholars attend colleges that tax their scholarship, which SHE-CAN does not have a fund for and makes the scholar pay. This tax is up to 30% of the scholarship -- often thousands of dollars that these young women all of a sudden become responsible for paying, without any choice in the matter, as SHE-CAN assigns the scholars the universities they apply to. With all of this, the Executive Director of SHE-CAN, Barabara Bylenga, is incredibly unprofessional and volatile. She openly states that she does not value coordinator level roles due to the high turnover rate they hold, despite these roles doing a disproportionate amount of work for what they're paid, and ignoring entirely WHY the turnover rate is high. She makes no effort whatsoever to retain employees. Barbara has violated HIPPA countless times -- she very often discloses employees' private medical information to others, even telling a prospective hire in an interview about another employee’s very serious health condition. Along with this, she is constantly asking about employee whereabouts when they are out of office, and guilts and shames employees for taking sick time or vacation time. She has even been known to ask employees if other employees are “on her period.” Besides the low salaries, lack of health insurance or retirement matching, no commuter benefit despite being in an un-ideal location, etc, the main reason for turnover has often been the Executive Director. If she does not personally like an employee, she will create a hostile and volatile work environment to try to intimidate them into quitting, which often works. Wrongful termination is not out of the question, as it has happened. She also is the main reason meaningful DEI measures are not implemented, because she is incapable of taking constructive criticisms, and from my perspective, does not believe in, appreciate, or understand DEI initiatives. On top of all of that, there is no HR department or individual who employees can go to with concerns -- this behavior is completely unchecked