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Thursday, June 29, 2006
If she were a he, maybe Pinder would be A-OK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maybe it wasn’t The Hug.
Maybe it’s none of the reasons being bandied about. Or perhaps it’s all of them and then some.
On June 12, the Gwinnett County Public Library Board of Trustees fired Jo Ann Pinder, the library chief, in a very public, humiliating way. They exercised their right to can her “without cause,” then used a parliamentary procedure to keep the sole board member who supported the librarian from speaking. How cunning and lily-livered.
There’s got to be some explanation for showing Pinder the door. It could be any number of things, from legit reasons tied to a lapse in job performance to farcical ones fueled by personalities. Too bad Chairman Lloyd Breck and board members Phyllis Oxendine, Dale Todd and Margaret Tiller lack the fortitude to give us, much less Pinder, an explanation.
Mum’s the operative word.
Since it is, I’d like to offer an explanation that makes as much sense as anything else I’ve heard regarding an issue more suited for making headlines in DeKalb than Gwinnett.
Four days before Pinder was let go, the library board drafted a letter that outlined concerns with the way she handles relationships and people in general. They said she was rude to public officials, disrespectful to library board members and “heavy handed” with employees.
Then there’s the issue of The Hug, or lack thereof.
It seems that Todd, the library board member, was offended during a May 15 budget workshop in which Pinder, before a roomful of people, refused a hug she extended. Pinder said she had suffered a back injury.
None of this sounds like firing offenses, especially for someone who has brought library operations into the 21st century.
It’s understandable when an employer evaluates an employee’s substandard performance, and makes an ultimatum: Clean up your act or else. Then, the employer sets a specific time for a turnaround.
So, let’s play what-if. What if Pinder were a man?
Imagine that Mr. Pinder, our acclaimed librarian, is brash, bold, bull-headed, short of wit and acid-tongued. He doesn’t like giving or receiving hugs, back injury or not. Don’t even think about it.
Mr. Pinder has had some missteps.
Last year, he recommended that the board sell off its collection of DVDs, audio CDs and videotapes because theft-prevention measures might prove too costly. But after the board reversed the decision, he apologized for not doing a better job of alerting the public before pulling the collection from shelves.
Then in March, Mr. Pinder apologized to the board and two home school moms who said he yelled at them during a dispute over public records.
Firing offenses? Hardly.
Which brings me to my point: Maybe gender figures into Pinder’s fate just as strongly as personality conflicts, management style and debates regarding the library’s mission. Would a man with a similar record, coupled with the same type of demeanor, be fired without cause? Or would he be tapped on the wrist and lauded for being a bullish but exceptionally qualified supervisor?
I think it’s highly plausible that if Pinder were a man, the outcome would have been different. It’s just a suggestion, one that’s a lot more palatable and reasonable than the unacceptable silence emanating from the library board.
Let me know what you think.
