Much of the gender-balance movement has focused on fitting women into a traditional masculine culture and structure. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, famously encouraged women to ‘lean in’, and companies often encourage women to attend leadership training to learn to lead more like men.
Julia Muir, Author of Change the Game
“Fixing women to fit in better is not the solution” according to Julia Muir, author of Change the Game; the Leader’s Route Map to a Winning Gender-balanced Business and founder of the Automotive 30% Club, an inclusive leadership network of 45 automotive CEOs and MDs. “Those who are in positions of power, predominantly white men, have to take action to be more inclusive and fix the organization to remove the practices that result in the exclusion of women. Women don’t need leadership training any more than men do; they are as effective, but many will tend to lead differently and not conform to the traits we’ve historically associated with male leadership.”
Muir asserts that it’s impossible to build a winning gender-balanced business without including men. “It won’t happen unless men realize they need to do their bit to make sure that both they and the other half of the gender equation can thrive.”
The Important Role Of The Male Ally
Muir suggests that some men don’t think that gender-balance is anything to do with them because they see it as a women’s issue, and she outlines the important role of the male ally. “Some men forget that they are the other half of the gender balance, and they are one of the types of diverse people we are talking about. An ally recognizes that they have a role to play in inclusion and is supportive of women and wants to help ensure inequities are eradicated. Allies understand that it’s of benefit to them to understand the issues women face if they are to be an effective leader of inclusive teams. They adopt new practices to ensure women are not excluded, and they ‘nudge’ other men into realizing that achieving gender balance is everyone’s job.”
Reward Inclusive Behaviors
Muir highlights that male leaders are important role models to other men, so need to set a good example and recognize inclusive behaviors while calling out incivility. “Men need to ensure micro-aggressions are called out and hostile workplace cultures are not tolerated. We’re still at a point where men will take more notice if other men are calling it out than if women are, particularly if the men are more senior. Leaders signal what behaviors are acceptable, and can nurture respectful behaviors by rewarding action they want to champion. Inclusive leaders are values driven and expect high performance standards, and show zero tolerance of the destructive forces of sexism, racism and homophobia in their businesses.”
She adds: “It’s important to remember that many men have been brought up to view empathy with women as a sign of weakness. ‘Laddish banter’ promotes attitudes that see women as a strange species, subjects them to sexual objectification and often subordinates them. Feminists can be depicted as jealous man haters who want to subordinate men. So when men publicly support gender balance, they’re standing against this. This takes courage due to the likely reactions from other less secure and well-informed men. This is why it’s important that men at the top who others respect become advocates and praise other men for being male allies rather than leaving it to the women to do so.”
Consciously Sponsor Women
She recommends that male leaders should sponsor women, and says formal mentoring programs can help develop inclusive leadership. “A sponsor uses their influence and networks to connect subordinates to high-profile assignments, people, pay increases and promotion, and is usually a senior leader whose opinion and judgement others respect. Women are usually over-mentored but under-sponsored compared to men, and so leaders must consciously ensure they are sponsoring both sexes. A mentoring program that brings together the genders actually benefits both participants. A male mentor of a female mentee, or a female mentor of a male mentee can help to broaden each other’s perspectives and help them both to be inclusive leaders.”
Don’t Leave It To The Women
She warns leaders not to expect women to lead the gender-balance programs. “Many are reluctant for fear of being seen as doing it for personal gain. Also, women’s networks will never achieve their goals if they are only talking to each other and the men in the positions of power can’t hear them or don’t want to listen to their suggestions.”
Muir’s goal is to convince leaders that building a gender-balanced inclusive business is not only the right thing to do for their business, customers and employees, but is also the right thing for them and for society.
“Perpetuating the status quo in your organization and missing out on the benefits that an inclusive culture brings is not a wise thing to do. Doing nothing to change it is not really an option. With power comes responsibility to act. Leading an inclusive organization requires you to lead by example and inspire others to change their individual behaviour and group norms. This is truly game changing, and will transform your business and wider society for the better, and could achieve an amazingly positive impact, leaving a personal legacy for generations to come.”
