Diversity

In our gender diversity challenge one of the findings was that men feel blamed. Many men feel they have been tarred with the same wire brush courtesy of the feminist movement and that women lump them together in one pile.   This puts men automatically on the defensive. Every time they hear the words “male dominated” … Read More

When it comes to this challenge – men perceive reverse discrimination – men say: I see some job ads and just think that men need not apply;  I think the best candidate should get the job, not the best woman candidate but that doesn’t seem to be the way the world works these days.  I saw a woman … Read More

One of our findings from our research surrounding gender diversity is that men fear being accused of harassment.  Men say:  I won’t even go to lunch with a woman anymore;  Do I ask her out for dinner when we are working late? No way!  I am even worried when I am alone in a lift with … Read More

In our latest series on gender diversity and male allies challenges, we found that men feel confused in the workplace when to interacting with women. Men say:  I wish I knew the ground rules with women; do I call you women? Ladies? Girls? Guys?  Do I pull out the chair for a woman or don’t … Read More

One of our first findings coming out of our gender diversity challenge was that men feel they have to be careful in the workplace. It’s difficult to get men to talk about what it feels like to work with women. When I ask the men about their challenges, many close up – “There are no problems”, they say.   Men … Read More

Why don’t all of our gender diversity efforts work?  This is a question I am commonly asked. My short response is this:  We need to simplify. Focus on less and focus on things that are really important. That means: have the courage to take a big red pen to many of your ‘diversity’ activities which are nice, but don’t cut to … Read More