ENgAgiNg MEN iN gENdEr iNiTiATivEs - Catalyst

As illustrated by the quotations below, beingchallenged by women mentors to think criticallyabout gender was pivotal to awareness-raising forsome men.When I was working for [company X], I hadsome real strong, real assertive females...in my organization, in my direct team. I hadquite tough times with them. We were goodfriends...It was all very well-intentioned, butthey were honest with me….about my issues…about my behavior….[They were] really good...role models…..[There’s another] person….She’s excellent. She’s very good in this wholespace of [diversity and inclusion] and behavior.She’s...a mentor.—Dutch ManI have role models of very strong women….I’vebeen lucky in my life in terms of the womenwho have taught me how to treat women....The women that I’ve been exposed to are reallyquite extraordinary people in terms of how theyperform.— U.S. Man[I] was involved in political struggles here [in theUnited States] often in conjunction with womenand…workplace situations with women….Iwas part of a newspaper collective here wheremidway through the first Gulf War the womenkicked us out and said, “We’re kind of sickof working with a group of men who are notsharing decision-making, who are reinforcingall sorts of traditional gender norms”….I thinkthat gave me a sense of…the microdynamicsof power within small groups, within workplacesettings, between men and women.—South African ManStrong Sense of Fair PlayA strong senseof fair playis linked toHigher awarenessof gender biasMen with a strong sense of fair play were morelikely than those without this mindset to be awareof gender bias. 44 What exactly does it mean to havea strong sense of fair play? Survey respondentswho had a strong sense of fair play held widerangingconcerns about inequality in the manner inwhich resources are shared in society. For example,compared to men without this mindset, they weremore troubled by the fact that some people live inextreme poverty while others do not, and they weremore likely to admit that they felt burdened by thelack of fairness in the world.CATALYST VIEWPOINTOne can think of a sense of fair play as aperspective or lens that predisposes someindividuals to be more highly attuned torecognizing issues of fairness than others.Therefore, we would expect men with this fairnesslens in place to be more prone than men withoutthis perspective to perceive inequities of all kinds,including those based on gender. In the sectioncalled One Factor Predicts Being a Champion, wedescribe men’s sense of fair play in further detailand provide more evidence of just how important itis to men’s support for gender initiatives.8 | Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives