ENgAgiNg MEN iN gENdEr iNiTiATivEs - Catalyst

“Fighting FearFears about losing status, fears about makingmistakes, and fears about other men’s disapprovalcan keep men from supporting gender initiatives.Interviewees suggested the following strategies forreducing these fears.Discourage zero-sum thinking. According tosome interviewees, men’s fears about losing statusstem from the perception that gains for womenwill necessarily mean losses for all men, includingloss of privilege and being passed over for jobs.Often, rather than discouraging this type of zerosumthinking, companies inadvertently encourageit, thereby exacerbating men’s fears. One practicethat likely has this unintended impact is the widedisplay and dissemination of diversity representationmetrics and goals. Research suggests that themere act of viewing evidence that the share ofjobs held by women in their organizations hasspiked could increase men’s tendency to viewtheir employers’ diversity initiatives from a zerosumperspective. 70 To avoid such consequences,I remember the first time someone suggested to me that work around gender was something mencould do. It came as quite a surprise, like, "What?!" I'd always thought that was simply the domainof women, and perhaps I've been even defensive. But once it became clear that, no, this is in factsomething that I can do and that I'm welcomed in doing, that was very helpful.”—South African Manorganizations might reconsider how widely suchmetrics should be disseminated. Organizations canconsider alternative ways to signal commitment andprogress, including a clearly stated policy regardinggender equality as well as regular status reportsabout related activities and initiatives.Invite men in. Providing men with opportunities todiscuss issues of gender in men-only groups mayreduce men’s concerns about making mistakesor being judged as sexist. In addition, someinterviewees suggested that it was important fororganizations and women to take more deliberatesteps to include men in gender-related initiatives orevents. Catalyst’s experience suggests that in manyorganizations it is mostly women who participatein and lead such activities. This pattern mayreinforce the view that men are judged by womenand their organizations as part of the problem.By encouraging broader male participation ininitiatives and programs to promote gender equality,organizations and individual women can signal thatmen are viewed as having a role in changing theworkplace.Expose men to male role models. We also learnedfrom interviewees that some men are reluctant totake a stand against gender bias because theyfear that they will elicit the disapproval of othermen. Interviewees advised that a powerful way toalleviate this fear is to expose men to respectedmale role models who are championing genderequality and challenging the status quo. AB Volvo’sMeeting Men with Power session does just this,providing men with opportunities to see respectedand powerful male executives at AB Volvo whodare to challenge the traditional roles women andmen play in the workplace. This sort of exposureto courageous role models provides men withimportant reassurance that they will not lose faceand be judged less manly for taking a stand againstgender bias.Fighting IgnoranceSome interviewees judged that men often have anunfounded belief that they are uneducated aboutissues of gender—by virtue of being male—whichcan inhibit their willingness to participate in effortsto remove gender disparities in the workplace. 71Our findings also indicate that real ignorance orlack of awareness of gender bias was linked to alower personal commitment among men to endinggender disparities. Whether men’s ignorance isreal or imagined, providing them with learningopportunities such as those being offered by ABVolvo both within men-only groups and with womencan help to boost men’s confidence and commandregarding gender issues in the workplace. Suchlearning opportunities can increase men’s inclinationto take an active role in initiatives to eliminate genderdisparities in the workplace.22 | Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives