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The WAY FORWARD: Engaging menThe gender gap in leadership that is so commonin many organizations 1 represents a significantmissed opportunity for business. While in manyparts of the world women hold more than 50percent of professional and managerial jobs, theirrepresentation in corporate leadership falls farbelow 50 percent. 2 These trends tell us that women,a highly skilled source of leadership talent, arebeing overlooked to the detriment of business. Inthe face of intense, global competition for talent,the companies that can tap the best talent—bothwomen and men—will have an advantage overthose that continue to rely on only men to fill toppositions.The notion that women are good for business isone that more and more companies are acting on. 3Yet despite their best efforts to tap women, manyorganizations have fallen short of their goals. Evenamong those companies that have implementedslews of programs to attract, develop, andretain women employees, gender gaps in hiring,promotion, and retention rates often persist—withmen faring better than women on all counts.Why have so many programs missed the mark?One reason is that too many gender initiativesfocus solely on changing women—from the waythey network to the way they lead. Another reasonis that too many organizations look to women aloneto change the organizational practices that maintainthe status quo. As we have seen in recent decades,this approach has had limited success. <strong>Catalyst</strong>’sannual Censuses of the Fortune 500 show thatthe gender mix at the highest corporate ranks haschanged very little in recent years. 4To accelerate change, we need to stop treatinggender as if it were just a woman’s burden. Iforganizations want to minimize gender disparities,they need to enable women and men to makebehavioral changes. And perhaps most important,organizations must enlist both women and men towork together as allies in changing the organizationalnorms and structures that perpetuate gendergaps.Regrettably, in their exclusive focus on women,rather than engaging men, many companieshave unwittingly alienated them, inadvertentlyjeopardizing the success of their gender initiatives. 5Without the avid support of men, who are arguablythe most powerful stakeholder group in most largecorporations, significant progress toward endinggender disparities is unlikely. 6Engaging men is crucial to moving forward. Butjust what are the best ways to reach men? Basedon in-depth interviews and surveys of senior malemanagers in business, this study begins to explorethis question, providing insights about:• The experiences and beliefs that help increasemen’s awareness of gender bias and its costsin the workplace.• The motivations that lead men to championgender initiatives in the workplace.• The barriers that limit men’s support forinitiatives to promote gender equality.• Specific techniques and practices to enlistmen’s support for closing workplace gendergaps.2 | Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives
UNDERSTANDING Masculine norms“Take it like a man.” “Be a man about it.” Thesecommon expressions all point to the fact that inmany societies, men’s identities are largely definedby whether they follow a strict code of conduct 7referred to by psychologists as “masculinenorms.” 8 Since much of the discourse on genderhas focused on women’s experiences, relativelylittle attention has been paid either to definingmasculine norms or their impact in the workplace. 9This imbalance is regrettable, because how mennegotiate masculine norms is a key determinantof whether they support or resist efforts to closegender gaps in the workplace.Below are four common masculine norms that areemphasized to varying degrees in different NorthAmerican and Western European cultures. 101. “Avoid all things feminine.” Perhapsthe cardinal tenet of masculinity, thisrule mandates that men should never beseen or acknowledge conforming to anyfeminine norms. 11 If a man is judged ashaving acted in ways that are consistentwith any or all norms prescribed forwomen—that is, feminine norms 12 —hewill often experience criticism, ridicule,and rejection, and his status as a man maybe called into question. 13 This “policing”often occurs within male peer groupsbeginning at an early age and continuesinto adulthood. 14 Pejorative terms, suchas “sissy,” “wimp,” and “whipped” areregularly used to label males who arejudged as acting “feminine” and areoften an effective deterrent against futureviolations of the norm of avoiding thefeminine. 152. “Be a winner.” This principle concerns theattainment of status and thereby definesas manly any activity that increases men’swealth, social prestige, and power overothers. 16 Men gain the approval of otherswhen they make their careers a priorityand pursue occupational fields such ascorporate management and politics,which offer opportunities to increase theirsocial and economic status. Men whopursue fields that offer fewer opportunitiesfor such status enhancement are far lesslikely be admired, especially if those fieldsare judged to be better suited to women.This norm contributes to and reinforcescommon gender-segregation patterns inlabor markets all over the world where menare consistently over-represented in thejobs that command the highest salariesand greatest decision-making power. 173. “Show no chinks in the armor.” Menshould be tough in both body and in spirit.Physical toughness means never shrinkingfrom the threat of physical harm; whiledisplaying emotional toughness requiresthat men conceal such emotions as fear,sadness, nervousness, and uncertainty. 18Outward displays of anger, confidence,or stoicism are considered to be far moresocially acceptable for men. Notably,in many business settings, showingemotional toughness is often seen as akey leadership attribute. 194. “Be a man’s man.” Also known as being“one of the boys,” this rule of masculinitycalls for men to win the respect andadmiration of other men and to appear toenjoy a special sense of camaraderie withmale peers. Being a man’s man meansvisibly complying with all masculinenorms. Additionally, with few exceptions,a man’s man is required to demonstratethat he prefers the company of men overthe company of women. He must alsoparticipate in stereotypically masculineactivities or pastimes (which dependingon the culture may include watchingsports, drinking beer, or attending men’sclubs). These activities not only serve asWhat Change Agents Need To Know | 3
Page 1 and 2: UNDERSTANDINGMASCULINENORMSinitiati
Page 3 and 4: Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives:
Page 5 and 6: Table of ContentsAbout This Series
Page 7: About this seriesEngaging Men in Ge
Page 11 and 12: HOW MEN COME TO RECOGNIZEGENDER BIA
Page 13 and 14: When I applied to [my company] for
Page 15 and 16: how men express Their awareness of
Page 17 and 18: One Factor Predicts Being aChampion
Page 19 and 20: A CHAMPIONFOR GENDER INCLUSIONRONAL
Page 21 and 22: Even though we and almost all corpo
Page 23 and 24: REcommendationsStrategies To motiva
Page 25 and 26: CATALYST VIEWPOINTWhy AB Volvo’s
Page 27 and 28: Fighting ApathyStudy interviewees,
Page 29 and 30: Discussion Starters for MenSend a s
Page 31 and 32: the study. The study description wa
Page 33 and 34: Interview Participants: PersonalDem
Page 35 and 36: Survey Participants: PersonalDemogr
Page 37 and 38: Endnotes1 International Labour Offi
Page 39 and 40: of gender bias. We then conducted a
Page 41 and 42: What Change Agents Need To Know | 3
Page 43 and 44: ChairJames S. TurleyChairman & CEOE

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