The day before: The commitment to gender equality - a smokescreen?
There is a lot of talk, on occasion, about drawing a veil these days. To divert attention from what is really going on and has real significance. To hide inconvenient facts with various pronouncements.
Tomorrow is March 8th and International Women's Day, which has been on the UN's list of holidays since 1978 and is an opportunity to draw attention to gender inequality and the situation of women worldwide. Many will do just that tomorrow. Many will also take the opportunity to share and highlight their personal, corporate and organizational commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion. Thank you.
Successful implementation of change - in any area - requires commitment to the issue from senior management. This is confirmed in the report Visionen om jämställdhet (Julia Larsdotter and Matilda Nehlmark 2016), a case study of which employees participate in gender equality work in some of the companies that have participated in the Womentor change program. The authors conclude that a CEO and management that show direction are essential for effective gender equality work. What they also note is that this does not go very far in itself.
Those responsible for implementing the gender equality plans and delivering on the targets are middle managers, and this is where the chain often breaks down. Middle managers often lack a clear vision from above, and in most cases lack the knowledge and incentives to implement the plans, which they tend to interpret as recommendations rather than business goals. They simply do not really know why or how to pursue gender equality, which the report's authors argue may explain why the gender balance in the industry has remained largely unchanged despite a recent surge in commitment to gender equality.
The Women in the Workplace report (McKinsey&Company and Lean In) shows the same: more than 75% of the CEOs of 130 selected companies say they include gender equality in their top ten business priorities, but the gender balance in the largest companies is not changing.
Before you dismiss the American study based on just that - that it is American and we are so much better here in Sweden - do a little test print on your own company using four questions based on the conclusions of the report:
- Do your employees (or you) seriously believe that your gender equality plan will do the job?
- Are gender equality goals reflected in everyday actions at work?
- Do employees in your workplace openly notice when they encounter behavior or language that is sexist or based on prejudices about how men/women are?
- Are operational managers supported in implementing the gender equality plan? Incentives? Are managers rewarded and recognized for achieving or approaching gender equality goals?
Can you honestly answer yes to all of them? Congratulations, it seems that your company takes gender equality seriously!
Is the answer no to any of the questions? Congratulations, you have now identified something concrete to work on to show that your company takes gender equality seriously!
I don't think that most of the commitment to gender equality that we'll hear about tomorrow is a smokescreen in the true sense - much of it is probably genuine. But for this commitment to lead to real change, we need more than what most people have done and said so far. It requires those of us who have not yet arrived to follow the companies that have shown the way by daring to look a little closer and dig a little deeper into our own organizations, our culture, our actions. And not least in what we reward in practice, because it is the same as what we really prioritize.
It will be a little difficult and a little hard, but just do it. Get into the fog now - and clear it!