For International Women’s Day, Let’s Invite Men In Too

Advancing women through workplace inclusion has never been a zero-sum game. In fact, gender partnership is critical to closing workplace gender gaps. It’s the paradigm-shifting approach this moment requires.??

But what does gender partnership even mean, and how do we shift our approach to ensure men aren’t left out of the conversation; blamed for any systemic inequity; or hailed as the needed heroes and helpers to “save” women at work? ?

Alix Pollack , Head of Knowledge Transformation Catalyst Inc. , along with our research and products teams have been studying this for the better part of a decade. And here’s what we’ve discovered: men are struggling too, and they want to be part of the solution.?

1. ?When men feel social pressure, including at work, to follow masculine expectations and behave in a specific way to be successful, 69% experience a lack of well-being in the workplace.??
2. The overwhelming majority of men want to take action for gender equity in the workplace, but only 31% feel confident in doing so.??
3. The overwhelming majority of men — 97% — want to close gender gaps at work, according to forthcoming Catalyst research.?

This data is showing us that the current reality isn't working for anyone.??

Yes, across industries in the United States, men make up >70% of senior leadership roles and they still hold most leadership positions globally. Because they are the most powerful stakeholder group in most large corporations, they play a pivotal role in accelerating progress toward a more inclusive, fair workplace.? ?

Building workplaces that work for women and for everyone takes all of us. And it benefits all of us. ?

Gender partnership is the path forward. What does that look like in practice? It’s when men and women work together to achieve collective cultural change, taking responsibility for advancing inclusion. It works first and foremost through listening and dialogue with one another across gender to learn about other perspectives and understand barriers we are all experiencing.?

At Catalyst, we’ve seen this come to life through our MARC (now known as Mutual Accountability, Real Change) program. The impact of these dialogues and greater understanding across gender lines then ripple into action across organizations. In fact, 96% of organizations make progress on workplace inclusion when men are involved, compared to only 30% when men are not involved.? ?

We know that everyone benefits from a fairer, more inclusive workplace — and world. Gender partnership makes that possible.?