How Men Can Foster Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Work Environment

Men as Allies for Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Men as Allies for Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Although over fifty percent of the world's population constitutes women, few resources are available. There is a continuous case of fewer women occupying leadership positions in private and public organisations, which has been regarded as social exclusion. Nevertheless, this situation can be reversed if companies adopt strategies that foster equality and gender inclusivity. Gender-oriented leadership practice further reinforces enlisting men as allies to achieve an inclusive workplace. 

A focus group survey of 57 LAC companies found that almost 50% of men believe male employees should join hands and be part of women's struggle for gender equity. However, the question remains: what kind of struggle are we discussing?

Gender also played a role in creating such inequalities, and if we look at the situation in the region, gender inequities persist. The report "Equality Needs Everyone: The Role of Men in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion," prepared by the Author's institution, highlights that 72% answered "sometimes," "frequently," or "always" of women face issues in career development whereas respondedered "never" or "don't know."

Some of these gaps cover a lot of areas. Some are so-called traditional gaps like many construction-related or agribusiness firms refusing to employ women for male-dominated jobs. Others are linked to the small number of women pursuing STEM education.

Some of these gaps are even newer in history and have to do with pandemics. For instance, men's and women's life experiences have been entirely dissimilar in the COVID-19 lockdown periods. 96.7% of the 239 participants in the study state that in a telework setup, women are the ones who do the majority of domestic responsibilities, like caring for children, elders, or sick family members, which may be stressful.

Regarding perceptions of teleworking, only 3.3% of total respondents responded that men and women face similar circumstances. The figures are pretty revealing as numerous participants associate some statistical sense of perfection with the perception of each gender. Instead, it puts some particular burden on the male gender and the concrete measures that every employee performs regularly at the place of work.

The narrative around the gender gap reduction and women's participation at work is relatively straightforward. More women's proportions in the workforce, especially at the higher ranks, have been noted to improve the overall results and make an organisation more appealing to current employees willing to support and attract new talents. What hasn't been so evident, at least till now, is the business case of having men as allies in equity strategies.

The removal of discriminatory actions in the workplace enables men to establish affirmative and respectful connections with women and fellow men and, at the same time, foster a culture that improves integration and reduces the positional mentality.

To extinguish such behaviours, men are obliged to take on the responsibilities of the business. Since there are men in charge of executive positions in most organisations, several corporate activities need to be done (including dismantling barriers, equal pay, integration of women-owned firms into the value chain, using them as suppliers or clients, and so on) beneficial fruits if the male population was involved in the process a lot more.

The importance of bringing attention to male privilege and power needs no emphasis in the corporate world, considering their power in the leadership structures. Aside from these, educating themselves on those benefits will help them assume new roles and roles that are gender inclusive and eliminate the segregation and exclusion created by the equity of the workforce through business initiatives.

Only then can such men allow themselves to reflect on their implicit prejudices, relate to the problems faced by the women in their workplace, contribute to initiatives such as mentoring, and serve in the equity committees, among other endeavors. They can fight forms of work culture that are discriminatory as equality advocates, understand the ills and prevent the harms, push the causes forward, and reap from fairer workplaces.

Therefore, mobilisation is needed to change the order of leadership in both work and personal affairs. Gender balance is no longer an issue for women.