Men In Promoting Diversity At Work: Part 1

The latest controversy sparked by the memo from a Google engineer painfully hit the workplace diversity nerve. The post prompted many individuals to criticize the employee for making a damaging generalization that perpetuated decades-long women stereotyping about being non-technical, non-scientific workers unfit for crucial coding, engineering, and technological positions that are essential to today's economy.

Instead of renewing a debate that we already know to be over, let's concentrate our efforts on figuring out how to add real diversity to the workforce of today so that businesses may expand and continue toward being profitable.

Charitable organizations are in a special position to support the cause and actively engage with for-profit firms to develop cutting-edge initiatives that seriously address challenging workplace issues like inclusiveness and diversity. Inclusion and diversity are a perfect match for my group and myself as a leader at a company that prioritizes helping minorities and women. However, regardless of their area of specialization, there is a chance for other NGOs to contribute their voice and knowledge as well.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) takes a distinctly female-oriented approach to focus on a practical solution. But what we have discovered through experience may surprise you: Males, and especially white men, are the key to workplace diversity.

Although coming from an author who works with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), it may seem contradictory, the more we strive for diversity, the more we recognize how crucial males are to making this happen.

Before getting further depth, I want to make it clear that this is not meant to be read as a reversal of the gains that minorities and women have accomplished, nor is it intended as a "get out of jail free" card for the men who constructed and upheld these whole gender barriers that women around the world have worked to shatter. This essay will not appeal to those males.

However, this article is for the guys who see how diversity promotes economic success and for any company that sells to or attempts to market to, women and underrepresented groups.

Men as Diversity Partners is a program that SWE has put in place with the fundamental tenet that men would have to be willing members in this endeavour if the business is to fulfil the promise of diversity. We spoke with a lot of guys about workplace diversity and listened to them in order to develop this answer. These guys have executive positions in businesses that are a part of the Corporate Partnership Council of SWE. They have assisted in leading diversity initiatives at some of the biggest and most intricate businesses in the sector.