What are you doing THIS week?

After all the hoop-la and events in the week of International Women’s Day (IWD) what has stayed with you and where are you making a difference in your organisation?

During IWD week I felt so many emotional responses:

Joy: at the opportunity to celebrate amazing women because it is certainly true that women’s contributions have been overlooked and undervalued for way too long

Excitement: at discovering new stories which I had never heard before

Satisfaction: that the gender pay gap is at least moving in the right direction (WGEA data showed it to be at 13.3%, the lowest on record)

Frustration: that we still have a pay gap at all after so many years of activism!

Irritation: at the performative nature of so many of the activities undertaken by corporations – my Mum was handed a flower by her local supermarket – sweet but really wouldn’t it better to know that they were removing barriers to women’s progression in their organisation?!

Anger: at the denial that I still hear and see about this being an important issue we all to need to address, not just for the sake of women but for the sake of everyone

 So what CAN we do next?

The truth is that women need men to advocate and take action to support them, not because women are incapable of representing themselves but because men still hold the majority of positions of power. I know I have many male readers so I invite you to consider how you can be a male ally on this path towards equity.

What does it mean to be a male ally?

·      It means using your influence, knowledge and resources to support women and other marginalised groups, not from a desire to control or protect but from a desire for equity

In 2022 Grant Thornton published a report on The Role of Male Allies in Progessing Towards Gender Parity and that report offers the following tips for being a male ally:

·      Advocate for female leadership: challenge bias and stereotypes in leadership teams and board rooms

·      Credit where it’s due: ensure that women are not interrupted and that they receive credit for their contribution

·      Listen: ask women about their experiences and listen to how those differ from your own

·      Speak up: call out the sexist language and behaviours of other men

·      Be self-aware: reflect on your own privilege, which means the advantages or lack of disadvantage you have faced

·      Out of office allyship: consider how your actions at home impact the ability of women to contribute fully at work

And I encourage my female readers to invite their male colleagues to become male allies by sharing their own stories with them, inviting them along to the IWD events and asking them for the support that they need.

Another resource you may find helpful is this website from Dr Michelle P King (the author of The Fix): One Hundred Actions.

Let’s finally make some progress on this issue as it will benefit all of us.

With love

Sue