Men, It’s Time to #ChooseToChallenge
Men, let’s #ChoosetoChallenge in order to create a more inclusive world!
The 2021 International Women’s Day theme is “Choose to Challenge.” In my role as a corporate gender advocate, I’m choosing to challenge, and I invite other men to join me and #ChooseToChallenge.
Men, so hands up high to show you’re in and that you understand that:
- We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality.
- We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements.
- Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.
- From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.
Women’s History Month is certainly a time to celebrate women’s achievements both past and present, from the Fortune 500 having the highest number of female CEOs in history to the victories of Kamala Harris and other women in recent elections.
The Current State of Women in Corporate America
However, it is also a time to be reflective and truly examine the current state of women in corporate America, as it is quite troubling. The challenges and problems are real. In 2018, McKinsey identified a number of challenges that women were (and still are) facing.
Here are six of the top issues:
- Women receive less support from managers.
- Women get less access to senior leaders.
- Women face everyday discrimination.
- Microaggressions are a reality.
- Sexual harassment remains prevalent.
- Women are often the “only” one in the room.
The data to support these issues is overwhelming. Simply put, it is not one issue that women are facing but a litany of systemic challenges that conspire to make the workplace less fair to women.
In 2019, McKinsey reported on “The Broken Rung,” which shows how women are left behind from their very first promotion. Regarding first-level promotion, for every 100 men who are promoted, there are 72 white women, 68 Latina women and 58 Black women. Then in late 2020, McKinsey added two more data points to its research, which showed the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on women and provided even greater depth on the challenges faced by Women of Color.
The impact of COVID-19 on women in the workplace has been “grueling,” according to McKinsey. The pressures of the pandemic are driving some employees (and one in three mothers) to consider downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce altogether. This loss will affect companies’ talent pipelines for years to come, and companies are at risk of losing scores of senior-level women today as they face heightened pressure both at work and at home.
According to McKinsey, senior-level women are 1.5 times more likely than senior-level men to think about downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce because of Covid-19. Almost 3 in 4 cite burnout as a main reason.
As I wrote in October 2020 when it was reported that 865,000 had left the workplace since the beginning of the pandemic (it’s more now) — the implications of stepping off the career ladder, even temporarily, puts promotions, career advancement and long-term earnings potential in jeopardy. It also hurts companies and deprives them of the business benefits they experience when they have more women in leadership positions and on boards.
In addition, as the McKinsey report notes, the workplace has always been worse for Women of Color. However, Black women are being disproportionately impacted by the difficult events of 2020. McKinsey reports that since the start of Covid-19, Black women are more likely than other employees to think about leaving the workforce because of concerns over their health and safety, and they are almost twice as likely as women overall to say that they can’t bring their whole selves to work and more than 1.5 times as likely to say they don’t have strong allies.
While each of us may believe that we are advocates for Women of Color at work (61 percent of men and 65 percent of women say they are), when we dig down into what actions we take, the results are underwhelming.
The question is, when do we stop looking at data and take some real action? As we enter Women’s History Month, it is time for men to Choose to Challenge.
It Is Time For Men to Choose to Challenge
Why Men? Men are still 80 percent of leadership in most companies, which means we are 80 percent of the problem in advancing women but also 80 percent of the solution. Collectively we MUST Choose to Challenge.
What do men (and women) need to do? Download and print-out 10 actions you can choose to take to Choose to Challenge. Download my Advocating for Women Pledge. Also review other pledges you may want to consider making including Father of Daughter, Women Championing Women and Advocating for Women of Color. Each of the actions include:
- Listening to personal stories about bias and mistreatment in your company.
- Learning by engaging with the research and mentoring and sponsoring women, especially Women of Color.
- Leading by understanding your privilege, setting an example to correct bias and actively confronting discrimination when you see it.
- Having the will by supporting equitable HR practices for all levels; encouraging qualified women to apply for senior roles and committing to developing qualified women for coming openings; engaging men in discussions about advancing women; and becoming a visible and vocal advocate for gender and racial equality.
This month in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, let’s Choose to Challenge the status quo and the backsliding of years of progress in women’s advancement. Let’s commit to actions that can provide real solutions to the complex challenges women face in the workplace.
Men, let’s #ChoosetoChallenge in order to create a more inclusive world!
