How men can be change agents for gender equality
How men can be change agents for gender equality. Professor Elisabeth Kelan shares her research findings on how men as senior leader and middle managers support gender equality in the work context in her latest book., Men Stepping Forward – Leading Your Organisation on the Path to Inclusion.
When we think of gender equality at work, we often think about women’s leadership programmes, women’s networks or mentoring for women. It is clear that the focus of those initiatives is women. Yet when we speak about gender equality in organisations, we rarely talk about what men can do to support gender equality.
Over the last decade, I researched how men as senior leader and middle managers support gender equality in the work context. Based on the findings of the research I recently published a book ‘Men Stepping Forward – Leading Your Organisation on the Path to Inclusion’ on that topic.
n the book, I focus on three elements: First how can men develop a vision for gender equality and communicate this. Visioning is about men developing their personal reasons to engage in gender equality and developing ways to articulate their support for gender equality.
The second element is enabling. Enabling refers to the practices that men engage in to foster gender equality. An important part of that is how men deal with resistance towards gender equality that they encounter.
CIPD Members can also see an article on Why Men Resist Gender Equality Work for more information.
The third element is how can men become role models for gender-inclusive leadership. This can for instance mean to call out practices that lead to gender inequalities but it also means to mentor and sponsor women.
The book written is for men who want to become change agents for gender inclusion but are not sure where to start. It is also written for men who have embarked on the path to inclusive leadership but want to get better at it. The book offers practical tips, examples and anecdotes that can help men to become change makers for gender inclusion.
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