Is it still really a man’s world?
A couple of things that have cropped up for me this week which has really made me think about human beings actual level of ‘progressiveness’ and ‘evolution’. I heard a couple of stories that set me raging and as a 55yr old menopausal woman so that’s not a pretty look!
Story No1:
A female MD whom I work with recently went to an event lead by male whom heads up his own business and is the leader, and representative of an organisation (all shall remain anonymous).
He spoke to her during a break and told her, to her face that he can’t wait for a change in politics (again I’ll not mention much about what this is, but its oh so very patriotic) so that finally we don’t need to bother hiring woman or doing any of the that ‘EDI stuff’. He actually said this to her face.
She was pretty stunned and asked did he think that she got where she was because it was ticking a box, and he said, yes! He was looking forward to a time where we can just let the men get on with it as that would be better all round.
He is a leader, a role model and a man of influence and he will be inspiring his male employees to think and behave like him.
Story No2:
A friend of mine recently went to see her male Dr, she is in her early forties, and has been having lots of symptoms that all point to the perimenopause. She went specifically to get some sort of treatment for dry patches round her eyes which was out of character for her skin. His response, ‘well there isn’t much we can do, you are a woman of a certain age and this sort of thing happens, you just need to get used to it’. He also wouldn’t give her any HRT to help just saying she was a bit too young yet.
So, two stories in one week. Is this where we are at in society, have we really not evolved or moved forwards? Am I just another ‘female’ ranting on with herself? What does this mean for our young women? Woman who want to have goals, to be fulfilled and have a sense of purpose that involves a career? What does this say about men in leadership roles? What are we saying about our work culture if men in power, have the power and use this to control, undermine and belittle others?
As someone who works with lots of different types of people, many of whom hold power on their roles (gender irrelevant) I can honestly say that in the 30yrs of working in the field of psychology, behaviours and people, its all very simple:
Those that use their position with good intention create environments and a culture where both people and business’s thrive
Those who wield their power create environments and cultures based on fear, lack of trust, creating poor levels of loyalty and engagement. Without exception, those leaders don’t want to be challenged about their behaviours and always, always have deep insecurity issues, a problem with authenticity, and the desperate need for control
So what is the solution? Fortunately I work with loads a great leaders who want to create a great legacy, they want to inspire others and are inclusive in their approach.
And therein lies the point. The leaders who want to change, who want to learn and think differently want to start off by being open to the conversation in the first place. So what do can we do to with the ones that cause the most damage? Any ideas?.........