A new Korn Ferry survey found that 70% of professionals say they “generally feel more guarded at work than they did in the past.”  After reading this statistic, I wanted to look further into the cause.

I found another survey by Lean In that shows that nearly 30% of male managers are uncomfortable working alone with women.  In fact, some companies now have travel policies that only allow employees of the same gender to travel together.  Has this gone too far?  Are we now so paranoid that it’s affecting productivity in the workplace and how we get our jobs done?

The more policies like these that organizations put in place, the more walls it creates.  Is it really effective to say two people of opposite gender can’t travel together?  I don’t think that is an effective solution.  We need to learn to all work together and to trust each other.  I believe the vast majority of people, men and women, are good.

What needs to change is the culture and how men and women relate to each other in the workplace.  There needs to be mutual respect. Separating men and women at work will do nothing to solve this social issue.  If there is an employee who can’t be trusted, then it needs to be addressed with that employee.  Do we really want people in our organization that we can’t trust anyway?

Open discussion about gender in the workplace is essential.  We can’t pretend this issue doesn’t exist, but it doesn’t have to create barriers.  Instead, use it to spark new conversations, ideas, and perspectives.  It’s important to listen to input from everyone.  I read a Deloitte report that stated that “one of the biggest sources of bias at companies is a lack of diversity of thought.”  You can’t advance without hearing and listening to different point of views. 

I searched high and low for a good list of how to improve diversity and non-bias in the workplace.  Most lists highlighted what men can do to make improvements.  But I believe it takes effort from all genders on all levels.  The best list I found was on smallbusiness.chron.com, and it outlines what both men and women can do to encourage diversity between men and women in the workplace:

1. Seek all employees' input when formulating diversity policies. Any time workers have buy-in to a plan, they are more likely to willingly participate in its implementation.  At ASE we create committees for various initiatives and those committees involve employees from all levels.  If you can’t get input from all employees, be sure to seek input from a diverse cross-section of them.

2. Teach people how to interact in a diverse workforce. Conduct trainings that cover important gender issues such as sexual harassment and discrimination. In these trainings, role play different scenarios that can arise between men and women in the workplace and show employees how to deal with such situations gracefully and professionally.  ASE has several classes to help with this initiative.  Our Harassment Prevention course is a great first step for company-wide training initiatives and to get everyone on the same page.  The next course is October 22, 2019.  This course can also be customized and brought to your site.

3. Assign tasks based on ability, rather than gender. While it may seem second nature to ask a male worker to do a more physical task, such as unloading a truck, many women in your company likely can perform the task as well. Likewise, encourage men to take on tasks that women in the company might typically perform, such as serving coffee at meetings and organizing office supplies.  This is an interesting flip of the perceived roles males and females typically play.  The more we challenge these roles, the more we can reduce bias and encourage equality.

4. Encourage the men and women in your company to learn from one another. When creating projects, consider how men and women might work together to learn different approaches to problem-solving and innovation.  As we come together as men and women, we can still appreciate the differences we have between us and use them to our advantage.

5. Remind employees of your company's commitment to diversity. Use a variety of tools to send the message that your company is invested in diversity between males and females. Put diversity messages in policy statements, training materials, websites, speeches and newsletters to reinforce your message.  Keep it at the forefront of everything you do.

How has the #MeToo movement affected your workplace culture and how men and women work together?  I’d love to hear how it’s affected you and what steps you’ve taken to address diversity and equality in the workplace between men and women.  Email me at [email protected].