Not standing up against workplace gender inequality, or just not recognising it when it happens?
A new report from the Diversity Council of Australia has suggested that the most significant barrier to getting men to speak up about gender inequality in the workplace, is that they’re often completely unaware it’s even happening.
The Men Make a Difference: Engaging men on gender equality report says while men broadly support workplace gender equality, they are less likely to recognise when it’s happening, more likely to take discrimination for granted, and still fear being judged if they speak up.
The report has offered a range of ideas for increasing male awareness and engagement, including implementing a few audits:
- a gender-based work and caring audit to identify caring responsibilities and impact on workplace opportunities, “e.g. survey employees about current and expected future caring responsibilities, perceptions of workplace support, and of whether caring responsibilities impact on workplace opportunities”;
- a gender audit of contributions to formal and informal decision-making processes and outcomes;
- opportunities men and women have to apply for, or be considered for all roles;
- gender pay equity analyses, including examining gender differences in job security and structural inequalities in pay; and
- measures of the quality of interpersonal relationships between women and men.
It’s also suggested making it clear to all employers that your organisation understands and prioritises both women and men as caregivers, with equal access to flexible work, and providing visible support for the role of men as caregivers.