A few years ago, I was leading a discussion about diversity with the HR team of a major bank at their offsite, and something occurred that had never happened to me before.
About 200 people were in the room. We started an activity we often do to help teams notice diversity (or lack of it). We asked people to notice the gender diversity in the room by having the women stand and then sit down. We did the same for the men.
When about 15 men stood, the room burst into spontaneous applause. This was subtle recognition for the minority of men working in a traditionally women-dominated HR function.
I’d run a lot of sessions where women were in the minority, but this was usually – and sometimes uncomfortably – acknowledged with barely a word spoken. Never with applause.
It made me reflect on how we acknowledge people in the minority and help them feel included.
I’ve been thinking more about this lately because I’ve been re-reading the research on ‘women only’s’. When women are the only woman on a team, they’re more likely to experience micro-aggressions, harassment and discrimination. They’re heavily scrutinised and held to higher performance standards.
‘Women onlys are ‘far more likely than others to have their judgment questioned than women working in a more balanced environment, to be mistaken for someone more junior, and to be subjected to unprofessional and demeaning remarks,’ research by McKinsey & Co has found.
But when asked how it feels to be the only man in the room, men onlys most frequently say they feel included.
For leaders, it’s important to have an awareness of the subtle exclusionary behaviours and stereotypes that can diminish the contributions of women, people from racially marginalised groups, people with disability, and LGBTQIA+ people at work.
It’s also critical to role-model inclusive actions that help people feel a sense of belonging and psychological safety.
That’s the basis of our Inclusive Leadership workshops that help create inclusive and respectful environments for everyone.
