Most Guys Don’t See It
Guys generally do not “get it”. Indeed on a whole host of questions, for example “Is there discrimination in the workplace?” the answers by gender are very different. Men see no problem at all or much less of a problem than women do. Therefor an appeal to advance more women based on a moral perspective will likely be pretty ineffective. But a “hard nosed” business argument supporting diversity in general is crucial to progress especially in the US where quotas are simply not going to happen.
So in my view as long as advancing women in leadership is seen as a “women’s issue” progress will be slow. It needs to be seen as
1. A Diversity Issue
It has to be framed as broader than women, otherwise it gets discounted as special pleading. This is especially true as many attempts at corporate fixes are delegated to HR which is typically disproportionately female.
2. A Crucial Business Issue
Those Who See It
As to the personal reasons, this might be of interest. A former colleague of mine, now Chief Diversity Officer at a major corporation, did a survey of what she called her “male allies” – senior men, not in HR, who were supporters of the firm’s efforts to advance women into more leadership positions. She thought there might be common factors such as having daughters or strong mothers who had been powerful influences. Based on an admittedly small sample and anecdotal discussions she concluded these men indeed shared one common trait – a strong sense of “fairness.” They could all see that something was “wrong” and that an important group of colleagues was not progressing as they should.
Adam is Adjunct Associate Professor, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs