Anyone in the US trying this all important movement Black Lives Matter slow down, likes to call out: All Lives Matter. That sounds like a philanthropic banality. Every life counts, no matter the color of the skin. In reality, however, it is a campaign slogan intended to distract from the fact that systemic racism means that one group loses its life much more easily, for example to police violence, than the white majority.
The promotion of women in companies is of course different, but there are still parallels. It’s not about a minority and mostly not about life and death. But women on the way to the top are also faced with structural social hurdles that have a long history. And if you ask German companies about programs with which they support women so that they move up in the hierarchy, you quickly get the same answer: Diversity is superduper important to us, but to make it clear right away, men are all networking -Initiatives, coaching and whatever else is welcome. Nobody wants to be suspected of discriminating against men. All employees matter.
This attitude dilutes the whole thing, because men are not or only rarely affected by some structural hurdles. Companies must work to remove these hurdles – and do so in a targeted manner. An example: Since it is the women who have the children, it is often difficult for them to return to work after maternity and parental leave.
Poor opportunities for advancement are often due to a lousy corporate culture
But most of the time, the problems that hold women back are not women’s problems at all. It’s people problems. That is why there is no need to promote women, but to promote people. Many funding programs geared towards women are based on clichés: women are like this and that. You really have to motivate them. They just don’t trust themselves and so on. Good personnel policy looks different.
What stands in the way of people’s rise to upper management levels is often a lousy corporate culture. It may put women off at first because they may be more willing to say they don’t have to do this to themselves. But she also displaces all men who don’t always belong to the same white, middle-aged to old age superegos. She is unattractive to anyone who doesn’t feel like arm wrestling and power games. She repels everyone who is different. In short: very many people who could bring in new perspectives and ideas do not take part because they want to work differently.
Employers have to shape what this different type of work should look like. HR work is needed that has a concrete and measurable goal, not just promoting the same people, but improving the corporate culture – with mentoring and coaching for everyone who wants it, with seminars that deal with what is important, such as unconscious prejudices, with democratic Processes in which it is determined what the corporate and management culture should look like, with creative ideas such as the opportunity to try out job changes in other departments or in management positions for a certain time to see whether it might be something for you .
Real, stereotype-free equality in companies also helps society as a whole. What man wants to be the sole breadwinner these days? Coming home in the evening, exhausted from work and gossip at the regulars’ table, the children may already be asleep. Then fall asleep in front of the TV. Before going to bed, a quick look at the files and e-mails. And the next day the same from the beginning. That makes you unhappy. If you want to ensure that people are happier, you have to let men and women work and move up the ladder so that they can share both gainful employment and care work better. By the way, happy people also work better.
In any case, doing without those who don’t take part in the ego tussle is a mistake – not only since there has been a real race for specialists and top talent. And the best way to avoid this mistake is to attack the root of the problem: the ego struggle.