4 key insights to foster equity and inclusion in your organisation
Do you strive to be an inclusive leader and foster equity and inclusiveness in your organisation?
During the past year we have published an interview series with Gender and Diversity experts across sectors in Switzerland. Find here the key learnings out of our expert interviews. You can find the links to all the interviews at the end. Feel free to comment with your own tips!
1) Enabling structures
Foster fluidity across your organisation: part time work - also (and especially) for men*, enable remote and flexible working and flat(ter) structures
Invest in leadership and communication training that teach skills such as psychosocial safety, emotional intelligence, feedback culture and dialogue
Offer parental leave also for men* and vote for paternity leave at the Federal level in Switzerland
2) Qualities of inclusive leadership
Challenge your own assumptions - especially if you are in a privileged position and have no direct experience of discrimination
Consciously step out of your comfort zone
Understand the effects of social conditioning and structural elements that lead to discrimination (embrace intersectionality)
Use a holistic approach. Don’t approach the topic of gender equality and inclusion solely with a problem solving mindset. Instead, look at how the culture of your organisation influences the behaviours and structures you have in place
Avoid instrumentalising/tokenising women & other underrepresented groups and excluding men*
Go beyond the binary gender system
Value both cognitive diversity, and diversity of experience
3) In practice:
Show genuine interest in people: be curious and inclusive in how you talk and do things
Practise deep listening
Acknowledge your own mistakes and foster a culture of continuous learning
Care by showing empathy and understanding
Ask questions beyond the purely professional ones: What motivates and drives your employees or team members? What are their fears and insecurities? This helps you to better understand what is behind the behavior people are demonstrating
4) Finally:
Focus on both awareness and concrete goals, then measure progress
Be a role model & start with yourself
Links to the interviews:
Why we need to step outside of our own bubbles, with Fleur Heyworth
Why men need to emancipate inwards, with Gilles Crettenant
Stories alone won't change structures and behaviours, with Stefanie Hetjens
Why we need to change the myth about part-time work being a killer of careers, with Simona Scarpaleggia
Blog post written by Anna Krebs
Enabling ripples of positive change
Catalyst for SDG 5
Facilitator & change-agent