International Women’s Day 2022 - Congratulations to Men!

My younger daughter celebrates her 17th birthday on March 8, 2022, but the disheartening news is that it might be the only thing she and other girls as well as women can celebrate this day. Unfortunately, the development of gender equality still has a long way to go - even in West European countries like Denmark, and the question is whether my sister and me will experience real equality in our lifetime. Although progress is sometimes made, it is mouse steps, which, combined with setbacks, sometimes makes it difficult to predict how far we will get towards gender equality in the next 10-20 years.

Regardless of the day itself, the problems for women remain the same. Women are routinely paid less, promoted less, and rewarded less than their male counterparts in the world’s workplaces. The World Economic Forum revealed that none of us would see gender parity in our lifetime, and nor likely will many of our children. Another generation of women will have to wait for gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021. As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be felt, closing the global gender gap has increased by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years. This is truly disheartening news.

Unfortunately, modern women's rights movement must be taken quite literally. Women fight against other women rather than challenging patriarchal society, the ultimate 'freedom' consists in being part of it. There is no opposition to or serious criticism of patriarchal society, which, on the contrary, has been elevated to the measure of how 'equal' the man and the woman are. The woman is 'free' when she can sit on the chief aisle or in the director's chair that the man has sat in for centuries.

One could also put it squarely on the lead and say that the above atrocities could never occur if it were not for the fact that women's rights movement today is reduced to (for many) problematize (un)equality in foreign communities/cultures and otherwise becoming part of the patriarchal order rather than fighting it. The women's game today must therefore be understood quite literally, and if that is the case, no celebration is relevant, but for the men, and especially those who want the current power relationship to exist. Therefore, I congratulate my youngest daughter and men on International Women’s Day 2021.

For years, companies have been celebrating International Women's Day, but merely as a tick-the-box exercise. However, they should make the day something different and more in 2022 and let 2022 be the year when companies and especially corporate leadership make a proactive and positive difference to promote gender diversity and gender equality on the promotion, equal pay and linguistic courtesy agenda in the industrialized countries. The challenges in the developing countries however are much bigger and require many other solutions.

If a clarity of purpose promoting real diversity and inclusion starting with leadership is launched, I may also be able to congratulate girls and women on International Women’s Day 2022. Building a more diverse and inclusive workplace also makes business sense, since it is great for business and for wider society. The business case for diversity and inclusion is compelling. Getting this right means building better organizations and contributes to a better world for everybody.

Content

1.    Introduction – International Women’s Day in Denmark and Internationally

2.    Danish Conditions

a.    Under-Representation on Executive and Supervisory Boards

b.    Equal Pay

c.    Deliberate/unconscious Discrimination and Linguistic Bias

d.    Possible Solutions on Macro and Micro Level

3.    International Conditions

a.    Same Challenges as in Denmark

b.    Blatant Discrimination

c.    Violence and Exploitation Including Forced Marriage and Circumcision

d.    Unpaid Care Work and Responsibility at Home

e.    Full Participation in Management and Decision-Making

f.     Access to Reproductive Health and Rights

g.    Equal Rights to Economic Resources

h.    Strengthening Rights Through Technology

i.      Legislation to Promote Gender Equality

j.      Possible Solutions on Macro and Micro Level

4.    Conclusion

1. Introduction – International Women Day in Denmark and Internationally

UN Women has announced the theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March 2021 (IWD 2021) as, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also aligned with the priority theme of the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, “Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”, and the flagship Generation Equality campaign, which calls for women’s right to decision-making in all areas of life, equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end all forms of violence against women and girls, and health-care services that respond to their needs.

 Diversity and inclusion will most likely become critical issues in determining economic success or failure in the decade ahead. We need to hire the right person in the right job at the right time. 2021 could see advances in starting to close the gap and measure diversity reliably. The world has begun a period of significant structural change often referred to as “the fourth industrial revolution”. Where we work, how we work, how we consume and what we consume are all going to change. This change will be brought about by new methods of communication, robotics, automation and artificial intelligence. As with every previous industrial revolution, the temptation is to focus on technology, which is not especially important in itself; it is how we use technology that is economically and socially revolutionary. Then it is also important to remember that most surveys show that women are the main decision makers in relation to purchases in for example the Scandinavian countries.

 2. Danish Conditions

 2.a. Under-Representation on Executive and Supervisory Boards

Challenges:

An article by Annemette Schultz Jørgensen in Lederstof.dk on 20 January 2021 illustrates many of the challenges that lead to under-representation of women on executive boards and boards of directors. Caroline Farberger thought that as a man she had understood equality but learned as a woman that she had got nothing. The rules of the game in today's organizations are set on the men's terms. That's why we're losing both women's potential and huge business opportunities, says CEO Caroline Farberger, who has undergone gender correction and as a woman sees gender equality in a whole new light. According to the article, the challenges or barriers for women can be summarized as follows:

1.    Women told new, surprising stories after Caroline's gender correction from male to female, including how management meetings and management rooms are actually experienced as a woman when you are always surrounded by men. And about being exposed to cross-border behaviour, bad attitudes and abusive behaviour.

2.    Excluded women without knowing it.

3.    Brought up with a Danish management style, which is to show decisiveness, but which is highly exclusionary because it invites only those into the conversation who agree with the boss.

4.    Never thought about the male privileges, as Caroline as male CEO always believed that she worked for diversity and equality and therefore that the culture and norms of her organization accommodated and considered everyone. But once she had seen her own male-dominated meeting management from the outside, a larger pattern began to emerge for her. She saw the extent to which norms and culture are based on men's premises and how unequal it is for women.

5.    Women restrain themselves - one of the first things that struck her as a woman was how much energy women spend on their appearance to make sure they are seen for the skills and attitudes - and not the look. The acceptance of men's behavior and appearance in professional contexts is extremely much broader than that of women.

6.    A sad new insight was that behavior and appearance are just one aspect of how exclusionary norms and cultures are in organizations. Another is the late working hours, ditto management meetings and the inflexibility. Late encounters are an expected victim of the careers of men, but for female leaders, on the other hand, it is many times an unbearable sacrifice. Because they also must live up to a strict social norm that, as a mother, you naturally have dinner with your children.

7.    I misunderstood equality, which I thought was primarily about hiring more women as a boss and, moreover, ensuring that the Equality Act on equal rights for both sexes are respected. However, this kind of equality is only about figures and statistics and is no guarantee of real equality. Because it is secured through the right culture and the right standards that give way to everyone and not just men.

8.    Real equality is inclusion, which is about letting people contribute on their own terms and with everything they have to offer. Inclusion is a completely different approach and is based on a culture where everyone can be themselves with the differences we have. One where everyone can use all their skills and their full potential. This requires a deliberate creation of a framework and structures that will allow everyone to contribute on equal terms without having to make special sacrifices. For example, by abolishing late management meetings, but also introducing a different kind of meeting style and conversation culture than the one that prevails in many places.

9.    Inclusion is a philosophy and not just a practical measure that deals with meeting rules and meeting management. It is a philosophy and a different mindset about what one really wants from equality. Working with inclusion requires that you as a manager believe in the value of involving everyone and bringing out more perspectives on the same issue. As a man, I was also interested in bringing out the differences in my employees, but naively thought that it would happen automatically if only there were different types gathered around the table. I now know that it will not do so if we do not actively work for it. And that's inclusion.

10.  Diversity is good for business, so contrary to expectations, the management style was changed to a more listening, more patient and to let the curiosity to gain different opinions over the need to be effective. Not to be a sweeter and more inclusive leader, but because it is a clear advantage for the business when many views and opinions that were held back before coming to light. There are so many resources saved that we lose if we don't listen to all managers and employees. And today, more than ever, we need everyone's opinions and ideas in order to keep up with developments and be creative enough.

11.  When diversity is only about numbers - even though more inclusion management has been paved today, many organizations still primarily have a Slavic approach to gender equality, which is about numbers and statistics. About looking right in the annual reports, so you can say that you take your CSR work seriously. In doing so, organizations miss the point of what diversity is really about. And lose women's potential and great business opportunities on the floor. Consequently, female leaders are becoming more and more dominant in the so-called pink ghettos – i.e. in staff functions such as HRM, communication, marketing and law – and male managers become the same in the directional areas and the heaviest executive positions.

12.  Use privileges to include differences - the advice for male leaders is clear: Be aware of the privileges you have as a male boss and share them. Use your influence to engage others who have different perspectives on things than you. Ask others: "What do you think the solution is to this or that problem?", and "How can we structure your job to make it more attractive for you to work here?" Become more aware of your own behavior; You need to think about the fact that if your management style doesn't actively include others, it risks easily becoming exclusionary. Be sincerely interested in differences and learn to see the value in them. It makes for a better business.

13.  Say 'yes' and at the same time make demands on women, the advice is just as direct: "Do not try to make a career on the men's terms, because it will ultimately drain you of energy." It is important for women to insist on trying to be themselves. "Believe in your skills and attitudes and be yourself. Take on the challenges you face. Learn to say "yes" to opportunity, but practice making demands as well." If you get the opportunity to be a boss, say 'yes', but also say: 'I need this or that to make the job work''. And with that advice, she continues the vital mission for her. The one that's about making leaders realize how different we all are and how much value there is in bringing out those differences in organizations.

 Suggested solutions:

Caroline Farberger's advice to male and female leaders:

1.    If you are a male leader, use your privileges to actively bring out other views

2.    Think about whether your diversity and gender equality policy are mostly about numbers or also focuses on changing norms and culture so that differences emerge

3.    Think about your own leadership behavior and whether you are actually listening to learn

4.    Cultivate the diversity of your employees and know that it pays off on the bottom line

5.    If you are a female leader, spend less energy on your appearance and more on being yourself

6.    Trust your skills and experience

7.    Be brave and say yes to challenges and be even more courageous and make demands so that new challenges are adapted to your premises

 2.b. Equal Pay

Challenges:

The gender pay gap is a well-known phenomenon illustrating the earnings imbalance between male and female workers to focus on a transparent discussion and improvements focussing on gender pay inclusion in businesses. Employers must ensure every employee can expand their role towards higher-paying positions. This could mean reviewing how your organisation views maternity and paternity leave, addressing unconscious bias, or facilitating professional development. Above all, it’s about making a continued, concerted effort; meaningful change cannot occur overnight.

Economically speaking, COVID-19 has impacted women greatly. From their high levels of representation across COVID-hit industries such as hospitality to those leaving full-time employment due to struggles balancing work and caregiving and low employment figures for women in late 2020, they have been one of the pandemic’s biggest victims. Resolving gender disparity is complex and is made more so by the severity of the global crisis. Whilst employers have understandably shifted their focus to business survival, it is important they don’t lose sight of their gender pay goals.

 Suggested solutions:

Pay gap analysis enables companies to actively recognise and work towards improving the gender pay gap, acting as a benchmark for the entire organisation. But it also goes further, helping employers show their workers they are supported and that the organisation remains conscious of their role in working towards equality. With women over-represented in sectors (such as the service industry) hit hardest by the pandemic – and bearing the brunt of childcare and caring responsibilities as lockdowns continue – it is more important than ever that employers stand up and address the pay gap head-on.

2.c. Deliberate/Unconscious Discrimination and Linguistic Bias

Challenges:

In an article about a language of respect is everyone’s business by Annie Makoff on 15 January 2021, the challenges of deliberate/unconscious discrimination and linguistic bias are described as outlined below.

Gendered language is problematic because it assumes that gender is binary, yet this is simply not true. Around 4 per cent of the general population in Europe and 12 per cent of millennials identify as transgender or gender non-conforming. In the future Gen Z workforce, it’s believed that 1 in 5 may identify as such. The workforce and the client base are changing so language must change too. Adopting gender neutral, inclusive language is important for staff to feel included and involved. Inclusive language is positive and open across all workplace communications. It doesn’t make assumptions about sexuality, gender or any other demographic.

The rise in hate crime towards the trans community is one of the many reasons why some companies are starting to embrace gender neutral inclusive policies. Corporates and HR have become one of the greatest ally advocates for an inclusive language. Governments come and go, but corporates are forever. Therefore, they simply want to do the right thing for their employees and their clients by being inclusive.

One of the biggest minefields for employers is balancing all this with religious equality. It’s ridiculously difficult to navigate those waters when so much LTBGTQ+ hatred and disrespect stems from religious doctrine and intolerance.

Yet, inclusive language is ‘massively important’: it can be all too easy for someone’s unconscious ignorance to cause upset. For example, when HR are informed that they wouldn’t need to worry about maternity leave because the person to be hired was gay.

An inclusive workplace culture can easily fall apart if it was only ever a tick-box exercise. There’s a big difference in paying lip service to certain values and living by them. Inclusive values look great on a webpage but very few companies put them into practice. Being inclusive in a day-to-day context means creating a culture based on values. Being inclusive means having an open environment where everyone is free to express themselves.

There is rarely a need to use gendered language. Law firms for example, frequently use ‘Sir/Madam’ which can easily be replaced by someone’s full name, while terms like ‘plaintiff’, ‘defendant’, ‘third party’, and so on are already gender neutral. Meanwhile, many firms are replacing gendered honorifics with non-binary alternatives such as Mx (gender-neutral), Mre (mystery) and Ind (individual) or they’re getting rid of titles all together.

Pronouns too, play a huge role, since they are a ‘recognition’ of an individual’s gender expression and it’s respectful to use them. But context is everything. However, you should not unintentionally ‘outing’ an individual by suddenly asking in public ‘what’s your pronoun?’ It’s about reading the situation. If you know someone’s pronoun, use it where relevant, otherwise just use their name. But in direct conversation, personal pronouns are rarely – if ever – used. We say, ‘how are you?’ not ‘how is she?’. It doesn’t have to be a big deal asking for a person’s pronouns but remember to give yours!”.

It is also suggested adding personal pronouns to email signatures, work badges and with names on video calls. If it becomes part of the workplace culture, everyone has the option of being open.

Suggested solutions:

Inclusive language needs to align culturally with an organisation. There are no prescribed language books, but one should be looking at the language in recruitment communications such as job advertisements, person specifications and job descriptions to ensure it’s inclusive. Education too, is vital. It must start from the top. In every organisation the personality of the leader is in that organization so once a leader starts using gender neutral language it will filter through. The leader needs to be the one setting the beat for the inclusion process.

Training around inclusive language is much more powerful than sessions around unconscious bias. Unconscious bias training tends to let people ‘off the hook’ because the premise is always ‘we all have unconscious bias’. People are more engaged with inclusive language training, since it becomes a deep and meaningful conversations and individuals really start to see the impact their choice of language can have on others.

Employers need to create a respectful, inclusive working environment where identity and sexuality are openly accepted. Someone’s right to stay closeted must be respected too, though the working environment should be accepting and welcoming enough that nobody should feel the need to.

2.d. Possible Solutions on Macro and Micro Level

In Perrine Farque from Inspired Human’s book “7 Deadly Mistakes to Avoid with Diversity Programmes”, the focus is on mistakes, but the other side is of course part of the solution on the macro level, which is why it makes sense as a starting point: “Recent protests have pushed diversity and inclusion at the top of the business agenda for most companies. Business leaders are starting to understand that diversity, inclusion and equality are not only the right thing to do morally, or a nice to have, or a luxury but rather a necessity for the business. Businesses realise that diversity and inclusion trainings and programmes significantly increase talent attraction and retention and the chance of recovery after the Covid-19 crisis.

Diversity training is not about ticking a box, or feeling good about doing the right thing, it is about creating a better work environment where each employee is fully engaged, better at solving difficult problems and increasing productivity and revenue for the business. Business leaders are starting to understand that it would be a very big mistake to focus on their short-term financial recovery and forget about Diversity, Inclusion & Equality. CEOs and business leaders are not all experts in diversity and inclusion, and some don’t know much about unconscious bias, microaggressions, micro-inequities, biased language, perpetual acceptance or organisational unconscious so it is great if they accept some help with diversity training.

Unfortunately, many mistakes are made, which has prevented businesses from implementing an effective diversity and inclusion programme and more organisations can implement successful diversity and inclusion programmes if they avoid such mistakes as:

·       Focusing on inclusive and diverse hiring only but not retention

·       Leaving your corporate mission statement out

·       Failing to get leadership commitment

·       Focusing on the short term only

·       Being complacent about your diversity efforts

·       Failing to compensate diversity and inclusion results

·       Forgetting about the diverse vendor component

While many organisations are waking up to the need for diversity and inclusion programmes, only a few of them have a really holistic approach of diversity and inclusion. Investing in diversity training, unconscious bias training, hiring professional diversity speakers and creating Employee Resource Groups are positive initiatives and they should be part of a long-term, holistic approach to diversity and inclusion in order to achieve a systemic culture of change for businesses also to hit their retention and productivity goals.”

Further, focus should be on:

• The common misconception that ally ship happens overnight and requires grand gestures - and how we can become incremental allies by taking small, achievable steps in our learning journeys to move forward
• Finding inclusive leaders who inspire us can be a huge turning point in our ally ship journeys - as well as examples of male leaders we can look to as models of effective ally ship
• How sponsorship is an invaluable professional tool that women can benefit from in terms of their career trajectory - and how can men overcome fear or doubt when sponsoring junior women
• Why sponsorship is needed now more than ever
• How we can refine our situational awareness to combat moments of sexism and gendered discrimination in real time
• How we can level up our advocate work and become public and visible disruptors for positive change
• How we can ensure we’re applying an intersectional lens to our ally ship.

3. International relations

According to the United Nations (UN), gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. There has been progress over the last decades: More girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to advance gender equality. 

 Despite these gains, many challenges remain: discriminatory laws and social norms remain pervasive, women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and 1 in 5 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 report experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within a 12-month period.

Education strengthens the position of women and girls. Population growth, which has been constantly increasing globally over many years, has stopped. It's good for the planet. It is good for women and girls in the same way as societies based on values that promote the rights and place of women and girls in a broad sense. There must continue to be a strong focus on women's right to their own bodies, on motherhood and childhood in conflict-affected areas – and on solidarity between women and men across borders and cultures.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could reverse the limited progress that has been made on gender equality and women’s rights.  The coronavirus outbreak exacerbates existing inequalities for women and girls across every sphere – from health and the economy, to security and social protection. 

Women play a disproportionate role in responding to the virus, including as frontline healthcare workers and carers at home. Women’s unpaid care work has increased significantly as a result of school closures and the increased needs of older people. Women are also harder hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19, as they disproportionately work in insecure labour markets. Nearly 60 per cent of women work in the informal economy, which puts them at greater risk of falling into poverty. 

The pandemic has also led to a steep increase in violence against women and girls. With lockdown measures in place, many women are trapped at home with their abusers, struggling to access services that are suffering from cuts and restrictions. Emerging data shows that, since the outbreak of the pandemic, violence against women and girls – and particularly domestic violence – has intensified.

3.a. Same as in Denmark

Many of the same challenges described in the section with Danish conditions are also relevant internationally why reference is made to this section.

3.b. Blatant Discrimination

We must put an end to all forms of discrimination against all women and girls, all over the world. It must be ensured that there is a legal framework to promote, enforce and monitor gender equality and non-discrimination.

3.c. Violence and Exploitation Including Forced Marriage and Circumcision

Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Worldwide, the United Nations estimates that up to 5,000 women are victims of honor killings. That is about 5,000 too many, but no one really speaks of the fact that in Russia alone around 14 000 women die annually as a result of violence committed by their husbands or male relatives. If we extend the debate to rape, the figures are completely absurd. There are (many) countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America where the likelihood of you being raped and sexually abused during your life is far greater than for you to walk free.

Yet many girls get married before they are adults and become pregnant before their bodies are developed to carry a child. Far too many teenage mothers are still dying during maternity leave. Yet far too many women give birth to children they do not want or give birth in conditions where purity and care cannot be achieved. And around conflict zones, in refugee camps and, to that extent, in everyday life here at home, the weak, women and girls, are subjected to abuse, violence and humiliation.

In 18 countries, husbands can legally prevent their wives from working; in 39 countries, daughters and sons do not have equal inheritance rights; and 49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence.

One in five women and girls, including 19 per cent of women and girls aged 15 to 49, have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner within the last 12 months. Yet, 49 countries have no laws that specifically protect women from such violence. In Southern Asia, a girl’s risk of marrying in childhood has dropped by over 40per cent since 2000.

3.d. Unpaid Care Work and Responsibility at Home

Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.

Proportion of time spent on unpaid house and care work, broken down by gender, age and location must be monitored to correct imbalances to ensure gender equality.

3.e. Full Participation in Management and Decision-Making

Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.

While women have made important inroads into political office across the world, their representation in national parliaments at 23.7 per cent is still far from parity. In 46 countries, women now hold more than 30 per cent of seats in national parliament in at least one chamber. This challenge is described in more detail in the section with Danish conditions why reference is made to this section.

3.f. Access to Reproductive Health and Rights

Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences

And if you want to discuss religious dogma that causes suffering and death to women, it is striking that the feminists, who constantly talk about headscarves and honor killings, are in relation to the Catholic Church and its contraception and abortion bans. According to the World Health Organization, around 50,000 women lose their lives annually because free abortion is not available. And because contraception does not conform to the dogmas of Catholicism, hundreds of thousands of women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, must die every year.

Globally, 750 million women and girls were married before the age of 18 and at least 200 million women and girls in 30 countries have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). The rates of girls between 15-19 who are subjected to FGM in the 30 countries where the practice is concentrated have dropped from 1 in 2 girls in 2000 to 1 in 3 girls by 2017.

Only 52 per cent of women married or in a union freely make their own decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care.

3.g. Equal Rights to Economic Resources

Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.

Globally, women are just 13 per cent of agricultural land holders. Women in Northern Africa hold less than one in five paid jobs in the non-agricultural sector. The proportion of women in paid employment outside the agriculture sector has increased from 35 per cent in 1990 to 41 per cent in 2015.

3.h. Strengthening Rights Through Technology

Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women. Proportion of individuals who own a mobile phone, PC or other relevant technology products broken down by gender must be monitored to correct imbalances to ensure gender equality.

On the positive side women working in the technology industry have made astounding contributions over the past 50 years. She.WITI.com celebrates the wins and explores the challenges being faced by women in tech every day. While women are working hard to find personal balance, define meaningful work, and change the future of our society, She.WITI.com wants to support women on the journey.

3.i. Legislation to Promote Gender Equality

Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels. More than 100 countries have taken action to track budget allocations for gender equality.

Proportion of countries with systems to record and publish funding for gender equality and the strengthening of women's rights and opportunities must be monitored to correct imbalances to ensure gender equality.

3.j. Possible Solutions on Macro and Micro Level

A lot of different challenges still exist and require many different solutions. One example is the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) are embarking on a new, global, multi-year initiative focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) – the Spotlight Initiative. The initiative is so named as it brings focused attention to this issue, moving it into the spotlight and placing it at the centre of efforts to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Many other initiatives have been and must be made to address the many challenges to achieve gender equality worldwide.

4. Conclusion

Unfortunately, modern women's rights movement must be taken quite literally. Some women fight against other women rather than challenging patriarchal society, the ultimate 'freedom' consists in being part of it. There is no opposition to or serious criticism of patriarchal society, which, on the contrary, has been elevated to the measure of how 'equal' the man and the woman are. The woman is 'free' when she is allowed to sit on the chief aisle or in the director's chair that the man has sat in for centuries. It is the same (lack of) logic that prevailed for centuries between the 'civilised' white man and the primitive natives of the continents colonised by Europeans, and the mindset that still partially permeates modern development work. The story that was told – and reproduced – was that one culture was considered superior to the other, and if the natives had any rights, it was the right to be 'civilized' by us.

Equality has become a synonym for the right to become part of patriarchal society. If this was a genuine emancipatory women's rights movement, it would have challenged power and male-dominated society, which women of the time do not simply fail – they even doing their business. It is problematic for both sexes and general societal development that the end goal is not questioned and that there seems to be a consensus that the 'values' traditionally associated with one sex – power, status, capitalism, wealth, economics, etc. – have become a measure of how 'free' the other sex is. An ideal women's game would be proactive and try to do away with existing gender roles.

The point is that right now there are no alternatives being formulated, and no reckoning taken or attempted to turn society in a different direction than the unsustainable suicide path that the patriarchal and strongly liberal society is taking right now. The really sad thing is that everyone loses in that game. But beyond that, the misunderstood and self-centred women's rights movement of Western women means letting down oppressed women all over the globe. Precisely because you are not really fighting against oppression, but for the right to be 'equal' within a very dubious framework, 95 percent of the world's women are left behind. However, almost no women outside the Western World feel that their cause is being spoken, which very well underlines the fundamental point of this context: women fight women, and men can just sit back and 'enjoy' the battle.

One could also put it squarely on the lead and say that the above atrocities could never occur if it were not for the fact that women's rights movement today is reduced to (for many) problematize (un)equality in foreign communities/cultures and otherwise becoming part of the patriarchal order rather than fighting it. The women's game today must therefore be understood quite literally, and if that is the case, no celebration is relevant, but for the men, and especially those who want the current power relationship to exist.

The commitment to being inclusive must not be tactic. It must be a belief, a celebration of difference, and a moral imperative. It should be how we work and who we are. We must see the world differently, through many different perspectives and with a truly collaborative spirit. We must also empower people to be themselves and respect others – it is core to true values and what we must believe in. Inclusiveness is something we should live and breathe for. In short, the sum of all people and their stories is who we are. We must believe in a future where everyone feels included, no matter where they work or live, and diversity is embraced, because we believe a future of inclusion is a better future for all – whether that inclusion comes from within, through other people, or by supporting businesses, government and society at large. Companies that don’t make serious efforts are more likely to get punished, whether by losing key employees, missing out on capital from investors, being publicly shamed, or losing business.

Building more diverse and inclusive workplaces starts with clarity of purpose. Being clear about the reasons for wanting a more diverse organization must be the starting point. Such deep concepts go to the core of who we are as people. They cannot be reduced to mere processes or solved in a single training event. They are profound ways of being, ways of thinking, ways of acting towards each other.

I see many well-intentioned training sessions that focus on diversity and things like ‘unconscious bias’. Anything that promotes more awareness and understanding is helpful but too often they fall woefully short of changing behaviour. Too often we try to address fundamental and deep issues about our humanity in superficial ways. We are seen to be doing the right thing by training people in diversity. The relevant boxes are ticked, but it results in little or no meaningful change.

Clarity of purpose starts with the leadership team. What sort of organization are we looking to build?   Building a more diverse and inclusive workplace makes business sense. It is great for business and for wider society. The business case for diversity and inclusion, including diversity of thought, is compelling. Getting this right means building better organizations and contributes to a better world for everybody.