International Women’s Day: One easy win for diversity in the workplace

I have started playing a game every time I go to a presentation or lecture, read a report, or am the recipient of marketing. The game is to spot the white man. And, if I have the inclination, count the number of times a white man appears versus a non-white person. 

But this game has been quite disturbing because, without exception, white men dominate the content of lectures, marketing materials, videos, etc. Just for the fun here is the video which inspired me to start this game. It is the marketing video for the Judge Business School Executive MBA. Across MBA programmes, in general, there is a shockingly low proportion of women. Judge Business School is no exception but they say that they are trying to increase the number of women. My question is why would a woman be attracted to a programme in which the marketing material is dominated by men?

A friend of mine described her reaction to watching the recent ‘Wonder Woman’ movie as overwhelmingly emotional because it was one of the few times she had experienced a strong, empowered, intelligent heroine as the main character in a movie. It is only until we experience women as role models in mainstream media do we realise the impact that it has on us - the raw emotions that are stirred as a result. However, the dominance of men in media (books, movies, reports, television, radio, etc.), whether as the subject or the author, is pervasive. This means that women and girls don’t have the inspirational role models that men have. 

However, it also means that there’s a low-hanging opportunity to address diversity imbalance; an exciting opportunity to inspire and encourage diversity.

So, in your next presentation, report, video, etc. ensure diversity in your materials. It’s an easy thing to do - find a quote from a woman instead of a man, find diverse panelists for your debate, profile some wonder women in your blog. Together we can make the world a better place :-)

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