Today’s episode features Maria and Michelle continuing their discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace and resolving to make it a common theme throughout the year, or however long it takes.
They refer to and use a recent Fast Company article to help frame their discussion about toxic masculinity -- and toxic culture, in general -- in the workplace. Before getting too deep into their discussion, Michelle is careful to outline what they mean when they use the phrase “toxic masculinity”. They are not attacking all traits that are typically considered masculine; they are addressing a set of attitudes and behaviors that are stereotypically associated with men, but are detrimental not only to men, but also to society as a whole. After exploring the many costs and issues surrounding such a work culture, our hosts finish up with their sound advice for all listeners.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
Quotes:
“The concept is to address attitudes and behaviors that keep you, as a male, from expressing yourself as a whole person.”
“We wanted to start by addressing that this is not about attack. It’s about attitudes that are detrimental.”
“There were times when brute strength was the difference between surviving and not surviving, but the evolution we’ve gone through has changed that. And we have not necessarily changed along with it.”
“What if the guy that said that really didn’t mean or think anything about it? What if he literally just thought, ‘Hey, can you get lunch for us?’ What if he wasn’t trying to hold you back?”
“Those discussions often need to be had in the moment. You can’t train on every single phrase in the workplace… you could do code of conduct training and sensitivity training, and DE&I, all that stuff, right? But until someone says something…”
“When we are living in a job market where the employee dictates their demands, it is not the right time to be a bad place to work. It’s never a good time, but now is absolutely not the right time.”
“Studies show that less than 13% of individuals that face harassment make any kind of formal complaint… So they’re not going to HR about it, they’re not going to their leaders about it. They’re probably talking about it over break with the one or two friends that they can trust. And I’m not suggesting that you break your friend’s confidence, but you can’t just be an ally. That’s why things do not change, we never actually take action to do anything about it. You can absolutely start to collect evidence or proof that a toxic culture exists.”
“We’re going to intertwine these different types of articles, books, discussions, in regard to DE&I and how it’s really impacting your organization. We can continue to elaborate on some of the discussions we just had here today, so stay tuned for more within our series throughout this year.”
Show Links:
REL Talent: HR Consulting
Email REL Talent
REL Talent on LinkedIn
