When it comes to gender equity, we’re running a marathon, not a sprint.
Published on 7 February 2024 | By Dellwyn Stuart, CEO YWCA Tāmaki Makaurau
I’m not a runner, but I know from those who love it that keeping a good pace and finding a nice, steady rhythm is key to maintaining progress and ultimately reaching the next goal. Runners know they are going to face some obstacles along the way - a steep hill, a strong wind, or that voice in your head telling you to cut it short for the day. That’s the moment when you need to find a way to push through, to focus on the little things - your breathing, your stride, or simply the next step.
I think about these ideas of endurance and momentum when it comes to our work helping organisations progress gender equity in their workplaces.
Member organisations of our #GenderAtWork community are working hard to transform their workplaces. This is to ensure that regardless of gender, everyone has an equitable chance to be hired or promoted; feels like they belong; and is paid and treated fairly for the work they do and the contributions they make.
Around the world, we are seeing pushback on progressive agendas and we’re not immune to this in Aotearoa. The 2023 NCW Gender Attitudes survey showed that while most Kiwis do think gender equality is a fundamental right, 48% of respondents felt that gender equality had ‘for the most part’ been achieved. For those of us working at the coalface, we know that this is far from the case and there is ample research that backs this up – such as regarding gender and ethnic pay gaps.
This complacency and resistance is the latest ‘steep hill’ in this marathon journey. Fortunately, it’s not the first time we have encountered pushback, and we’re fuelled by our belief in the importance of this work. This work is not only for those working alongside us today but also for the many young wāhine and irarere who are yet to enter the workforce.
This work is about fundamental human rights – opportunity, fairness, and respect. We can reconnect people with shared values and customer expectations to help focus on making the most needed changes.
There are always some positive signs we can use to lift our momentum. For example, pay gap reporting is on the rise and more and more organisations are putting in place menopause policies and initiatives to support those going through this natural life stage. How can we leverage the energy around these initiatives to keep the overall programme moving?
At #GenderAtWork, we’ve put together a checklist to work through when there are fresh headwinds. We encourage you to reengage your leadership, update your strategies, and recommit to the workplace gender equity goals you have for the year.
Five steps for sustaining your Gender at Work programme.
Take a moment to reflect: Prepare yourself by considering the potential impact of our recent change in Government and the economic climate that is likely to colour the months ahead. How is your organisation responding to these changes and what is that likely to mean for your programme?
Know who you’re running with: Understanding your key stakeholders and how they are thinking about Gender and DEI in 2024 is vital. How might their support change in the year ahead? Who has helped you sustain progress in the past? Will they be your running partners this year, or do you need to rethink your partnerships? We think allyship needs to be a big focus this year.
Review your strategy: Build the best game plan by taking stock of what worked and didn’t work in the past year—positive impacts and negative reactions. Use this review to tweak your strategy and reinforce it with a risk mitigation plan when necessary. A fresh, holistic, and honest view is always beneficial.
Stay visible and engaged: Keep moving by investing in consulting and communicating your path forward with key decision-makers. Training can be a valuable tool \to keep people leaders engaged in this work and to ensure that the needed changes become embedded and effective.
Pay attention to the road ahead: Anticipate what obstacles and opportunities might be coming by keeping a pulse on changes. A good feedback process will ensure you don’t get caught unprepared.
In 2024, these five steps need to be on a “rinse and repeat” process. At #GenderAtWork, we have developed a workshop for organisations who want to understand the different ways resistance shows up and how to counter it effectively. Get in touch if this sounds like it would be useful for your People or DEI team to work through.
When faced with heightened scrutiny and opposition to anything worthwhile doing, the tendency can be to slow down, change course, or just stop. While this is the easy, less stressful choice to make, this work is too important to go down that road. Often in these times of noise or resistance, there is an opportunity - a pivot - that we can make to keep us moving forward; keep us running.
Just like in running, it’s great to tap into the community around you to stay on course. The #GenderAtWork team and community should be your go-to place for a different perspective, a pep talk, and a useful tip that has worked elsewhere. Reach out and leverage your membership to connect with the enormous wisdom of those in the community.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.
