PWN Global Newsletter Q4 2017
Rising to the challenge!
Dear PWN
Community,
The recent events in the film, media, tech and
other sectors show how challenging it is for women to advance their
careers in male dominated cultures and environments. Not only are
women frequently discriminated against in development opportunities,
promotions and pay, but they often have to deal with attitudes and
behaviours from male colleagues which range from indifference to
serious harassment.
Many women report that they experience “micro
aggressions”, where men assume them to be junior, or make personal
comments about their appearance or dress, or try to talk over or
undermine them in meetings etc. These harmful episodes are hard for
many women to deal with because they are usually in less powerful
positions. They are often not sure where the threshold of unacceptable
behaviour lies, nor how seriously they will be taken if they
complain.
One of the factors driving these behaviours is
male privilege – men often don’t recognise that they have enormous
advantages in being the dominant group and that actions they take can
exclude or harm others. With men holding some 80% of executive roles
and the majority of people manager positions, there is a clear need to
engage them in raising awareness and changing these attitudes and
behaviours. To be fair, many male colleagues that we work with want
to see equal opportunities and treatment for their female
counterparts. They also recognise that the best performing and most
disruptive organisations are diverse and inclusive. They understand
that by discouraging female talent, organisations lose out on
innovation and growth!
But many men are unclear about what they can (and
need to) do to make a difference – so here is our Number 1 tip for
Men – ASK YOUR FEMALE COLLEAGUES AND FAMILY
MEMBERS. Find out about their experiences and perspectives
and ask them what support they need from you. Then reflect upon how
you might need to change your language, attitudes and behaviours.
Men can also find out more about how they can
support women from extensive resources on the internet (Google:
“ways in which men can support women”) and (may we also point out)
on the PWN Global website (under Balanced Leadership). There are also
really excellent books like Everyday
Sexism, by Laura Bates. Laura collected the stories of women who
had experienced sexism and subsequently compiled them in a book. We
thoroughly recommend this as a must read for every man!
One other interesting way men can learn more
about women’s perspectives in these situations is through Virtual
Reality experiences. At Oslo Innovation Week in September PWN Norway
hosted a session on changing behaviours through technology and we
presented how VR can be used to build empathy between women and men.
Yasmine Boudiaf of Serious Datum reported on a project she had been
working on with Mercer, the global consulting firm, where micro
aggressions by men towards women were filmed using VR cameras. Yasmine
had collected real life experiences of women and had put together a
number of scenarios which reflected typical examples of these micro
aggressions. The films were shot using Mercer “actors” from the
women’s perspective with the intention that men could then put on
the VR headsets and relive these experiences as if they were the women
at the centre of these micro aggressions.
The men who tried this VR experience were shocked
at how revealing this was about the women’s experiences and vowed to
reflect this in their attitudes and behaviours in the future.
At PWN Global we are pleased to be at the
forefront of changing people’s mind-sets and promoting inclusive and
balanced organisations. Encouragingly, the reactions we have seen from
many women (and men) to the recent episodes of male behaviour show a
huge demand to put these outdated cultures and environments firmly
behind us once and for all. We are convinced that women and men can
and should work together to achieve this goal!
So, if you haven’t done so already, get in touch with us,
join a
local city network, volunteer and
help us make a difference – you’ll have a great experience,
develop yourself and, very importantly, have a lot of fun!
Enjoy your read and make sure to share the
news.
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Sonya Richardson Co-President, PWN Global
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Rob Baker Co-President PWN Global
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Q4 2017 newsletter introduction note
authored by Rob Baker.
PWN Global
Balanced Leadership
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Currently, 80%
of the top positions at most European organizations are held by men*.
This makes them indispensable on the road to gender balanced
leadership. But how can men be engaged in helping... |
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PWN Global
Mentoring
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For a while,
PWN Global has been testing mentoring between women and men with great
success. So, it was with interest that we picked up on this article by
Robert Steven Kramarz, published on... |
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PWN Milan
mentoring program 2017 edition is offering a real new opportunity for
their mentees: the Reverse Mentoring Group! |
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In preparation
for our International Mentoring Programme 2018 launch, we are seeking
mentors. Do you have what it takes? |
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Do you want to
be part of an exciting adventure?
As we launch our global Mentoring
program, we need you to help make it the best-in-class program it
deserves to be! |
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PWN Global
City Network News
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Every
successful journey starts with just one small spark of an idea, and
PWN Copenhagen had its start in the heart of co-founder Toni
Heisterberg-Andersen, a native of New Zealand who
made... |
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In our fourth
year as an event organizer for Oslo Innovation Week, we aspired to
accelerate the pace of change and show how disruptive technology can
be used to create opportunity for a more... |
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PWN Global
President of the Quarter
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Each year, PWN
Global invites all of its city network Presidents to an offsite
strategy meeting. The meeting is always hosted in one of the locations
of our city networks around the world. This... |
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PWN Global
Member Offers
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Still debating
about investing in a master degree?
INSEAD’s various scholarship options are aimed at fulfilling the
global need for more women in leadership positions. |
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We are excited
to announce that we´ve reached an agreement between PWN Barcelona and
the Institute for Transformational Leadership (IfTL), a global
education and consulting firm that guides... |
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PWN Global
Corporate Partner News
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Mercer and PWN
Global have had a strong, successful global partnership since January
2012, and have now extended their collaboration for another three
years. Both parties have a firm commitment to... |
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Expert's
Corner
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“I was
like one of those Hindu gods with ten pairs of hands,” says
Isabelle Dresco, a graduate of INSEAD's Global Executive MBA (GEMBA).
“I had a demanding international career. I gave birth
to... |
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How might we
become more courageous, confident and collaborative leaders during a
time of upheaval? As women, are we our own worst enemy? Are we the
helpless victims and co- conspirators of our... |
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When it comes
to dealing with difficult situations in life, most people would rather
pass. (I know I would.) The bad news is that there’s no avoiding
those painful situations; the good news is... |
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Research
Corner
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PWN Paris has launched a new program,
which many of you may have already heard about - Professional
AMBITION: Exploring the perspectives of men and women. You can
contribute to this project in... |
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As part of his continued work on engaging men in
gender balance, Co-President of PWN Globlal, Rob Baker,
is conducting a survey about the topics and themes that would
interest people (of all... |
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Blogger's
Corner
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On our lookout
for great blogs this quarter, we found this great piece authored by
Stefanie Colemanby of PWC, on the topic of "Creating sustainable
movement – How to embed diversity and inclusion... |
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For any
Ex-Pats, out there, check out Sundae Beam's video blogs. This week,
her 'Happy Hour' explores several questions: How can you stop feeling
guilty when you finally take time for yourself?... |
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I’ve started
and stopped writing this post for you about five times in the last
week. Witnessing all of the #MeToo posts on social media and the
discussion about broader issues of sexual... |
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PWN Book
Review
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Award winning
author, business woman andTED Talk speaker, Margaret Heffernan
recently recorded a webinar for us on Networks
of Influence. When we asked her which one of her books we
should... |
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News
Roundup
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The European Commission has launched the fifth
edition of the EU Prize for Women Innovators to award women
entrepreneurs who have achieved outstanding innovations and brought
them to market. Apply... |
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