Where do We Go from Here? Managing Gender at Work in the #MeToo Era

Description

Gender challenges in the workplace are nothing new. However, over the past couple of years, these issues have once again been thrust front and center in the public eye, especially triggered by the #MeToo movement, the Women’s March, individual cases (e.g., Bill Cosby) and concerns about statements and actions by politicians. How do these public incidents, and the debate that they generate, impact people’s attitudes and behaviors in our workplace environments, and how do we address the challenge of even discussing these issues in a constructive way?

When we read about Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, etc., it is normal and completely appropriate to hold individuals accountable for behavior that ranges from inappropriate to illegal. However, identifying individual perpetrators is not enough. While that might address individual incidents as they occur, or even as they have in the past, it is insufficient to address the challenge of understanding and impacting the system that continuously produces these incidents.

Howard Ross and Leslie Traub have worked together for more than 25 years, addressing issues of gender in the workplace. In this workshop they will address not only the specific individual behaviors and actions that lead to these incidents occurring but even more importantly will look at the systemic, organizational and societal dynamics that lead to these incidents occurring time and time again from both a male AND female perspective.

Drawing from research on gender behavior patterns, unconscious gender bias, as well as years of interaction with both male and female clients, this workshop will disassemble some of the myths of “normative” gender dynamics and focus on helping participants understand how gender bias occurs, why it occurs, and what can be done to address it. Rather than focusing only on the individual incidents that occur, this workshop will look at the patterns in organizations that create daily obstacles to women’s success.

Learning Outcomes

1. Develop a deeper understanding of the ways gender patterns occur in society and in our organizations
2. Learn how research demonstrates deep, unconscious patterns in both men and women that contribute to this dynamic
3. Identify healthy ways to intervene with specific actions to use