Actions Men Can Take to Create an Inclusive Workplace

Catalyst listed actions men can take to develop capacities as agents of change and as influential role models to male peers. These behaviours can be critical to achieve an inclusive workplace:

1. Be open with other men about your commitment to a gender-inclusive workplace.
2. Talk to other men about the costs of gender inequity – for both men and women – in the workplace.
3. Use work-life flexibility benefits if you have them and don’t be shy about it.
4. Communicate your support for male colleagues that use work-life flexibility benefits.
5. Take responsibility for your own learning and don’t rely on women colleagues.
6. Mentor and/or sponsor an emerging woman leader and encourage male peers to do the same.
7. Speak up if you notice gender-based assumptions being made about your colleagues.
8. Be attentive to whether men and women colleagues are being judged by different standards.
9. Share your stories of working for inclusion with other men – the good and the bad.
10. Get involved in your organization’s gender-focused Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).