For International Women’s Day let’s talk about men

By Ewa Bakun

the least public exposure, but who is an expert on the topic discussed by the panel. And this is an example of behavior that men can exhibit to demonstrate allyship and support for women, and more generally for minority groups. It is very important that more men do it to make progress. But it is not an attempt to invite men to promote women solely for their gender, but rather to make them realize the privileges they have enjoyed for thousands of years, in part only because they are male.

The trend of abandoning uniform panels is becoming more widespread and I welcome it, even if it means more work for us. But the invitation is even more welcome if it comes from men and is accompanied by the recommendation of a woman. There are more and more men who not only talk about the alliance, but make it, as Keith did. But talking about it is also a powerful tool, especially if it is done with the consistency, regulatority and voracity that risks criticizing the status quo and those who take advantage of it. The alliance can be uncomfortable as confrontations indicating discriminative or offensive behaviors can be uncomforable, which otherwise, in most cases, are simply ignored, hardly ever noted or simply dismissed for triviality. They are often everyday situations and not very visible (for those who do not experience them), such as being voiceless in meetings or having one’s ideas adopted and accredited by male colleagues – well known and often cited examples of discrimination in the professional field. Men have a power here, also because they have influence in their positions of seniority, to call out injustices and react with defence. For those who would like an example, I recommend Richard Schuetz’s column in Global Gaming Business. But in addition to speaking, the other important tool of allyship is listening. Listening to learn and understand the condition and experience of lunder-represented groups, with a humble attitude that accepts the diversity of experiences. I have already spoken in this column of the concept of reverse mentorship, which offers a more structured approach to this type of exchange between groups of various seniority in the company. It seems that there are companies, even in our sector, that have adopted it, and the speakers at the Ice seminar entitled “Beyond Dei” spoke about it. I would say that one should really start by listening. And the seminar just mentioned is needed to create opportunities to educate yourself on points of view other than those of male default. I was happy to see incredible interest in this seminar, with more than 300 people registered (what a difference from a few years ago, when we couldn’t even get to 100!). Unfortunately, after an analysis of the registrations, it turns out that only 46 out of 300 were male.