Male Gender Inequality in the Workforce?
A recently popular business topic has been gender, in particular, the rise of women and the “failings” of men. Or rather, the perceived lack of adaptability that men possess in our 2.0 economic world according to Hanna Rosin’s new book The End of Men: And the Rise of Women.
Go ahead, just Google ‘The End of Men’ and your screen will fill up with recent articles from The Atlantic, The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and the Huffington Post, just to name a few. What are all these people talking about? Here’s the skinny, according to Rosin:
After the recession hit, jobs requiring more physical strength such as construction and manufacturing disappeared. The economy instead began to favor the service and information industries, which, according to Rosin, favor the stereotypically feminine traits such as “social intelligence, open communication, (and) the ability to sit still and focus.”
Even college enrollment and graduation statistics show a disproportion among genders, with women earning 60% of master’s and bachelor’s degrees and about 50% of medical and law degrees. To battle this, according to The Atlantic, some schools have experimented with “affirmative action” type of programs to cater to the assumed learning styles of men.
How does this shift impact organizations? The suppression or discrimination against any person or gender is never the solution. The truth is that both genders must work together and support each other as the organization moves forward. So how do you empower women to keep going while also encouraging men to accept and adapt to new roles?
Earlier this year I blogged about ways your organization could cater to working women (and men). I discussed addressing and understanding the different values and priorities employees have, as well as the benefits that come from adjusting policy and loyal employees.
In line with this type of thinking, Deloitte has recently introduced Mass Career Customization which targets not only women but men. “Flexible work arrangements are not the solution,” says Cathy Benko, MCC author. For long-term solutions, she looked at mass product customization and applied it to careers, in order to encourage employee loyalty, leading to lower talent acquisition costs and organizational profitability.
So what’s targeted in mass career customization?
- Pace – This determines how fast employees want to accelerate, decelerate, or keep their career at a steady pace.
- Workload – MCC offers employees the ability to scale up or down their workload.
- Location and Schedule – This allows employees to decide how much they are willing to travel, as well as the amount of hours they feel they can handle.
- Role in Organization – Employees choose the type of position and responsibilities they prefer. Are they ready for a leadership position or are they better suited at the moment for individual contributions?
Get a preview here of what your personal career customization could look like.
MCC is a valuable tool as it allows for different measurements of success. However, it’s also important to look at holistic solutions. For example, Deloitte also has other programs in place such as its Women’s Initiatives which focuses on educating others in the workplace concerning work styles and communication. So whether or not you’re trying to create a flexible environment to alleviate gender gaps, the main idea is to understand what other ways your organization could improve holistically. The best way to start is by learning or surveying what your employees actually think.
Do you think the idea of mass career customization is a winner? Have you seen organizations do a great job integrating various programs into one cohesive work management program? Let me know in a comment below.
