Men and equality

Male managers in Switzerland are committed to gender equality!

That is the central finding of the first study, in Switzerland and internationally, on the commitment of male managers to gender equality. Almost 1,200 managers from all over Switzerland took part.

In summary, it shows:

Male managers are motivated, practice gender equality promotion in their day-to-day management, and participate in related activities. This potential needs to be communicated in Swiss companies and used to motivate further progress in gender equality.
Female managers asked about their perception of their male colleagues are clearly more sceptical and almost universally assess male commitment less positively.
The conditions for career development are very different for women and men due to their life realities -- and make equality more difficult.

Key conclusions and interventions:

Equality means organisational development. Women and men should feel integrated into their diversity -- and equality should not be understood as women's adapting to given circumstances.
Launching gender equality as a common issue for women and men is a successful strategy in companies and organisations.
Exchanging the different assessments of women and men in gender dialogues will lead to better understanding of objectives, hoped-for effects and new possibilities for action. Dialogue will promote the critical change of perspective.

Gender-inclusive leadership practices

- Developing a culture of equality,

- demanding fairness,

- promoting and supporting women, and

- facilitating work-life integration.

You can learn about concrete experiences with gender equality from the various male managers involved in the project.

Why gender equality needs men

The percentage of women in management in Swiss companies is still deficient. As a result, company management leaves significant economic potential untapped. At the same time, equal opportunities are not guaranteed across the board, and corporate cultures and structures are still geared towards male employment biographies.

Although increased qualification and empowerment of women is sensible and necessary, the proportion of women in leadership positions has nevertheless increased too little so far. The assumption that focussing on women will by itself change the situation falls short. Individual measures enabling women to better reconcile career and family, to increase competencies through mentoring and seminars, and to implement women's networks, etc., are not sufficient. These activities are mostly geared towards women adapting to the circumstances of the companies – often referred to as "fixing the women". This leaves the necessary changes in corporate structure and culture largely ignored.

In the same way, framing gender equality work as a "women's issue" all too often leaves the role of male colleagues, supervisors and employees unaddressed. In order to initiate the necessary organisational change, it is essential to get all employees in the company on board, and especially the – still predominantly male – managers.