Discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion within financial services firms can sometimes “alienate men” but this need not be the case, according to Mark Freed, co-founder of Men for Inclusion.
Freed explained that discussions about diversity can sometimes feel like “fixing women and blaming men”.
Instead, he emphasised the importance of discussing inclusion as, when firms start discussing culture and behaviours, it can help men realise “this is a positive, there’s a lot in it for them, and it’s not a zero sum game”.
Freed added that tapping into a personal case for men, particularly those below board level, can effectively make them understand the issues and make them start engaging positively with DEI initiatives.
One example is pointing out changing gender roles and how this affects men.
“Over my career, the definition of being a man has changed incredibly and positively,” he explained.
“The sort of things I have had to put up with, the restrictions on my life and lifestyle, the opportunities and choices I had, were quite limited compared to someone younger.”
However, Freed warned that men still have a great deal of progress to make in this area and currently llag behind their female counterparts.
“The world has moved on to such an extent where women have freed themselves from complying with outdated female stereotypes.
“Men are 15 to 20 years behind them in freeing ourselves from complying with outdated male stereotypes and the sooner we do, the sooner the world will be better for all of us.”
Men for Inclusion
Freed explained that Men for Inclusion, a company which aims to appeal to male members of the industry, was founded as a result of a lack of progress with gender equality.
He recounted looking at gender pay gap statistics for the industry and recognising “we were moving forwards at a glacial pace”.
Freed also remembered observing an increasing backlash to progress by men who were either passive or resistant to the idea of change.
As a result, Freed, and Men for Inclusion’s other co-founder Gary Ford, asked what they could do to address this.
They identified that what the industry really needed was to get more men on board with the idea of gender progress and launched Men for Inclusion in response.
“Today we’re working with a lot of firms, not just in financial services but also outside the industry, to help them really engage men in DEI initiatives,” Freed explained.
“We’ve helped hundreds, maybe thousands of women to progress and succeed in their financial services careers and understand the challenges they face.”
Inclusion leaders
Freed added another aim of Inclusion for Men is to create “inclusion leaders” within firms to further the cause of gender equality.
Explaining what this means, Freed differentiated inclusion leaders from male allyship.
“Quite often when we are talking about allyship or what the role of an ally is, it’s summed up by a man helping and supporting a woman to succeed but, specifically, in the current workplace environment.
