Why are you reading this? Maybe the title makes you think, “absolutely” or maybe you think “humph, trying to make men obsolete, are we?” or even “I think you are taking Feminism TOO FAR…” Before you get all cross with me, bear in mind, you may already BE a Feminist or half a Feminist – yes, you! Mister man! So before going any further let’s bust some myths:

  1. You do not have to be a woman to be a Feminist
  2. Feminism is not about elevating women above men
  3. Feminism is a movement that is in favour of equality and inclusiveness
  4. If every organisation is run by a Feminist, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to change the current leadership – maybe just their thinking

Have I taken Feminism too far?

It is flatly impossible to take Feminism too far – because it is about equality – how do you take equality too far? Think about it… it’s not possible, is it? Not unless some animals are equal and some are more equal than others – whoops, that’s immediately not Feminism anymore… (nod to George Orwell).

Why is it called Feminism, you may ask – well it was invented by Charles Fourier in 1837, so if you don’t like it, you can take it up with him!

And why call this ‘Feminism’ and not Equality – well to quote Kenneth Blanchard ‘there is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals’ and what he means is that we are all different and so need to have different considerations.

My perspective on this is, therefore, that Feminism is based on the assumption that women and men are different, that for women to be equal to men means to be like men, which is not desirable. We end up with everyone trying to compete to be as much like the other people on the board, who all happen to be men, or men called Dave, (watch Sandi Toksvig’s TED Talk) and that is basically where we are now; with many women striving to compete with men, to be like men or trying to downgrade or minimise the aspects of themselves that are different, just to keep their jobs – and to avoid being patronised.

10 reasons why every business leader SHOULD be a Feminist:

Every Friday, we here at Wellbeing with Cari will be uncovering our top 10 reasons why every business leader SHOULD be a Feminist. This list has been compiled by me!

Let’s take it away with No.10 of why every leader should be a Feminist in order to develop a more inclusive workplace.

No.10 – Feminist Leaders SHOULD adapt jobs to fit the person

The same is true for the job role. The role may need to fit the person, not the person fit the role. We may need to think about the wisdom of trying to squeeze people in square holes, when they are their own, perfectly formed, individual and person-sized piece of the jigsaw, already.

Have you experienced this yourself, sifting through pages of job advertisements online and stumbling upon something you dream to do? As your body slowly fills with the sheer excitement at the possibility of getting your dream job, your eyes pan over the job requirements… yet, you find you lack one requirement from a very long list of requirements you need to even be considered. Perhaps you’ve just finished university, bubbling with passion and drive to get your career started, yet those years of education meant you were unable to obtain the requirements to even apply for the job that you’ve been studying for years to do.

Job requirements are so stringent, they leave no room for exploration into candidates who may bring fresh ideas to the industry. What we need to do is stop restricting ourselves and others with these petty requirements, take a chance on people, at least meet a candidate before abandoning that application altogether.

Job searching can be incredibly daunting, especially during a pandemic. That’s why recruiters and business leaders MUST strive to offer a more diverse environment which offers opportunities to everyone.

Want to discover all 10 reasons why every leader SHOULD be a Feminist?

That concludes No.10 reasons why every leader SHOULD be a Feminist… our next blog in the series will be published on the 26/02/21!

Wishing you all a lovely and relaxing weekend!