What about the men?

There’s been much discussion this week about workplace culture.

In the charity sector we had the release of the Charity Commission’s report into the failure of leadership at Save the Children and the boss at Alzheimer’s Society stepped away early following a series of bullying allegations and alleged six-figure payouts. Simultaneously, in politics there was one story after another about Priti Patel.

I’m not going to comment on the stories themselves, alarming as they are. Although I will just say that I have huge admiration for the principled whistleblowers who’ve come forward.

But these stories have reminded me of experiences I’ve had of good and bad bosses and I’ve been thinking a lot about how bosses set the tone. A new entrant to a large organisation told me once how the boss there would arrive every morning, walk through the open plan office past the whole team and go straight into her office and shut the door without even saying hello. This behaviour set a very bad tone.

I’ve certainly been in situations where the last thing I’ve wanted to do is speak to anyone when I’ve arrived at the office. But you get back what you put in. So if you can bring yourself to say a cheery hello, you’ll get a few back, and you’ll feel better. Honest. Try it!

And if you’re unlucky enough to have a crap boss, Bruce Daisley’s helpline might be for you.

I’ve recently been reading the Class Ceiling which makes some interesting points on the importance of sponsors in helping people get ahead. Sponsors who will advocate on your behalf and encourage you.

This clip is worth a watch for Dawn Butler’s impressive dignity in the face of provocation.

Note to white people - you don’t get to tell black people what is and isn’t racist. Shall we club together and buy Laura Trott a copy of Me and White Supremacy?

This week the Institute of Fundraising launched its report into the female leadership gap. I was pleased to have had the opportunity to make an input. It makes for some interesting, if not very surprising, reading in a sector where the majority of senior fundraising roles are held by men, particularly in the larger charities, despite the profession being predominantly made up of women.

There was a lot of discussion at the report launch about solutions and mentoring came up a lot. I’d like to explore whether sponsorship, rather than mentoring, might be an approach to consider. There was also discussion about the low numbers of men in responding to the research, and also at the event itself.

This week also saw the release of the Carnegie Trust’s Race Inequality in the workforce report which presents new data on a longitudinal study of the millennial generation in the UK. Useful new data and some suggested actions.

As we approach International Women’s Day AKA What About the Men? Day on Sunday, we find that 2020 is not the year we’ll finally see a woman in the White House.

The reason I started this newsletter was because I am spending a lot of my time immersed in issues of social justice and equity. I’m really keen to share what I’m learning about with others in the hope that it’ll help inspire more of us to start working on making the world a fairer, more equal place.

If you like what you’ve read, please do share with colleagues who might be interested and let me know what you’d like to see more (or less) of. I’ve had really kind and positive feedback so far. Thank you.

In the depths of January I bought these primulas for £3.99 from Lidl. I planted them in a pot I can see from my desk and they make me smile. Happy weekend, all!