Cultivating Workplace Culture

𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗 I was once in a meeting where I relayed an idea. I was a VP. There was another male VP in the meeting. And our boss. The meeting went on as if I didn't say anything. Then, the male VP relayed the same idea. And the boss said, "Great idea!" The oversight wasn't necessarily intended. It manifested an unconscious bias that often goes unnoticed in our daily interactions. Recognizing this is the first step toward making meaningful changes. When a woman states an idea, it may be overlooked, but everyone notices when a man repeats it. This is called the “stolen idea.” When a male coworker runs away with a woman’s idea, remind everyone it originated with her by saying something like, “Great idea! I loved it when Katie originally brought it up, and I’m glad you reiterated it.” If someone takes your idea, you can speak up for yourself by saying, “Thanks for picking up on that idea. Here’s my thought. . .” (then add something new). Ways that we can make sure women’s ideas are heard: 1. Invite other women to speak 2. Distribute speaking time equally 3. Ask to hear from women who are being interrupted and spoken over 4. Amplify other women’s ideas by repeating them and giving credit 5. Praise and showcase other women’s work 6. Create systems to distribute “office housework,” such as note-taking, in meetings 7. Share public speaking opportunities with women who have less power or privilege 8. Share pronouns In reflecting on this experience, I'm reminded of the importance of RAW leadership: Being 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 in acknowledging our biases and striving for equity, Being 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 in amplifying and crediting ideas regardless of their source, and recognizing the 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗬 impact of ensuring every voice is heard and valued. By adopting these practices, we can dismantle unconscious biases and create a more inclusive environment where everyone feels seen and heard. How do you ensure all voices are heard in your spaces?

This #internationalwomensday I'm turning the spotlight on us - my fellow men in leadership. Dear men in leadership, are we part of the problem or the solution in women's #leadership journey? It's time for a heart-to-heart. As a man in a position of influence, I've had to ask myself some tough questions. For decades, women have been pushing against glass ceilings, navigating gender biases, and fighting for seats at the leadership table. But here's the thing: It's 2024, and we're still talking about "the first woman to..." milestones. It makes me wonder, are we, as men, doing enough to change the narrative? Or are we unintentionally holding the pen that continues to write a story of inequality? Let's talk about being allies. Real allies. Not just in words, but in actions. How do we move from passive supporters to active champions for women leading from the front? Here's where we can start: A. Listen More - Before we can be part of the solution, we need to understand the problem. And that starts by listening more. B. #empathy starts at home and drives behavioral #change - Create an ecosystem that you expect for your partner, sisters, and mothers at their respective workplaces. If you root for them at home, it is time you start rooting for your fellow women colleagues too. C. Challenge the Status Quo - It's comfortable to go with the flow, especially when the current system benefits you. But growth and change come from discomfort. D. #inspireinclusion - Ultimately, fostering a culture of respect and inclusivity where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute to their fullest potential is perhaps the most significant action an ally can take. E. Sponsorship - Mentoring is great, but sponsorship is where we see significant impact. Use your chivalry to open doors that matter, recommend them for projects and promotions, and ensure they get the visibility they deserve. F. Educate yourself and others - The journey of allyship is ongoing. It's about creating an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive. This conversation is just the beginning. I want to hear from my LinkedIn community- both men and women. 1. To the men: How can we better support our women colleagues? What actions have you seen make a real difference? 2. To the women: What do you need from us, your allies, to help you lead from the front? Let's use this space to share, learn, and grow together. Your thoughts, experiences, and suggestions are not just welcome—they're needed. Happy Women’s Day to all of us! #genderequality #allyship #iwd2024 #gratitude

Unpaid household work | Men:88 mins - Women:289 mins Unpaid caregiving | Men:75 mins - Women:137 mins Paid employment | Men:473 mins - Women:341 mins Women work as much as men, if not more, They’re just not getting paid/appreciated for even half of it. Even in urban homes, even with domestic help, the mental load, the - “Did the milk come?” - “Is the uniform ironed?” - “Did the kid eat lunch?” still mostly falls on women. And yes, I’ve been guilty of ignoring it too. Meanwhile, Ashima was running the show at home with her Clinic. So here’s what I’m learning (and unlearning): 1) Invisible work is still work If it takes energy, time, and sacrifice, it counts. 2) Help without being asked If you need instructions to help, you’re not really helping. 3) Share the load, not just praise “Thanks for doing this” is a nice gesture. “Let me take this today” is better. 4) Don’t glorify imbalance We don’t need to celebrate women for doing it all. We need to change the system that forces them to and maybe help them. This post isn’t just about numbers. It’s about acknowledging the weight women carry quietly, daily, without a job title or salary attached. If you're wondering how to fix this: - Sit down with your partner. Ask what you don’t see. - Divide tasks like you divide budgets at work. - Model this behaviour for your kids. Especially your sons. Because respect isn’t just about words. It’s about participation. And it starts at home. #WorkLifeBalance #Leadership #PersonalDevelopment #LifeAtWork

The Leadership Gender Gap is getting worse. Fast. Here's how I personally would fix it, after speaking with 100's of Women Leaders in the past 2 years... Yesterday an article from LinkedIn News UK caught my eye. Accordingly to the World Forums' 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, the number of Women in Senior Leadership positions are in decline: 2022 = 37.5% 2023 = 36.9% 2024 = 36.4% (YTD) Perhaps I need to remind you that companies with the highest percentages of Women board Directors - Outperformed those with the least by: - 53% on return on equity. - 42% on return on sales. - 66% on return on invested capital. So with the decline in Women Leaders, you can also expect a decline on both top and bottom lines to follow. I'm assuming NO company would be happy with that. Here's 6 suggestions from me 👇 1. Listen - ASK women what they want and need to progress their careers. - Hear what's going on for them (Menopause, Childcare, Health challenges) - Know the barriers they face to progression, how can you break them down? 2. Support - Mentor and guide their careers with care. - Boost their confidence and mindset with coaching. - Support return from maternity leave or prolonged time off. 3. Retention - Invest in Women, promote Women. - Nurture and encourage your top talented Women. - Utilise and develop their many strengths and skills. 4. Flexibility - Implement job share or part time senior roles. - Allow side hustles and other ways to explore their creativity. - Working hours, working locations to support Mums, carers and preferences. 5. Pay - Recognise a good job done. - Fair Pay - close the gender pay gap. - It'll cost approx 213% to replace them when they leave (just FYI) 6. Culture - Look at your hiring and promotion biases and procedures. - Women are twice as likely to experience microagressions as men. Stop. - Are Women well represented in your organisation? If not, why not? What would you add? 👇 How can we solve this crisis, champion our Women and thrive in Business? 🙋♀️ I'm Beth, I post about Women in Leadership and Career Mindset tips daily. 🔔 Head to my profile, press follow & hit the bell so you don't miss a post.

It’s one of my missions to contribute to creating more inclusive workplaces around the world. Workplaces that have more women in leadership roles, that value their unique strengths and contributions, that support them to succeed, and that pay them equally. With less than a third of UN nations having ever had a woman as leader, and full gender equality estimated to be over 300 years away, it’s clear that we have a lot of work to do - but together, I know we can create huge ripples of change that support women to rise. One of the first steps? Dismantling the paradoxes of power that hold women back, and that feature in the majority of workplaces. There are 6 paradoxes of power that impact how women work, lead and live, and that I’ve written about and explored in my book Women Rising: The forces that hold us back, the tools to help us rise. 1. ‘Be a leader, but not like that’ - The Leadership Paradox, that insists that women lead like men, and not as their authentic selves. 2. ‘Be a great mother, but work like you don’t have children’ - The Motherhood Paradox, that leads to women being harshly judged, in ways that men aren’t, when their parenting responsibilities become visible in the workplace. 3. ‘Be empowered, but in a system that disempowers you’ - The Empowerment Paradox, where women are expected to be empowered in the very systems where biases and processes set them up for failure. 4. ‘Be successful, but in a sea of expectations’ - The Success Paradox, that highlights the challenges that women face when they strive to create a definition of success that’s in conflict with societal expectations and gender norms. 5. ‘Be more confident, but don't be assertive or aggressive’ - The Confidence Paradox, that often holds women back from asserting themselves and using their voice, and that limits their leadership opportunities. And lastly 6. ‘Be visible, but don’t promote yourself’ - The Visibility Paradox, which asks that women walk the impossible tightrope between self-promotion and humility, and prevents them from being recognised for their achievements. If you’ve ever been told to be ‘less emotional’, been spoken over in a meeting, had your ideas and inputs discredited, or had someone suggest that you wouldn’t be interested in a promotion because you have kids at home - you’ve been a victim of one of the paradoxes of power. In fact, I’m yet to meet a working woman who hasn’t been impacted by, or witnessed, the paradoxes of power at play. Over the coming weeks I’ll be unpacking each paradoxes of power in depth, so you can assess How you’ve been personally and professionally impacted by them What you/your workplace can do to dismantle them and find solutions to create an inclusive path forward. You can learn more about my book Women Rising: The forces that hold us back and the tools to help us rise, where I explore the paradoxes of power in depth, at womenrisingbook.com #womenrisingbook

When Leadership Crosses the Line: A South African Labour Law Perspective By Marizaan Bredenkamp – HR Consultant, Unite360 South Africa (Pty) Ltd Over the weekend, a video surfaced showing the CEO and Head of HR of a global company dancing intimately at a public event. Both are married—to other people—and one reports to the other. A third HR team member was also present. The fallout? Public scrutiny, internal distrust, and executive resignations. From a SA employment law and Code of Good Practice perspective, this is more than just a viral moment. It is a case study in leadership accountability, workplace ethics, and organisational culture. 1. An Integrity Breach – Not Just a PR Disaster In terms of the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace (2022), leaders are expected to model ethical behaviour at all times—When a CEO and CPO are seen in a compromising position, it calls their moral and professional integrity into question. This affects employee morale and undermines trust in leadership. 2. Power Imbalances Are Legally and Ethically Risky Even in consensual relationships, South African courts and CCMA decisions have consistently scrutinised romantic relationships where a reporting line exists. Power dynamics may create perceived coercion—directly contradicting the Employment Equity Act’s aim to promote fairness and eliminate abuse of authority. 3. HR Cannot Be Neutral When Integrity is Compromised When HR is silent in the face of misconduct, it becomes complicit. HR practitioners are bound by both ethical duties and fiduciary responsibilities. Failure to report or act on inappropriate behaviour—particularly when policy or ethics are compromised—can be deemed dereliction of duty, especially under the BCEA and LRA. 4. Policy Gaps Don’t Excuse Poor Judgment While the Basic Conditions of Employment Act does not explicitly ban workplace relationships, many leadership contracts include morality clauses, codes of conduct, and conflict of interest provisions. If your company doesn’t have a formal relationship policy, your leadership should still behave in ways that uphold organisational values—publicly and privately. 5. The Ripple Effect of Broken Trust • Can the CEO discipline the CPO fairly? • Can HR still lead culture authentically? • Will employees feel safe to report concerns? Once ethical cracks appear at the top, organisational culture starts to erode silently beneath. In South African case law, even the perception of bias, favouritism, or abuse of authority is sufficient grounds for constructive dismissal claims or allegations of unfair labour practice. What Should South African Employers & Boards Do? ✅ Introduce a Workplace Relationships Policy ✅ Review all leadership contracts for integrity clauses ✅ Train executives on public conduct, power dynamics, and ethical leadership ✅ Ensure HR’s independence and accountability ✅ Act decisively—because silence protects power, not people.

One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learnt in my decades of work in diversity and inclusion is this: every workplace has in-groups and out-groups. When you’re part of the dominant in-group, you’re more likely to have access to information, opportunities, and subtle encouragement that help you thrive. When you’re not, you often miss out on these invisible boosts. As Professor Binna Kandola, an organisational psychologist who has written extensively on this topic, explains: “There is nothing overtly offensive or discriminatory in the leader’s behaviour towards the in-group and the out-group. Instead, it’s the subtle behaviours, the nuances, the small gestures of encouragement for some and the absence of them for others that are more common and most telling.” And a rule of thumb to remember: “If anybody ever says there are no in-groups and out-groups where they work, they are in the in-group.” In male-dominated organisations, we see these subtle behaviours play out all the time. They show up in everyday banter, sports talk that excludes, being talked over in meetings, or not even being acknowledged when you enter a room. The result? Many women feel less confident to share ideas or raise concerns – exactly the opposite of a psychologically safe culture. And we know psychological safety is vital for team performance. But here’s the thing: these dynamics are often invisible to people inside the dominant group. So if you lead a team, here are four questions to consider: 1.    Am I genuinely encouraging everyone’s ideas, questions and concerns? 2.    Could I be unintentionally giving more subtle encouragement to some but not others? 3.    How can I actively validate the contributions of people who are under-represented or more likely to experience microaggressions? For example, acknowledge a thoughtful idea from someone who usually speaks less, or call out a team member’s courage in sharing a different view. Small micro-validations build confidence and invite more participation. 4.    Could I conduct stay interviews? These are the opposite of exit interviews. They help you check in early and understand what keeps people engaged and feeling included – or what support they may be missing. What other ideas spring to mind for you?

Why international managers flop in Africa: the unrevealed culture shock Why do so many international managers land in Africa with big dreams and leave with their tails between their legs? I think that it’s not because Africa is “too difficult.” It’s because they walk in with cultural blinders firmly in place 🌐 The universal business model delusion - you can’t just copy-paste your winning strategy from Rome or Berlin and expect it to work in Lagos or Brazzaville. Africa’s 54 countries are not just colored dots on a map, they're culturally rich, diverse and wonderfully complex. 🔕 Communication fails -  many African cultures value indirect communication (high context model). If you think a “no” always means “yes,” prepare to be confused. And that silence during your presentation? It’s not an invitation to fill the air with your own voice. Sometimes, less is more and understanding subtle cues is an art form that can make or break your success. 🙎🏼The “white” complex syndrome - if you’re arriving with a “we know best” attitude, kindly turn around and go back to the airport, quickly! Local knowledge is gold. Collaboration and humility are survival strategies. 💍Trust as hidden currency - forget the self-satisfaction deriving from fancy PowerPoints and data sheets. In Africa, business runs on trust and relationships. You can skip the small talk and dive straight into the deal? No. Building genuine relationships isn’t just nice, it’s essential. Invest time in people! 🏄Darwin would approve your adaptability - Africa’s diverse business environment demands flexibility. If you’re rigid, you’re lost. Whether it’s dealing with power outages or adjusting to local holidays, adaptability is key and unpredictability is your biggest asset. Have you witnessed too international managers struggle in Africa?

Should we be concerned? I've been reading more about how hybrid work arrangements may unintentionally reinforce gender divides, particularly here in Australia. It got me thinking about how the shift to flexible work, while positive in many ways, might have a hidden cost we’re not properly addressing. Flexible work was meant to be a gamechanger. More freedom, more equality, more balance.  It really has been, for me personally. I can pick up and drop my son at school and actually be there to listen to him talk about his day. Something I couldn’t do when he was in primary school and work was all in-office. But here's the quiet reality in Australia, men increasingly return to offices and women disproportionately remain remote. Not only does proximity bias skew visibility and opportunity in favour of those physically present it might nurture a boy’s club mentality, even subconsciously. Think casual chats at the coffee machine, impromptu afterwork drinks, or informal brainstorms in the office, all arenas where alliances are built and opportunities handed out under the table. The issue isn’t that men are sneakily plotting world domination over flat whites. It’s that these small, almost invisible moments of bonding compound over time into something structural: men reinforcing each other’s careers through mentorship, sponsorship, and good old-fashioned favour-trading. Meanwhile, women working from home are out of sight, out of mind, their contributions more transactional, their relationships with leadership more formal and brittle. In Australia, where leadership in both corporate and public sectors still skews heavily male, the danger of this dynamic becoming further entrenched under hybrid models is very real. Instead of being the great equaliser, hybrid work risks becoming a subtle new barrier dressed up in flexibility’s clothing. Possible implications: * Fewer women in executive and board roles * Increased turnover of talented women who feel side-lined or invisible * A workplace culture that sounds inclusive but operates more like a country club Unless organisations actively tackle proximity bias, audit career progression pathways, and build truly inclusive hybrid frameworks, we may find the modern workplace looks suspiciously like the 1980s, just with fancier laptops. Am I overthinking this, or is it something we should be more concerned about? #HybridWork #GenderEquity #Leadership #Inclusion #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceCulture

A lot of tech companies - Amazon, Google, Meta - are laying off middle managers to "flatten" the organization and decrease bureaucracy and decision making lag time. Which begs the question, "What do middle managers do? And what might be lost when they are gone?" Speaking as someone who spent my corporate career in "middle management," I can say, definitively, one of the primary things that we do is care for our team and the individuals within it. We do this caretaking in every conversation and in every meeting we hold. We create the container for people to ask questions, raise concerns, get clarity, and feel belonging. So it probably should not be a surprise that middle managers are currently seen as superfluous, given the feminization of "caretaking." But here's the thing: In times of perpetual upheaval - like right now and for the foreseeable future - the only thing which we can control is how much and how quickly we learn and then how we adapt and navigate by applying that learning. And guess what is the most important prerequisite to organizational learning? An environment of CARE. Low care? Less learning. Less learning? Decreased ability to navigate, adapt and innovate. The soft stuff is the hard stuff. Intangibles enable tangible outcomes. This 2x2 is from my dissertation published more than 20 years ago and it still applies today. Learning is social and attending to relationships and cultures of care is the key to unlocking this critical capability in organizations. #softskills #culture #learning #intangibles #care #middlemanager