The feminist transformation: Change the system, not the women
A presentation at Hannovermesse / Femworx in in Hanover, Germany by Jutta Horstmann
The Feminist Transformation Change the system, not the women Femworx, April 25 2024 | Jutta Horstmann | CEO, Mailvelope
The workplace: A man’s world
81% In Germany, 81% of C-level positions are held by men (2023, LinkedIn)
44% In Germany, men are 44% more likely to be internally promoted than women (2023, LinkedIn)
70% During recent tech layoffs, 70% were women (2023, Women Tech Network)
18% Gender pay gap: In Germany, women earn 18% less than men. (2022, DESTATIS)
9h Gender care gap: Per week, women work 9h more unpaid than men do. (2023, Women Tech Network)
81% In Germany, 81% of children < 3 years old are not in child care (2022, Statistisches Bundesamt )
2,6% In Germany, 2,6% of fathers to children < 3y old take parental leave compared to 45% of mothers (2021, Mikrozensus / Statistisches Bundesamt )
76% In Germany, 76% of paid-for-working women are working part-time. (2022, DESTATIS)
13% In Germany, 13% of women have experienced sexual harassment at the workplace (2019, Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes)
46% Globally, 46% of of surveyed working women say they are burned out. (2023, Future Forum Pulse)
25% In UK, 25% of menopausal women consider early retirement (2021, Finance sector, Financial Services Skills Commission)
136y At the current pace, it will take 136 years to close the global gender gap (2022, WEF)
Are you kidding me??
Today’s organizations are built in a way that is the most beneficial to men.
The Great Breakup For every woman at the director level who gets promoted to the next level, two women directors are choosing to leave their company. Source: McKinsey, Women in the Workplace 2022 report
Why women leave their job ● Unequal compensation ● Exclusion, isolation and marginalization ● Being overworked and underappreciated ● Work conditions not sufficiently flexible to wrangle care work ● Facing microaggressions, persistent bias and harassment Source: McKinsey, Women in the Workplace 2023 report
“Micro”aggressions ● Others comment on my appearance ● Others comment on my emotional state ● Others get credit for my ideas ● I have been mistaken for someone more junior ● I am not listened to ● I am not take seriously ● My judgement is questioned ● My authority gets undermined Myth: Microaggressions have a ‘micro’ impact. Reality: Microaggressions have a large and lasting impact on women. Source: McKinsey, Women in the Workplace 2023 report
Why companies need to attract and retain women
- Diversity yields better results
- Overcome shortage of skilled personnel and managers
- It’s the law!
- A matter of decency
How?
The Feminist Transformation A mindset shift.
The Feminist Transformation A holistic approach instead of singular activities addressing insular issues.
Feminist Transformation vs DEI DEI Feminist Transformation ● List of measures ● Holistic approach ● Insular, particular ● Mindset change ● Moderate ● Radical Goal: Empower & enable women to succeed in the existing operating model Goal: Change the operating model to benefit women
Change the system, not the women
The Feminist Transformation Setting women-centricity at the core and foundation of any organizational design.
The Feminist Transformation A commitment made by leadership to build, develop and lead their organization in a way that is the most beneficial to women.
The non-negotiable definition of a company’s operating model.
The Feminist Transformation A change process leading towards the Feminist Organization.
The Feminist Transformation A key part of an agenda to make organizations future-proof.
Sustainable Agile Transformation Digital Feminist
Feminist Transformation in practice
3 main levers ● Organizational design: To set up processes and structures… ● Organizational development: To adapt the organization to changing environmental or business needs… ● Organizational culture: People behave, lead, communicate, collaborate, decide… … in a way that is most beneficial to women.
Key commitment: In situations with conflicting goals, maximizing the benefit for women is the one that trumps the others.
Characteristics of a Feminist Organization
The Feminist Organization Creates a workplace that is free from fear.
The Feminist Organization Embraces the fact that women’s needs at the workplace differ from men’s.
The Feminist Organization Is female-led.
The Feminist Organization Ensures participation.
The Feminist Organization Supports parents in equally taking care of their children.
The Feminist Organization Ensures equal pay.
A Call to Action
Demand a Feminist Transformation
Collaborate to make the Feminist Organization a reality
Encourage men to act as our strongest allies
Encourage leaders - us all - to spearhead this movement
The Feminist Transformation For a better workplace, a better life, a better world.
Thank you! Jutta Horstmann Mailvelope GmbH CEO, Mailvelope GmbH https://www.mailvelope.com jutta@mailvelope.com @mailvelope (X, Mastodon) https://www.linkedin.com/company/mailvelope/ Consulting / Speaking requests: We are hiring! https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhorstmann/ https://mailvelope.com/en/careers https://thebetter.org
“Change the system, not the women” - that’s why we need a Feminist Transformation of our organizations and companies. Women spend way too much energy on adapting to toxic or adversarial environments - energy that economy, society and planet need to achieve worthwhile goals. In my talk I explain the need for a radical change of mindset in organizational design - stop adding more measures to help women better adapt to a dysfunctional system. Instead, build systems that are beneficial to women - inside and outside of the organization.
To keep being successful in their areas of operations, companies and organizations need to continuously reinvent and transform themselves. We have mastered the Agile and the digital transformation. Now it is time for the Feminist Transformation.
