The Risk of Gender-Balance at Work | #Balanceforbetter at Work

Is gender balance at work a positive step towards equality? Or does it raise more questions and doubts? These are all valid questions that we need to ask ourselves as we strive for equality in the workplace.

I’m a female engineer with over 20 years of working in a man’s world. It hasn’t been easy and there have been times where I’ve had to adjust my approach to “earn” enough respect to be heard at that conference room table.

It is easy to get upset at that last statement and shout from the roof-top that it shouldn’t have happened.

However, I want to offer you a different perspective today. One that might caution you a little about jumping all-in for gender balance at work.

What is Gender-Balance at Work?

According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, gender balance is defined as “human resources and equal participation of women and men in all areas of work, projects or programmes”. There is even a measurement for gender balance where the threshold is expected not to drop below 40% in any direction.

One might agree that this is a great program to implement. After all, women and men that are typically left out might be given opportunities to shine.

What if that’s not what is best for the project or company? What if the best team for the job were not selected or hired because gender balance had to be considered? Is the gender-balance initiative forcing companies to choose the wrong people for the job?

Notice I said people and used the word team? Because that is how I look at everyone. I believe we all bring unique benefits to the table and we should all be selected for positions or projects based upon the value we can bring to the table, not just for our gender or for gender-balance measurements.

Gender-Balance in Canadian Politics

In 2015, our Prime Minister appointed a gender balanced Cabinet. Many thought that it was about time. There were 12 women the previous year out of the 31 seats and in 2015 Prime Minister Trudeau appointed 15 out of 31 Cabinet seats to women.

When asked why he did this (don’t get me started on why this question needed to be asked in the first place, but it was nonetheless), his response was “Because it’s 2015”.

That was Prime Minister Trudeau’s response.

Think about it. Feel it. I’ll wait for you to process it.

Prime Minister Trudeau did not say “Because they were the best candidates for the job” nor did he say “Because they earned that position”. His only response was “Because it’s 2015”.

While parliament cheered over that, I sat wondering what those poor women were thinking. If that was me, I would be wondering if I was in fact selected for that seat because I was the best person, or just because I happen to be female and he wanted to achieve gender balance.

All kinds of questions ran through my head and emotions as I sat and watched people celebrating this simple statement over social media and the news media.

The Value of Earning Your Way

I’m not saying that gender balance is completely wrong. I’m just pointing out that there are risks in taking it too far. As a female engineer, I’ve worked in a position where I was on a team of Project Managers consisting of more females than men. Why? Because everyone on that team earned those positions and was valued for our individual strengths and challenged to improve ourselves.

In that same position, I had to visit client offices and sit in meetings where I was the only female in the room. I had to gauge what I said, when I said it and how I said it so I could earn my spot on their team. After all, they didn’t know me, I was new to their team and some were “old school”. Meaning, they didn’t hide the fact that I may not belong at their table.

Slowly I used my womanly superpowers to figure people out. I earned my right to sit at that table and many other tables too. On a few occasions, these “old school” men would pull me aside and compliment me on my integrity, drive, and professionalism. I had earned equality in their eyes and they were now my ally against the non-believers.

The added benefit of earning that position at that company was being able to go to my direct boss and ask for advice. He hired me. He believed in me and trusted that I could do that job. It wasn’t out of obligation for gender balance. He hired me because I was the best candidate for the job.

He knew going into those meetings would be tough for any female, but he hired us anyway. When I doubted myself, he would remind me of that. He would sit me down and tell me to be me and trust myself enough to sit at that table. I would be told that the company wanted me at that table because of my strengths and I needed to do what I do best.

Do you know how powerful knowing that you earned that position is?

The Risks of Gender-Balance at Work

I never want to be hired for a position because of gender balance, I want to be the best candidate for the job. Everyone should be able to earn their positions because of who they are, not because of their gender. Companies should pay someone for their value, not because of what their gender happens to be.

When we put measurements and expectations on companies for gender balance there are risks. People may wonder if they got that job because of their gender or if they were, in fact, the best candidate for the position. Companies may risk success trying to achieve gender balance instead of creating a team that works together and will achieve successful results.

Is gender balance at work really the answer for equality?