Report on the key themes from the Masculinity in the Workplace report organised in November 2018 by Token Man and #HeANDshe. Produced by The Hobbs Consultancy and Utopia

1. On 19th November 2018 we celebrated International Men’s Day by opening up the
conversation around masculinity. We discussed how current constructs are a barrier to
inclusion and explored solutions that can benefit everyone. It won’t be easy but as our
Keynote speaker, actor and former Rizzle Kicks rapper, Jordan Stephens puts it:
“I believe this is an opportunity for us to truly empower ourselves as men, hold
ourselves accountable and reap the harmonious benefits of relinquishing privilege.”
The feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive but now we’ve started
the conversation, the real work begins. We believe the true success of this event will be
measured by the change it inspires. To support this, we’re issuing this overview, which
we hope will not only bring to life the key take-outs from the evening but also provide
practical ideas to start changing cultures in your own organisations.
We look forward to celebrating your stories of change on 19th November 2019.
Daniele Fiandaca
Co-founder of Utopia & Token Man
Roxanne Hobbs
Founder of The Hobbs Consultancy & #HeANDShe
KEY THEMES FROM
MASCULINITY IN
THE WORKPLACE

2. We need to break the cycle of toxic masculinity
According to Jordan Stephens, Toxic masculinity represents a sub-set of masculine traits
which are extremely damaging to both men and women. When he was growing up,
femininity and vulnerability were taken away from him, which meant he didn’t have the
tools to be compassionate or deal with his own pain.
This message is perpetuated in our wider society, which has a damaging narrative of
men being strong, brave heroes. Obviously this is unobtainable; everyone is fallible.
The stereotype is impossible to live up to and leads to men being reluctant to ask for
help for fear of showing weakness. Men are simply not allowed to show self doubt
or vulnerability.
It is often the fear of shame that stops men being vulnerable.
And this is killing men.
Suicide is now the biggest killer of men under 45, with a man killing themselves
on average every two hours in the UK. We need to break the cycle and un-box men.
Both men and women are victims of gender stereotypes
While our sex is determined by a person’s physical sexual anatomy, including
chromosomes and sex organs, gender is determined by the characteristics and
behaviours which society/culture associate with males and females.
While masculinity can be exhibited by men and women alike, it is often the
stereotypes associated with masculinity, e.g. ambition, aggression, competition,
dominance and decision, which are extremely harmful to men. As Laura Radcliffe,
Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at The University of Liverpool, commented,
“If we really want to deliver better workplaces, then we should focus on the
behaviours that demonstrate humanity – those that we value and want to
reward as human beings.”
Workplaces are masculine
We need to start accepting that our current workplaces are masculine and not gender
neutral. They were built for men by men. Norms persist even if the physical reality has
changed – the ideal worker is expected to put work first, have stamina and be strong
and tough. Such a workplace is just not conducive to parents and carers. Women who
work flexibly find their career opportunities diminished, while men feel it is not even
an option.
This ideal worker norm needs to be revisited. We need to stop equating working long
hours to delivering value. It has been proven time and time again that working long hours
is damaging to creativity, innovation and productivity.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNT

3. Banter can be extremely damaging
Masculinity can be hard to prove and easily lost which is why so many men feel the need
to reaffirm their identity. This can lead to othering – distancing yourself from others who
are different and don’t reaffirm who you are.
Often this is disguised as banter and leads to reduced organisational diversity and a
miserable work environment. Banter is, in fact, often abuse in disguise. It is a way for men
to manage the perceived threat to their identity and often under the banner of ‘just having
a laugh’.
All these behaviours stem from a societal pressure to conform which hinders diversity.
Any culture that is dominated by banter will have a much higher risk of exclusion and
inappropriate behaviour. Modern leaders will question these behaviours and call out
any inappropriate language.
Gender Equality helps everyone
If we get gender equality right, everyone will benefit. Men learning to be more
vulnerable will have a positive impact on their mental health and will help deliver more
inclusive workplaces.
Changing culture to allow men to take more primary carer responsibilities, be it through
increased paternity leave or increased flexibility, will not only make men happier but will
also allow women to increase their own career opportunities and earning potential.
Gender equality needs to stop being viewed as an “us vs them” issue. It’s why
Catherine Mayer, co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, turns down the opportunity
to have a debate at the BBC every year on International Men’s Day with the likes of Piers
Morgan. She knows it will be positioned as a punch-up and she recognises that this is just
not healthy.
Helping men address some of the issues they face in the workplace isn’t in opposition to
female inclusion - it’s the other side of the same coin. We also need to celebrate some of
the positive aspects of masculinity and ensure that men are part of the equality solution.

4. 1. Train your leaders to be vulnerable
A brilliant starting point is, at your next senior team meeting, get everyone to share
one thing that they would normally keep private or that makes them feel vulnerable.
It’s amazing how powerful this can be.
We would also recommend that you send your senior men to The Daring Way™
for male leaders, a two day course which explores how having the courage to be
vulnerable could transform the way you lead. The next one is running between
25th and 26th February 2019.
2. Appoint Mental Health First Aiders
Mental Health First Aid England provides two day courses to help train your team to
deliver first aid to anyone who is experience mental health issues. CALM (the Campaign
Against Living Miserably) also provide corporate support.
3. Increase your Paternity Leave
Gender equality will only be achieved when companies start matching their
paternity leave and maternity leave policies to create a universal parental leave
policy. Which is something Accenture did recently, part funding the move by decreasing
maternity leave by 3 weeks. And while we appreciate that this might be too bold a first
step, our view is that anything less than 3 months paternity leave is simply paying lip
service and signals that you are simply not fully committed to gender equality.
4. Open up the conversation on Flexibility to everyone
One way to truly change your culture is to open up flexibility to everyone. This must be
accompanied by an open conversation, getting everyone to understand the benefits of
a more flexible way of working and actively encouraging a different culture of working
(which will need to be supported by the right technological infrastructure). If some of
the board are able to lead the way by taking reduced hours or working flexibly,
then even better!
5. Train your team to be hackers
Culture change cannot happen in silo. It needs support from across the organisation.
If you can inspire everyone in the organisation to help fix what is broken in the system
and to make lots of small changes on a regular basis, this will have a far bigger impact
than one big change which might carry far more risk. You can find out more about our
Hacking workshops including Hacking Inclusion, Hacking Leadership, Hacking
Masculinity and Hacking Vulnerability at https://www.tokenman.org/training/.
FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO

5. This report was put together thanks to the amazing contribution
from the following speakers:
Jordan Stephens
Actor, Musician for former Hip Hop duo Rizzle Kicks and Spokesperson for Mental
Health Charity “I AM WHOLE”
Bruce Daisley
VP EMEA, Twitter & Host, Eat Work Sleep Repeat
Catherine Mayer
Co-Founder of the Women’s Equality Party
Laura Radcliffe
Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at The University of Liverpool
Simon Gunning
CEO, Campaign Against Living Miserably
Sophia Thakur
Spoken Word Poet
Xavier Rees
CEO, Havas
And a massive thanks to our partners: