How To Create Gender Equality In Leadership—Stop Talking About It!

The issue of equality in leadership—whether centered on gender or race, has been widely discussed in the U.S. media, including the pages of the About my Brain blog and my own LinkedIn page.

It seems to be a topic that gains heat with each passing day and every new release of company diversity data, each one as grim as the last and confirming what everyone already knows—there is a dearth of women and minorities (Hispanics and Blacks in particular) in leadership roles across Corporate America and most specifically, within the technology sector here in Silicon Valley.

It’s been fascinating to watch the conversation morph into different phases of the discussion—most recently, and predictably, to problem solving. And not regular, ‘run of the mill’ problem solving, but ‘sound-bite’ problem solving, also known as ‘the quick fix.’

I will admit, I am drawn to articles that talk about a significant issue, and chunk down a solution into ‘9 steps,’ or ‘6 behaviors,’ or ‘3 to be avoided at all costs.’

Problems seem easier to tackle when we have a ‘how to guide. It’s comforting--like a warm blanket or beef stew on a cold winter’s night. And in that spirit, I offer my own provocative solution to the issue:

If you want to create gender and racial equality in leadership, stop talking about it.

I realize my proposed solution runs contrary to my last blog post--dedicated to the equality issue and the hypothesis that if change was to occur, then our leadership models, the lens through which we view leaders and leadership success, must also change.

In my defense, I stand by that hypothesis. In fact, I’m doubling down on it, but, with a slight yet significant shift.

I was at lunch last week (with a female colleague), to whom I described with great conviction, the need for greater equality in leadership.

"‘Democratizing leadership and neuroscience is the core purpose of the ", I extolled over bites of Cobb salad...

“And we’ll help to eliminate inequality in leadership by bringing a new model to market that is free of bias, one that is based on the ability to optimize the use of the brain to inspire and motivate others and ultimately drive innovation.”

When I finished, I felt satisfied that I had delivered a compelling narrative for facilitating change. My colleague smiled, and I prepared for the validation I was sure to receive.

So, I agree that equality in leadership is an important issue, and I’m in favor of efforts to address it.

But, in order for your hypothesis to work, the leaders who are in charge today need to embrace the change you are proposing, and they are mostly male and white, and in no hurry to change the status quo.

So, as much as I like what you are saying, I wonder how you will convince those very leaders to make a change. I mean, what’s in it for them?

There was no validation in the end. And the Cobb salad was only so-so. But I left the lunch meeting not deflated, but rather energized to answer her question, because it was after all, the proverbial elephant in the room.

In story after story about the equality issue, leaders of the giants of Silicon Valley appeared sincere in their desire to foster greater levels of diversity.

That said, aside from the quick fix solutions presented to date, no real and practical solution or plan was being discussed, at least not in the media, social or otherwise.

Later that week, a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer described a psychological study of how leaders are perceived when they discuss diversity in the workplace.

Male leaders were perceived by other managers as warm and competent when they raised the issue. Female leaders, on the other hand, were perceived as selfish, cold, and devious. And worse still, minority leaders were viewed as incompetent.

As such, women and minorities were reluctant to support or openly discuss diversity in the workplace, and often ‘held each other back’ from succeeding though subtle, yet insidious behaviors such as incivility and gossip within their own professional circles.

It was that story that crystallized my ‘sound-bite’ worthy solution to the equality issue, and to my female colleagues’ question about motivating current leaders to change and to actively address the inequalities that exist in Corporate America today.

That solution once again is to simply stop talking about it.

Stop it because it’s been discussed to death, and very little has changed. If we are waiting for a moral imperative to trigger a landslide of equality, I hope you enjoy long lines. Because as much as I would like to believe that the issue would be addressed because ‘it’s the right thing to do,’ my inner cynic says no.

My colleague nailed it—there’s no motivation in that argument other than feeling good. “No thanks, I prefer power over good feelings” is how that inner dialogue goes.

And now we learn that women and minorities themselves, based on perceptions in the workplace, also back away from a topic that should be their raison d’etre. The beneficiaries of greater equality don’t care to talk about it much either.

A sweeping generalization—but one that rings true in the way that powerful aggressive men in business are viewed to be successful, and powerful aggressive women are viewed to be...well, you know the rest of it.

How Will Change Ultimately Occur Around This Particular Issue?

Like every other change that occurs in the world of business. The equality issue will change when it is good for business to make the change.

When businesses become aware of the value created when leadership qualities such as the ones in the  (integration, inspiration, imagination, and intuition) become imperatives to retain Gen Y/Millennial talent, to be competitive, and ultimately to be relevant and to survive in this new innovation economy.

So, let’s stop talking about equality and start talking about what effective leadership must look and feel like in today’s workplace—how it needs to evolve from leadership models of the past.

And between you and me, if we are successful in making the business case for change on that basis, the equality issue will organically and gradually resolve itself.