I have terrible news. If you're like many of my favorite clients, you are a left-leaning guy who votes like I do. You obviously hold your female family members and pals in very high regard.

 

You (of course) know that sexism affects tech, business and the world. But, you can't see it in your company. (It's a cognitive dissonance block, for you psych majors.)

 

Proof: when I interview men in tech, 90% of men reassure me that “women are happy and treated with fairness in this company.”

 

However, 90% of women share the opposite: vivid, recent examples of being treated dismissively + worse (than their male colleagues).  

 

I find the same thing for race + orientation: those of us with majority identities just don't see the negative experiences of our colleagues.

 

 

 

So: how you can actually fix things for “unhappy employee groups”:

 

1. Use your existing data to help you see vulnerable employee groups. (No new surveys!) Use your latest culture survey and retention figures; segment by gender/race/role/age. Pinpoint which populations aren't as committed / happy / engaged.

 

2. Identify their deeper reasons. Through confidential 1:1 interviews, uncover the underlying reasons and patterns.When women rate your company poorly, that's not enough information to fix it. It could stem from being isolated or degraded, family-unfriendly hours, uninspiring work, insensitive management, etc….

 

3.Implement the appropriate solutions. This should be obvious, yet many companies overlook it: 

a) only fix what's broken! 

b) fix the root cause with the related solution. ex. “Lunch-n-learns with female trailblazers” don't fix women being demotivated by low pay or long hours.

 

If this re-frame helps, message me. I'd love to hear more!