Hi all!
I almost had a slight existential crisis last summer in the peak of our heat waves. Why am I spending my time focusing on diversity and inclusion in the workplace when the planet is on fire? The composition of senior teams surely won’t matter if we destroy humanity. I admit, it was quite a dark day…
Some of you may remember that we have set ‘sustainability’ as our theme at THC for the year ahead. For us, this means thinking about it in terms of sustainable careers and working practices, sustainable leadership and sustainable lives.
As part of our commitment, I began to question the role of sustainability in our own business model. Obviously, the business case for DEI is well known, thanks largely to McKinsey. But what about the correlation between people and the planet? I had a hunch that more diverse senior teams might make ‘better’ decisions for the planet, but was it based on fact?
Here are some of the headlines from what I have learnt.
1. Women are more readily engaging in sustainable behavioural change
2. Some men are put off engaging in environmentally friendly activities that have been labelled as ‘feminine’
3. The presence of women in government has already shown a sustainability impact
4. Misogyny is a factor in climate denial
The THC View
The diversity agenda clearly has wider repercussions. Yes, we know it is good for business but it would also seem that is good for the planet too. We want to see organisations that are able to champion people and the planet whilst making a profit. Creating a more secure link between diversity and sustainability could be one important step. At the moment, there is often tension between people, profit and the planet. We want to give leaders the courage and confidence to hold the space for this tension.
There’s an important piece in here for men too. The last thing I want to do is to exclude men from the sustainability conversation or from the diversity conversation. However, we have plenty of evidence that this is happening. We will continue to use our annual IMD event to consciously include men in conversations about both of these topics. If you’d like more information about or are interested in getting involved with our Masculinity in the Workplace event, please get in touch.
The THC Commitment
That’s all for now, have a great week!
Rox and the THC Team x
P.S. Looking for inspiration for training? Check out our DEI events calendar for May 2023!