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Leadership &
Org Culture

The bi-directional influence of leadership and the organization's culture on gender mainstreaming.

Hard Problems

 

Problem 1

While leaders may speak to the importance of gender, they do not consistently prioritize implementation of gender mainstreaming.


Consequences

  • Discourse related to gender mainstreaming is not translated into meaningful action.

  • If leaders don’t signal the importance of gender in their actions, organizational culture doesn’t follow suit.

Problem 2

Executive leadership rarely includes senior gender experts; hence, gender is not prioritized as part of the executive agenda.


Consequences

  • Gender experts are relegated to operational activities.

  • Gender is not a factor in key organizational decisions. 

What we heard

“Everything else falls from leadership. Unless you are really recognized to be central to the mandate of any organization and the aims of any organization. Unless this is reiterated from the top level of any organization, then your spaces for actions are always going to be limited. This for me is the key to everything.”

“The most senior leader and leaders of an organization should be consistently stating a commitment to gender and not just rhetorically but also in terms of the budget, the demand for this to be across all areas of work. If it's not there at this leadership level, it's just not going to happen.” 

“As a gender specialist, I am not head of gender. I’m not the Chief of Strategy to say how gender  gets  incorporated in all that we do (as an organization). There is a different layer. I apply the (gender) priorities and strengthen and improve them in projects. But I don't set priorities for my institution.”

Opportunities

for Problem 1

How might we enable leaders to follow through on their commitments? 


This might look like

  • A leadership manifesto or pledge where they commit to concrete actions by a certain date.

  • A peer support system for leaders as they build up their gender expertise.

for Problem 2

How might we establish gender fluency as a core competency at the leadership level? 


This might look like…

  • A high visibility annual award for highest performing leaders as GM advocates.

  • A masterclass style experience where leaders learn together and find accountability.