Protect Your Talent Initiatives in the #MeToo Era

The #MeToo movement is critically important for women, organizations and society as a whole. As human resources and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) practitioners, we need to stay mindful of the unintentional impact of national and global events, the economy and changes in our organizations so that we can preserve our progress and continue carrying out inclusion initiatives to advance women to leadership roles.

Although increased focus and more stringent enforcement of workplace protections have reduced levels of overt sex discrimination and sexual harassment, a mounting trend demands our immediate and consistent attention. Men in positions of power who previously played key roles as mentors to female colleagues and sponsors for women’s career advancement, as well as champions for increasing diversity in leadership positions, are shying away from those activities. Too many men have grown uncomfortable with mentoring women, feeling nervous that they may be accused of harassment. Needless to say, men’s increasing reluctance to mentor women is a huge problem for efforts to increase the number of women in leadership positions.

In my professional role, I advise clients on best practices for protecting talent initiatives from this unexpected negative consequence of the #MeToo movement. In particular, I encourage clients to follow five steps.

Stay Awake

Change does not occur in a vacuum. Your organization’s DE&I objectives and initiatives are impacted by national and global events, the economy, changes in law and policy, adjustments to how your organization conducts business, the unexpected negative impact of positive social movements like #MeToo on women’s ascension to leadership roles, and the loss of key people driving DE&I. As a result, leaders should engage diversity committees, executive sponsors and employee resource groups in watching for and consistently warning about potential derailments.

Create a DE&I Contingency Plan

Your organization is investing resources in DE&I efforts because increasing diversity, ensuring equity and fostering inclusion are critical business imperatives. Many organizations, however, do not have a plan for protecting their investments and realized gains. You need a Plan B if expected results fail to materialize and to effectively respond to unexpected developments such as #MeToo going viral. Implementing a contingency plan will keep initiatives viable and guard against losing ground.

Appoint More Men to Lead Initiatives Aimed at Ensuring Succession With Diversity

Given that men still hold most positions of power in organizations, involving them directly in the ascension of women is critical. Reiterate to powerful men the business case for diversity. Remind them that without their support, women will not receive the mentoring, visibility and sponsorship that open doors in the workplace. Do not let male executives forget that they benefited from such opportunities themselves.

Alleviate men’s sensitivity to #MeToo by changing the narrative and focusing on how appointing powerful men as co-leaders ensures sound succession planning to increase diversity. Also involve the HR function to provide essential support, and make efforts visible. Communicate successes to the organization and give recognition in the form of awards or bonuses to individuals who stay committed to achieving DE&I goals.

Provide Mentoring Options

Continue to recruit and support men as mentors and offer them options by allowing mentors and mentees to select the formats and locations they prefer for meeting and communicating. For instance, one-on-one mentoring can be conducted in-person or virtually. For in-person mentoring, dedicate a location other than a private office. Go further still by creating safe mentoring social events during which men and women can interact comfortably. Last, redesign and revive mentoring circles for women.

Dedicate Resources to Retaining and Fostering Career Progression for Women

Designate internal talent scouts whose role is, in part, identifying women in the organization who possess the talent to ascend to leadership positions. Responsibilities for these talent scouts should include coaching women, partnering with the training department to make sure women receive the learning and development opportunities they require, recommending women for cross-functional projects and coordinating with hiring managers to ensure women receive fair consideration for open positions.

The #MeToo movement is critically important for women, organizations and society as a whole, but we must proactively protect our talent initiatives from unintended impacts. Taking the five steps outlined here will help organizations stay on the right path to creating inclusive environments for women and supporting them as they progress toward accepting leadership roles.