I keep hearing about how we are now in a ‘post-truth’ paradigm. This is ironic to me, as the older I get and the more I learn, the more I can see the world and experiences within it for what they really are, and therefore, the closer I feel I am to the truth. Similarly, the longer I remain working in one institution and the higher and more collaboratively I work, the more I realise that all is not as it seems. So, in the spirit of International Women’s Day, and ‘calling it out’, I wrote down a number of big questions that have been on my mind. I do this knowing that the people reading this post will unlikely be the target of these questions. I still present these questions in the hope that those reading will consider these questions in relation to the people around them.

How can we find the courage to ask these questions at the right time, to the right people?

Working together collaboratively

• When we say collaboration, are we collaborating or are we actually consulting and requesting feedback?
• When we collaborate, do we develop a plan, structure, and achievable goals, or do we gather people with a vague idea and expect them to do the work?
• When we co-design, are we designing together, or do we already have a plan? If so, are we drowning out voices that don’t fit our plan?
• When we say we have worked with the community, have we sought feedback from all, or have we tapped people on the shoulder?

Leadership

• Are our actions matching our words? 
• Are we leading by example?
• Are we creating space for meaningful constructive criticism?
• Are we seeking feedback, or seeking and enacting feedback? Are we informing those who gave feedback how we are enacting their feedback?
• When we create goals, do we just look at numbers or listen to people’s experiences?

Workplace culture

• Do we see equality measures, like workplace flexibility, as levellers of disadvantage or as ‘benefits’ that are only offered to certain people? Do we categorise and speak about these measures differently to workplace ‘perks’ like a gym membership, free parking, or pineapple bobbing? (Full disclosure I just started season 2 of Severance).
• When we offer workplace flexibility within our policies and as a right for the employee, do our staff still need to justify their flexibility choices to those around them?
• When someone uses these equality measures, like part-time work, are we careful about the language we use around this? Do we talk about supporting the person in their choice, or do we speak about the ‘burden’ and the ‘impact’ of that choice? Do we see it as a negative (administrative burden) or do we see it as positive (opportunity to bring in a diversity of views)? 
• If a person has a gap in their resume, do we assume they’re just ‘unemployed’ during that time, and ‘out of practice’ or do we consider the immense number of skills they would have developed during that time, and how they create a more well-rounded, strong and capable employee?

We can have all the right policies and frameworks, but if our actions and attitudes don’t match the intention of those policies and frameworks, (or if specific people outright ignore them), then we are not achieving equality goals.

From the perspective of women, if we offer workplace flexibility to women, then it is only a first step. The primary responsibility for caring still largely falls to the woman, along with the workplace pressures and career progression. If a woman’s husband is working in an industry that doesn’t offer the same workplace flexibility for men, then all the responsibility for caring will continue to fall on women. Ultimately, we can have all these measures in place to level the disadvantage women face from being carers, but if we’re not finding ways for men to share the burden of care, then we’re putting a bandaid on a severed artery.