International Women’s Day is upon us again. But do we really need it?

International Women’s Day (IWD) is upon us again. But do we really need it? Lots of razzamatazz but nothing much to show for it. Certainly nothing much that lasts. I say this as a supporter of the aims of IWD – i.e. commemorating women’s fight for equality and liberation. The day was designed to highlight issues such as gender inequality, violence, and abuse against women. Only the most ardent misogynist could argue that this isn’t a cause worth supporting. Right?

So why is it seen as “a damp squib” (and I’m quoting several women here)? Well, it has evolved from a radical movement for equality into a commercialised, performative “hallmark-type” holiday.

The day is now dominated by corporate marketing stunts, virtue signalling, and avoidance of controversial (or even real) issues. It consists of empty polite gestures rather than driving meaningful, systemic change for obvious gender inequalities.

I certainly don’t propose to solve these problems, but rather provide a male perspective. And I believe the critical role that men should play can help enormously.

Well, we can first of all stop wondering if “women can somehow make tough decisions, lead businesses and be good role models to all employees”. Even asking this question seems quite ridiculous, but this clearly is both a perception and a problem.

My perspective comes mostly from a business environment, but stems from an ingrained attitude formed while I grew up as a kid. I belonged to a matriarchal household. There seemed to be a focus on collective well-being rather than individual dominance. It was relatively egalitarian and focused on getting stuff done, not being bothered so much by whose ideas it was or who led the process.

I grew up thinking both men and women played to their strengths and carved out jobs and activities based on who was best to get it done. This approach seemed to work well in our household. So it stood to reason I should believe this is the way of the world. Surprise, surprise, when I realised it was nothing of the sort!

My focus here is on the business environment. What we, as men, can and should do to rectify structural problems women face in business and make the business/ entrepreneurial environment more welcoming to women. I’m a firm believer that we all (including society)  benefit if we do this.

Women remain underrepresented as active investors. Unlocking that capital and directing it intentionally into women-led businesses can shift outcomes far faster than awareness campaigns ever will (e.g. IWD).

Much has been made (rightly) about the work that can be done to promote meaningful female participation in the workforce – in particular at decision-making and leadership levels. But I think there is an even more alarming structural problem at the capital allocation level.

I am an entrepreneur and set up three separate businesses during the early part of my career. I am now predominantly involved in investment in businesses similar to the ones I set up. I am also passionate about promoting entrepreneurship at all levels. My good friend, Julia Elliott Brown (JEB), who is a strategic growth advisor to female-founded scale-ups, says: “The uncomfortable truth is that we don’t have a pipeline problem; we have a capital allocation problem. Women are founding businesses in significant numbers, yet capital continues to flow through largely homogenous decision-making networks. When all-female founding teams still receive only 2% of UK venture funding, that isn’t about confidence or competence – it’s about how power, pattern recognition and risk assessment operate inside investment ecosystems.”

It may not warrant a scene or a showdown (most of the time it doesn’t ), but a comment to the effect “that’s not right/ that’s not appropriate/ that’s not that funny”. Others will likely agree and will curb their actions in future. If everyone (who isn’t a misogynist) did this, we’d be well on the way to solving major structural problems. There wouldn’t be any need for an IWD or other token gestures.

So what can we (i.e. men) do about this?

Well, we can first of all stop wondering if “women can somehow make tough decisions, lead businesses and be good role models to all employees”. Even asking this question seems quite ridiculous, but this clearly is both a perception and a problem.

Much of this may be borne out of ignorance, but that doesn’t help, or mean the problem doesn’t exist. The issue is, if you don’t experience it yourself, it can be difficult to both understand it and recognise it as a major systemic flaw. Unconscious bias is insidious.

Perhaps men typically see women around them as demonstrating typical feminine strengths (in personal life) – e.g. emotional intelligence, deep empathy, and the ability to nurture relationships, fostering connection, collaboration, and supportive environments. You’d have to ask yourself why these strengths aren’t seen as important in business.

And what about the following (largely feminine) traits – aren’t they arguably even more important in business?

• Intuition and insight (leveraging “gut feeling” to guide decisions, detect unspoken issues, and understand complex situations).
• Vulnerability as power (the ability to show feelings, admit mistakes, and be authentic).
• Resilience and adaptability (speaks for itself).
• Boundary setting (the ability to be compassionate and open-hearted while setting firm limits).
• Collaboration (the tendency to work together, share information, and lift others rather than engage in rigid competition).
• Self-care (especially in stressful situations).

 

Is greater participation the answer?

I believe a real opportunity lies not only in funding more women through existing systems, but in broadening who participates in capital altogether.

Women remain underrepresented as active investors. Unlocking that capital and directing it intentionally into women-led businesses can shift outcomes far faster than awareness campaigns ever will (e.g. IWD).

As JEB says, “Structural change happens when money moves.”

I believe it is genuine, authentic and effective if women lead on gender equality issues, but men must proactively support by promoting and mentoring women in business and by challenging other men who do the opposite, either by word or deed.

My second point is a more personal one (for men). During lockdown, we spoke a lot about the “new norm”- how life would never be the same again and where we were moving to would become normalised.

Making equality the new norm

Back in 2019, I had a subscription to Zoom. But there wasn’t much point in it – not many others had it, and you need others to have it to make use of it. Nowadays, everyone has it and uses it – without leaving our place of work (often our home). This has become normalised behaviour – and in a pretty quick timeframe. Men need to push for this to happen with their mainstream attitudes toward women. And I mean this in all contexts.

The best we can do is not to try to fight from the barricades (women can do this very effectively and are much more authentic playing this role); instead, daily, men can call out attitudes which we know are wrong but mostly go unchallenged. Comments which can seem, at first impression, to be funny, but which you’d never say to your mother, wife or daughter. If that’s the case, we should simply call it out. It may not warrant a scene or a showdown (most of the time it doesn’t ), but a comment to the effect “that’s not right/ that’s not appropriate/ that’s not that funny”. Others will likely agree and will curb their actions in future. If everyone (who isn’t a misogynist) did this, we’d be well on the way to solving major structural problems. There wouldn’t be any need for an IWD or other token gestures.

Most people are rightly appalled by the Epstein case and its implications, but for years, it went on unhindered. Mostly because men either turned a blind eye or didn’t look harder when they suspected something unappetising might be going on (or, of course, they were complicit).  My view is we have a responsibility to create a better society, not by simply tut- tuting when it becomes apparent that we don’t. But by calling it out when it isn’t.

It’s simply not good enough to build a moat and think “everything is fine in here”. Cos usually it’s not. Society and media infiltrate imaginary moats before they are even built. It is naive to think otherwise. We all need to be more proactive and voice disapproval if we think something isn’t right.

I believe it is genuine, authentic and effective if women lead on gender equality issues, but men must proactively support by promoting and mentoring women in business and by challenging other men who do the opposite, either by word or deed.

John is an investor & Non-Executive Director, providing advice, guidance and mentoring to business owners. John is a business thought leader and delivers keynotes on a range of entrepreneurial, management and motivational leadership topics. Previously, John co-founded The New Covent Garden Soup Co Ltd and later Little Dish, both of which he exited successfully. John is the founder of Mission Ventures (UK) and is a founding partner of The Redesdale Food Fund, based in Dublin.

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