I recently completed a second interview with what would be my new small team; all were men in an obvious hierarchy by age.

Anonymous

September 18,2022 at 4:35PM UTC

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I recently completed a second interview with what would be my new small team; all were men in an obvious hierarchy by age. The larger organization advertises a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, but this team appears to be a boys club. My concern is, if I am offered and accept the position, I will have to work much harder than the men to be recognized. Should I run?

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Gretchen SkalkaSeptember 18,2022 at 4:44PM UTC
Interview your interviewer and company.
Research the company. Ask to talk with other managers of teams similar to the one you'd be leading.
What do the leadership tiers look like? Who is the head of HR? If you look at the senior positions and it's more homogenous than not, that can be a fair indicator of how strongly they take that commitment to diversity.
AnonymousSeptember 18,2022 at 9:17PM UTC
Knowing what I know now after just getting ousted by the VP of the department I worked in where I was the only woman, I would advise to cut and run. You will be closely scrutinized and some of the men just won't want a woman in the tree house with them. If it were a non-leadership position you could take a chance, but if you are a strong, direct, and commanding leader then the men will feel intimidated and emasculated and will try to find fault with you they can use to complain about you, and if they go to HR, you're finished.
AnonymousSeptember 18,2022 at 10:11PM UTC
If you have the stamina to deal with it I would say to stick it out and see if they are truly interested enough to make an offer.
AnonymousSeptember 19,2022 at 2:07PM UTC
The reality is that yes you will have to work harder then them. The decision to continue or run should be weighed in light of the compensation, opportunity and overall company commitment to diversity and advancement. Are there female leaders you can reach out to there for insight?
AnonymousSeptember 21,2022 at 1:43PM UTC
Thanks all for your advice on this. I have been doing some investigating through my network and it seems the larger organization is diverse and mostly equitable with a lot of great employees, but the leader of this team has a more old-school, men-in-charge mentality. I’ll stick it out through the process but proceeding with eyes wide open.
AnonymousSeptember 29,2022 at 3:16PM UTC
Congratulations on moving through the interviews successfully. It’s good they are trying to diversify. I agree, this should be a two way conversation with the interviewer. I would ask how he sees it. That will give you more insight and will also help you understand his thoughts, awareness and if you’ll be able to have conversations on that kind of topic.
I’ve never been in a leadership position where it wasn’t all or mostly men. If we’re going to change that, then we need to be willing to put ourselves in those positions. It’s not for everyone, so don’t give up things you’re not willing or able to. It’s been stressful over the years, but expected and I wouldn’t change those choices for me.