I work in learning and development with DEI across EMEA, for a company that has grown through acquisition, my role is to develop a standard approach across the Region (I joined in January this year).
Anonymous
I work in learning and development with DEI across EMEA, for a company that has grown through acquisition, my role is to develop a standard approach across the Region (I joined in January this year). However, my line manager is male, as is the rest of the HR leadership team. They have all worked in the organisation for a minimum of 15 years, and are resistent to change. They meet regularly on a Friday afternoon (virtually, as they’re in different countries) for a ‘boys club’ meeting (their words) where they discuss the current issues and make decisions together,. My line manager has told me that focusing on increasing the number of women in leadership is no value and is discriminatory towards men, despite me positioning the argument in different ways, he says we should simply buy women in the business a bunch of flowers and they will feel valued and appreciated.
As increasing the number of women in senior positions is part of my remit, (head office is in the USA and targets are set by the US team) I’m struggling to secure any financial investment or backing from the company as the HR leadership team are blocking it. Has anyone any experience of how I can influence them and make them listen? I’ve tried story telling, presenting the facts, presenting the data, presenting the best practice…but to no avail!
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