Added on July 1st, 2019 by
Deborah HargreavesIf women could re-imagine the way they work and how the business is run, what would they do? This is what I set out to ask as part of my research over the past year for the Friends Provident Foundation journalist fellowship. It was a cathartic project and some of the answers surprised me.I enlisted the help of a former colleague of mine, freelance journalist, Jill Treanor and between us we spoke to some 150 women in one-to-one interviews, group meetings and online chats. Every conversation seemed to lead to another one as people grew more enthusiastic about the project.
As human beings, we all care for someone. Why does the workplace not recognise that and re-focus accordingly?
It increasingly feels as if we are forcing ourselves into a rigid structure that barely shifts to accommodate our needs. And there is a strong business case for this; a happier workforce is more productive.
This research feels very timely. The world is changing fast and we have an opportunity to put a human face on the world of work. With equal numbers of women at the top, we could shift the focus.
Working women, let’s launch a call to arms and start a movement to feminise the workplace. The alpha male approach to the economy has dominated for too long!
My conclusion that we need to put caring first and make work fit around it, rather than the other way around, strikes many people as radical. But to me it is just common sense and amazing that we think otherwise.
Read the full report Women at Work in our library here