Better Think Tanking #13
Better Think Tanking #13
Tackling the power differential
Think Tank Diversity Challenge
“The homogeneity and group dynamic within the policy expert bubble leads to a phenomenon called ‘groupthink’ or confirmation bias: The likelihood that we will think ‘outside the box’ when it comes to solving complex policy problems is diminished compared to more diverse group settings (…).”
The Think Tank Lab has launched its community challenge on diversity in German think tanks. As participants, we’re discussing what stands in the way of more diversity, which good practices for inclusion exist, and what can be done to jointly move ahead. While we’re still developing our prototypes for more inclusive think tanks, we’d like to share some recommended readings from behind the scenes:
We don’t know enough about the state of diversity in Germany. Fortune magazine explains why this lack of data is a problem. Afrozensus is one initiative that hopes to fill the gap.
Claire Luzia Leifert surveyed obstacles to increasing innovation and impact within think tanks and explains why systematic staff development, impact orientation, and cooperation matter.
How can a field of work become “one of the brightest sources of creativity and innovation on the planet”? N Square gathered diverse perspectives on the future of the nuclear threat reduction field. It’s a great inspiration and call to “humanizing the workplace, unleashing the potential of every contributor, and making sure every member of the community is authentically valued”.
Transgender at work: Neue Narrative published on what employers and organizations can do to support their trans colleagues.
How People Stay In Power - And What To Do About It
“It is not only inequalities of power that leads to domination techniques, but a conscious or often unconscious sense of entitlement to privilege. The techniques are often the logical outcome of men’s sense of entitlement to certain privileges.”
What we also learned during the diversity challenge: members of a dominant group frequently employ strategies to maintain their position of power. Even if it’s unconscious: men, white people, or leadership frequently use master suppression techniques as defined by the Norwegian academics Ingjald Nissen and Berit Ås. Among them:
Making invisible. Examples: silencing or marginalizing people by ignoring them, claiming their idea is yours, or showing disinterest when they speak.
Ridiculing an opponent and/or their arguments. Example: telling them they look cute or angry while they try to stand up for themselves. (Reacting to a serious question with laughter or contempt? Not cool.)
Excluding people from decision-making processes or withholding information to keep a person from being able to make informed choices. Example: discussing matters during a private lunch instead of at the team meeting.
Punishing or otherwise belittling actions, regardless of how opponents really act. Example: complaining they are too slow when they work thoroughly, but accusing them of being sloppy when they work more efficiently.
Victim blaming. Examples: embarrassing someone or insinuating that they are to blame for their struggles.
Objectifying. Examples: discussing the appearance of someone even when it is irrelevant to the situation at hand.
Chances are you have used or encountered those tactics yourself, for example as microaggressions (everyday, subtle behaviors that communicate some sort of bias). The daunting part is that they are incredibly hard to counter because they’re easily dismissed as a small, unintentional slip or misunderstanding by the powerful person.
Counterstrategies seem to demand the impossible from affected people: not showing their emotions, calling out perpetrators despite the power differential, staying calm, and being the smarter person that demands respect. Our favorite piece of advice: “Never laugh along!”
The Right to Equal Parenting
“The current parental leave policy reinforces gender inequality by discouraging a more active role for fathers in raising their children, and indirectly places the prime responsibility of caregiving on women. This has repercussions, reflected in the larger career gaps for women (the motherhood penalty), which has in turn led to noticeable gender imbalance at the UN’s more senior levels.”
Research shows that taking (paid) parental leave negatively affects future pay grades through a competition effect. The best bet for fighting this effect: more fathers taking leave and more parents sharing it equally. While many young parents would like to do so, even employers like the UN don’t make it easy for them and reinforce outdated gender roles and family dynamics instead of working towards their own equality goals.
We’re proud of our friends who founded UN Parents to fight for their right to equal parenting. They demand permission to and encouragement of equal leave time for both parents, in order to not place the burden of childcare on the gestational parent alone. Read about their experiences and call to action, and get in touch!
How Toxic Masculinity Is Ruining Your Workplace Culture
“The effects of toxic masculinity are harmful to both women and men. However, women, racial and ethnic minority groups, and those who identify as LGBTQ bear the brunt of the microaggressions and overly dominant behaviors associated with toxic masculinity, workplace psychologists say. Left unchecked, toxic masculinity will ruin an organization's culture.”
Toxic masculinity ruins our everyday work lives, for example, when organizing a workshop on toxic masculinity at work earns us jokes from colleagues about how the matriarchy will now conquer and subdue them (yeah…). So yes, boys clubs and ‘harmless’ jokes really are a big deal for us.
For the Society of Human Resource Management, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen explains that toxic masculinity occurs when respect and deference are conflated: “Traditional masculinity typically involves the expectation of respect or admiration for one’s abilities or accomplishments”. Respect can be equal and reciprocal, toxic masculinity, in contrast, creates a pecking order.
Sounds extreme? Fret not - it takes much less than open battle to ruin your organization’s work culture and your colleagues’ days. For a reality check, experts recommend getting both inside and outside opinions on your organizational culture:
Does the organization’s defined culture match the one that actually exists?
Do leaders support a patriarchal system that gives men an advantage? Do they force overly dominant men to check their behavior and whether their actions are intentional or unintentional?
Does the organization support women and people of color in the same ways it supports white men?
Good practice: gather anonymous stories of toxic masculinity, discrimination, and microaggressions from colleagues. Discuss and analyze them with the help of a diversity and inclusion expert.
What We Are Thinking About
Every month, this newsletter draws inspiration from interactions with colleagues and friends. In our day-to-day work on international security, we regularly experience how important the small and big gestures of solidarity and support among peers are. If you read this: you know who you are, and you’re amazing! Don’t underestimate your power to inspire and uplift others. If someone directly or indirectly motivated you - through direct encouragement or indirectly by example - why not tell them today?
Like What You Read?
Tell us about it - even if you didn’t. Forward this newsletter to a friend, tweet it, and help us inspire more people.
This month’s special thanks go to Barbara Pongratz for introducing us to the master domination techniques; and the facilitators, participants, and allies of the Think Tank Lab diversity challenge for sharing their insights on inclusion and innovation.
Theresa & Sarah