This post originally appeared on Forbes on November 4, 2024.
Deloitte's latest research, Flipping the Script, affirms that many of the career aspirations and needs women have been championing are universal. It turns out there is less difference between what men and women want at work than stereotypes of outdated gender roles would have us believe. The primary research question Deloitte set out to answer was how women define success at work, and what gets in the way of achieving said success. They also chose to include men and nonbinary people in their data set so that they could contrast experiences. Joanne Stephane, Executive Director of Deloitte's DEI Institute, added behind-the-scenes insights to the research. "After surveying, we realized we needed to have a deeper conversation," says Stephane. "Men and women have similar aspirations, and what women have been championing all along is universal. But it's not just women who need certain resources; everyone wants and can benefit from them."
When asked why the concept of "making work work" for men has been overlooked, Stephane disagrees with the premise of the question. "I don't think men's needs have been overlooked because the policies that have been in place for years were designed for men — because men outnumbered women in the workforce at that time." But there's an important caveat to that thought. "If we assume that the system was built for men, by men…then we also assume it must be working for men. But the reality is that there are improvements that could benefit all."
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