Looking into the salad bowl: A lesson in identity & authenticity

Watching “Mad Men” was in equal measure fascinating and disturbing. It rekindled memories from my early career days. The near-perfect depiction of a world of advertising powered by larger-than-life egos, memorable taglines, consumer understanding reflective of profound intuition, account wins pivoted on big ideas. Utterly fascinating. A world I deliberately chose to enter post B-school, an apprentice worshipping from the fringes, eager to win my spurs.

The cavalier attitude and gender stereotyping, especially with respect to women, cringe-worthy but also real. That was the disturbing part of the show, evoking recollections of unsavoury moments of being a woman in a male-centric environment. The unsolicited comments, the off-colour jokes, the all-male after-work soirees et al.

Over the years the gender insensitivity part has undergone the much-needed change. However, bias, a product of innate conditioning though much weakened persists. To my mind, this behavioural change has not been a product of some deep self-reflection on the part of men in positions of power. Rather the collective conscience and certain movements have triggered and then buttressed this change. Corporate charters have changed enshrining the values of diversity, equity and inclusivity. Today, corporates don’t look the other way when faced with discriminatory or insensitive behaviour, irrespective of hierarchy. A welcome change from the protection men received because of their rank, gender or their commercial value to an organisation.

The 21st-century zeitgeist means that the workforce brings plurality and acceptance to the workplace, not only when it comes to gender issues but across a wide variety of subjects. I am conscious that from a woman empowerment standpoint we have many miles to travel in the formal workplace. Society has a huge role in dictating the larger narrative on gender. In the race to the top of their chosen profession, many women don’t manage to stay the course, yanked aside by personal pressures and other commitments. All we can and should do is to create a workplace, which is more open not only from a conscious perspective but also from an unconscious bias perspective.

Personally, I have spent a considerable part of my career being one-of-the-boys. Followed by many years marinating in my gender identity. What I have come to realise is that, for me at least, my authentic self is my absolute best self; that I suspect would be true for most of us. I am conscious that my gender identity, at least for me, is an exogenous one. Some of my other identities are more important to me. My personal opinion is that at the workplace singling out gender identity for special attention can become counterproductive. We can achieve more by recognizing and appreciating differences but celebrating integration and commonality. The big one, of course, is a shared commitment towards an organisational goal. The softer ones could be any shared interest- a specific kind of music, a love for the written word, a commitment to animal rescue, food, politics, just about anything. An inclusive organisation is like a salad bowl where different items mingle without losing their unique flavours and deliver one wonderful taste which is the desirable outcome.

We need to create our workplaces such that whoever we are, we are welcomed, valued, heard, and treated with dignity and respect. Equally important is that we speak up if we experience or know that someone has experienced treatment that we think is biased or discriminatory. It is the right thing to do. Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand.