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Americans largely agree that women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades. But what about men? While many Americans believe women are thriving, over half believe mens progress has stalled or even reversed. To make matters more complex, recent research has revealed a massive divide along gender and partisan lines. The majority of Republican men think full gender equity in America has been achieved, while the majority of Democratic women think theres still work to be done. As researchers at the Rutgers Center for Women in Business, we think this divide matters a lot. And for business leaders, this gap isnt just a social or political issue. Its a leadership challenge with direct implications for team cohesion and morale. If gender equity efforts are seen by some employees as a loss rather than a collective gain, leaders risk inadvertently entrenching division. When equity feels like a loss Efforts to advance gender equity often come with the reassurance that equality isnt a zero-sum gamethat womens advancement need not come at mens expense. Data backs this up, showing, for example, that having gender-diverse executive teams can boost company profits by as much as 21%. Yet workers perceptions of gender equity efforts tell another story. For example, 61% of Americans believe changing gender norms have made it easier for women to be successful at work, but only 36% say the same for men. Whats more, 61% of men think women have equal job opportunities, but only 33% of women believe the same thing. These differences reveal an important truth: Perception, not policy alone, shapes how equity efforts are received. Involving men in the equity conversation Research suggests men and women associate power with different psychological outcomes. Men are more likely to associate power with control, while for women, power is more often linked to a feeling of freedom. As a result, efforts to share power may feel more liberating to women but destabilizing to menparticularly to those already in power. But this doesnt mean ones gain needs to come at anothers expensejust that people make sense of change through the lens of their own identities and experiences. When men perceive progress for women as a threat to their status or opportunity, resistance grows, even in the face of data suggesting otherwise. This cycle becomes especially difficult to break because it requires challenging ones own beliefs, which isnt always easy. This is why learning about others experiences is so useful. For example, a man and a woman might be equally ambitious and capable, but perhaps only one of them experiences being routinely interrupted in meetings. These differences in personal history and lived experience shape how work environments are interpreted and therefore navigated. Understanding this diversity of perspectives and discussing lived experiences can help gender equity efforts become more effective. Building a truly equitable future requires acknowledging that feelings about efforts required to reach that future may differ widely. With that in mind, here are some best practices for leaders to consider as they navigate the changing landscape. Preparing for differences in perspective Avoid zero-sum thinking. If men think gender equity efforts will erode their opportunities or diminish their own power, theyll disengage. Leaders should instead frame equity as essential to team and business successand ground conversations in metrics that show how inclusion drives outcomes. Know that the stakes may vary. Women may see gender equity as a matter of justice or even survival, and when stakes are existential, compromise can be difficult. At the same time, they may experience organizational progress toward gender equity as a personal win. Publicizing these changes and their mutually beneficial gains can help to create a more cohesive team where everyone can thrive. Be aware that different clocks are ticking. Some men may view change as happening too quickly, destabilizing established norms. Women, on the other hand, may feel progress is too slow, given centuries of systemic inequity. Holding both views as worthy of respect requires teamwork. Encourage dialogue where the goal is mutual understanding rather than unity. Building coalitions around shared experiences Promote policies that benefit everyone. By promoting policies such as hybrid work and parental leave that benefit everyone, workplaces will attract and retain a more diverse workforce, which leads to greater innovation. Encourage men to take advantage of these policies and ensure your company culture makes it acceptable to do so. This enables men to actually experience the benefit of these initiatives. Align efforts around shared valuessuch as the desire for healthier families, better education or stronger economies. Use both/and thinking. Supporting men who express fears about status loss can open space for dialogue. Provide that space. At the same time, acknowledge the ongoing struggles women continue to face and their fears about workplaces returning to the way they used to be. One viewpoint does not need to negate the other. Prioritize lived experience. Rather than insisting that everyone see gender equity the same way, find ways for men to experience mutually beneficial initiatives. Then, encourage dialogue about experiences rather than ideas. Bridge divides with dialogue Mixed mentorship matters. Pairing employees with mentors of different backgroundsacross gender, race, age, department or seniority levelcan help them cultivate curiosity and learn from one another. Activate resource groups. Groups focused on cross-cultural engagement provide employees with a platform to discuss challenges, share experiences and collaborate on inclusion initiatives. Additionally, encouraging allies to participate in employee resource groups and business resource groups fosters increased openness and understanding. Leaders can support roups by providing resources, visibility and executive sponsorship. Embrace discomfort. In general, people work to avoid feeling uncomfortable. However, discomfort is often necessary for growth. Starting with this premise and encouraging thoughtful, open and honest discussions about sensitive topics and potential fears can help foster transparency and build trust. Leaders can facilitate these conversations through town halls, roundtable discussions or dedicated dialogue sessions. Progress depends not just on metrics and policies but on trust, communication and humility. When people feel seen and heardwhether theyre feeling empowered or uncertaintheyre more likely to engage. In other words, the real opportunity isnt to win an argument about whether gender equity is done, but to build organizations where everyone can see a future for themselves in the workplaceand feel as if they have a role in shaping it. Colleen Tolan is a postdoctoral researcher for the Center for Women in Business at Rutgers University. Lisa Kaplowitz is an associate professor and the executive director at the Center for Women in Business at Rutgers University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
JCPenney said it will close seven stores this weekend in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and West Viriginia, according to USA Today, and will be running sales in those locations up until Sunday, May 25. It’s the latest set of JCPenney store closures since the long-struggling retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in May 2020 during the pandemic (it announced later that year it would close 200 of its 850 stores). The chain was then purchased by property managers Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management. Fast Company has reached out to JCPenney for comment. Which JCPenney store locations are closing? A JCPenney spokesperson told USA Today the following seven stores will close this Sunday, May 25: The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno, California The Shops At Northfield in Denver, Colorado Pine Ridge Mall in Pocatello, Idaho West Ridge Mall in Topeka, Kansas Fox Run Mall in Newington, New Hampshire Asheville Mall in Asheville, North Carolina Charleston Town Center in Charleston, West Virginia In February, JCPenney said it would be closing a “handful” of stores by mid-2025, but did not disclose which ones. The news came just one month after the retailer announced it was partnering with Forever 21 to create a new company, Catalyst Brands, in a merger that would also include Brooks Brothers, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand, Nautica, and Eddie Bauer. (JCPenney said the closures were unrelated.) The iconic department store chain, like many major retailers, has been struggling in recent years as American consumer foot traffic decreases and more shoppers go online. This, coupled with increasing prices, inflation, and the high cost of living, have led many retailers to file for bankruptcy or initiate waves of store closings. Some have even gone out of business, including: Joann fabrics, Macys, Party City, Big Lots, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven.
Category:
E-Commerce
A fintech company called Slash offers business banking accounts tailored to the needs of specific kinds of entrepreneurs. Slash provides business checking accounts with funds held at FDIC-insured banks, detailed spending analytics dashboards, free or low-cost wire and ACH transfers, easy access to lending options, and unlimited virtual cards. These cards can be configured with specific spending limits, merchants, and merchant categories to prevent unauthorized or erroneous employee purchases. That control, along with metadata from Slashs integrations with popular accounting platforms, makes it easier for bookkeepers to classify transactions. The company also offers a range of add-ons built for particular industriessomething like an app store for bankingdesigned to address the unique pain points of different types of businesses. The insight behind Slash is the work that an accountant [does] at a construction company, or a marketing agency, or a property manager looks very, very different from one another, says CEO Victor Cardenas. Marketing agencies, for example, often take money from clients to spend on platforms like Google and Facebook. Traditionally, they would use a single business checking account and rely on internal systems to track how much was received, how much had been spent, and when to request more funds. With Slash, agencies can create virtual accounts for each client, allowing both parties to see the remaining balance. They can even trigger automatic billing for more marketing fundsplus the agency feewhen the balance runs low. The approach is popular: Slash reports that more than 1% of global ad spending on Facebook is conducted using a Slash card. We basically make it much easier for agencies to put their accounts receivable on autopilot, Cardenas says. Other industries have their own challenges. Contractors in fields like plumbing or HVAC often give technicians credit cards for fueling up, but want to prevent personal purchaseseven inside gas stations. Slash enables businesses to restrict cards to fuel purchases only and ties each transaction to a specific driver or vehicle. We can make it so an owner can basically say, I want this card to only be able to be used to buy gas at the pump and not inside of the station, Cardenas says. And then we get data at the time of clearing of the transaction around the actual fuel grade, what the kind of fuel was, and were able to pass that on and show that to our customers. Other users include online travel agents, who generate virtual cards to pay hotels and vendors. For businesses dealing with cryptocurrency, Slash enables sending and receiving stablecoin paymentswithout needing a separate crypto platform. Slash also offers an API that lets customers build custom dashboards, trigger payments through internal systems, or, in the case of e-commerce marketplaces, automatically transfer funds to vendors when goods are sold. Cardenas says the rise of AI-powered coding tools has allowed Slash to rapidly release features tailored to different industries. The company started in 2021 with a focus on sole proprietors, but pivoted in late 2023 to serve larger businesses in specific verticals. On Tuesday, it announced a $41 million Series B funding round, valuing the company at $370 million. Thanks to AI, Slash can now ship features at a pace that would have been difficult just a few years ago, while leveraging its existing banking infrastructure and relationships. Its becoming trivial to build software, but its not trivial to stand up a card issuing and banking program, Cardenas says. And so while were ahead, we want to build solutions for as many industries as quickly as possible.
Category:
E-Commerce
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