Closing the Gap How to Include Black Women in any Gender Equity Strategy, reviewed

We look at this timely and relevant book by Leanne Mair. See more about Closing the Gap, How to Include Black Women in any Gender Equity Strategy here.

Review of Closing the Gap, How to Include Black Women

This seems like a nobrainer, but sometimes obvious ideas are only seen that way once you actively recognise that you have not been looking at something from the right perspective. On one hand if a company fails in this area, you almost want to ask, why on earth are you not actively working to know exactly what your gender and race strategy and percentages are. Why not hire the best people, and work on a colour blind basis? There are clear economic narratives to illustrate that companies who have opportunities for the best employees do better than those who throttle promotion and progression based on gender or colour.

At the same time there has been a ridiculous push back where discussions of gender and race neutral policies, or even positive discrimination is then negatively labelled as woke. Trouble is, this narrative is often espoused by old, white males, using dogwhistle, populist policies to try and whip up an aggressive and status quo preserving narrative. Books like this are important, and being aware of your own companies performance in relation to gender and race are invaluable if you wish to have a successful, progressive and forward looking company.

This book is well written, accessible, and has the logical, and important chapter towards the end called Making the theoretical practical, which says everything about what your own company policies should be. One to read and be aware of asap.

More about the book

A clear and accessible framework to accelerate your organization’s gender diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in relation to the career development of Black women.

Why are gender equality initiatives not helping all women equally? Why does there continue to be a lack of Black women in senior management and leadership? How can the mindsets and strategies of companies whose approach is to focus on gender first, and only then to look at race, be changed to become more intersectional and inclusive?

Closing the Gap serves to contextualize how companies unintentionally position Black women in situations where they cannot thrive or reach their full potential. It also shines a light on some of the subversive behaviours which further create tension in employer/employee relations, such as, the absence of a process to highlight issues without repercussions, whether overt or subtle.

This exacerbates the one thing most companies are trying to prevent: Black women resigning, taking their unique skillset and experience with them. There hasn’t been an explicit guide to understanding these invisible barriers and exactly how they can be recognised, understood and overcome … until now.

In Closing the Gap, gender equity leader Leanne Mair focusses on how companies can accelerate their gender diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by identifying the blind spots that can often prevent Black women from reaching their full potential in the workplace. It provides a practical and accessible framework, detailing the current landscape, highlighting the key challenges and remedies, and bringing organisations closer to their goals of an inclusive and equitable culture.

More about Leanne Mair

Leanne is the founder of management consultancy firm Benefactum Consulting, which is dedicated to supporting companies achieving gender equity in their business. Prior to launching her own company, Leanne worked in asset management for over 15 years before moving into team strategy, with a focus on increasing retention of women in the workplace. She is also the co-founder of The Sororum, a Communities Interest Company that aims to support young women as they move into the workplace.

She contributes to DiversityQ magazine and HRZone, and is also a sought-after speaker, having spoken to panels and delivered keynotes for Business Forums International, Women in Asset Management, HGF, HSBC Asset Management, and CITF. Leanne sits on the GenderSmart JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Steering Committee, as well as the Allies and Ambassadors committee of reboot. (a working group of senior communications and marketing professionals, working on a voluntary basis to ensure momentum is maintained and dialogue flowing around race in the workplace and UK society).

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