In this eye-opening finale of Series 5, Sophy Norris speaks to Clare Willetts, the CEO and Founder of Not Only Pink and Blue, on how and why gender stereotypes that start in the playground continue into the workplace.
Clare began her business after noticing how starkly children’s products were divided into pink and blue, and recognised the same patterns reappearing later in workplaces and boardrooms. Not Only Pink and Blue works with organisations to uncover and change the hidden beliefs that start in the playground to shape culture, unlock talent, engagement, and retention. Clare goes beyond policy to tackle the root causes of gender bias, so culture, people, and performance can thrive.
Her work has been featured on the BBC, The Independent and Business Matters, and recognised by Theo Paphitis’s Small Business Sunday. And now on The Dangerous Women Podcast, where we find out that gender stereotypes are not only deeply entrenched, but pervasive, and at times insidious. Even down to the clothes we buy our children; animals on boys’ t-shirts are often predatory and on girls they are prey. Pretty dark stuff.
The conversation is wide ranging, at times jaw dropping, and always enlightening. Discussions cover:
Gender stereotypes start as early as eight, when girls lose confidence and boys empathy; and we take this gap with us from the playground into the workplace
Male and female confidence is different; for women is tends to centre around being proud of achievements, for men it is the feeling of being able to do anything
Confidence does not mean being the loudest person in the room, or the one that takes up the most space
We need to be clear, down to granular detail, what we mean when we ask people to be confident, or a leader etc.
Empathy and kindness are vastly underrated skills
The language we use with girls and boys is very different
Bias is embedded from the get-go - in the book we read, the clothes we wear, the programmes we watch, the heroes we reference, the way we are taught
The gender pay gap starts young, there is a 20% disparity between boys and girls’ pocket money
Our brains are capable of change, and we can relearn, remove limits, and challenge stereotypical norms
Children need to be taught the power of critical thinking
Paternity leave is a necessity not a perk
Gender division is not a PHSE module, it should be systemic change across our education system
The Hobbit has 1900 "hes" to every one "she"
The importance of sport in redressing gender stereotypes
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