The diversity debate is juvenileLINKEDIN | 10 AUGUST, 2017

We discuss diversity as if it is an arithmetic ratio to aim for. The concept of gender diversity in workplace (or anywhere in the society) should not just be a counting exercise. It should push the envelope of thinking to the man-woman combination that the world was always destined to have. Yes, there are as many of us as there are them, irrespective of whether you belong to us or them. So it’s not about who is better with what skill or vocation but how do you synergise the differences, assuming we understand them well. For a good part of my life, I was unqualified to write on this topic. I went to a boys-only school, where all teachers were men, and that included librarians and office staff. I never saw a lady officiating as the chief guest at any of our school functions. My four-year college stint was at two men-only colleges and in one, women actually cannot enter the compound of over 500 acres! Even today! I spent two years at a B-school where girls were outnumbered by 10:1. I grew up with two brothers (yes, I have a sister, but she went off to study in Mumbai) and five other boys who lived in the first floor of the bungalow. My first two jobs followed the same pattern and confirmed to me that I would only see women in the kitchen or at temples. In one of my early jobs, the only woman was a telephone operator whose life was generally spent in the basement and was lucky to have a separate toilet in that floor!

And then it all changed with a vengeance. My next jobs took me to a world of distinctive gender mix. I moved to Singapore to a job that had about 80% women and I now oversee a school where about 75% of the staff are women. Matters have transformed at home as well – I am surrounded by my wife, her mother and my adult daughter. So I did earn some late-stage qualification to write this piece.

Yes, a man and a woman are different, especially at the workplace. ‘Different’ has no such meaning as ‘inferior’ or ‘superior’. Without invoking neuro-philic terms like right side of brain and left side of brain, I have come to notice and appreciate the following:

1. Women are less of number crunchers and lean on ‘feelings’ and ‘intuition’. Who said numbers will always prevail? For most situations, a nuanced approach of the heart has the perfect answer. The chauvinist in me says : how well have the women turned a disadvantage to their advantage?
2. Women don’t read maps well (or not at all). So the NEWS (North East West South) logic is not programmed in their brain chip. It seems to be true generally. But, then they religiously follow the GPS, a systemic habit that brings many positive outcomes. We are moving slowly to a AI-human combination in life. Can the men be subservient to the logic of a machine? Are women going to be more AI-compatible than men are? (I still quarrel with the judgement of GPS many times!). So what do we do with the extra brain activity that may not be necessary when machines take over directions, shopping, price comparisons and various other cost or time optimizing chores? Men will have no employment at home, with such a trend.
3. Women juggle a lot of things with fuzzy sequences and logic, which men hate to accept as intelligent. My wife often has the most important five things in her to-do list whilst I take pride in drawing up a list of 20 things. It’s the same quantity vs quality debate. Except me, no one is convinced that my 18,19,20 listed items have any serious relevance. So, women do have their priorities right while feeling assured that the other mundane things will be in the man’s list! Men, on the other hand, will die if the list is incomplete. Is that any virtue?
4. Women don’t stay only with the domains that they are clichéd to be naturally endowed in. They also climb mountains, steer the Antarctica ship, head corporations, rule nations, negotiate nuclear-halt deals and drink a lot of beer. Except for Michelin star chefs and the odd diaper-dexterous, men haven’t crossed over really. So there are many things that we will never learn to do – the stereotyping doesn’t go away. I am always teased about my knowledge of what subjects my daughter studied at school (despite the fact that I pushed her to choose some of them, apparently in intellectual inebriation). We men have a binary attitude to possessing skillsets – either zero or excessive.
5. I have also noticed that women mull over issues more than men. Maybe this is anecdotal with my habitat. But they are not eager to jump to conclusions. They may still be dogmatic, but gather their arguments assiduously without breaking into a row. In fact, they win every battle when they speak softly. I feel like a loser when my voice has to be toned down (Now, that’s almost the default scenario at home!). So here’s my theory – women can conquer silently. They don’t necessarily want to be the boss if they can be the winner.
6. There is another special quality that women have – dealing with people as people – rather than as objects. They can size up people more quickly, face-read them, detect emotional state through the eyes, are more perceptive and find the right chord for a rapport. Some men can do it too, but there are less of them. The EQ levels among women have been found to be higher (though challenged sometimes), leading to better human resource decisions.
7. Of course, the most important trait – pain management. By and large, women cope with physical pain a lot better than men, especially if they have undergone the labour pain atleast once. Their attitude towards pain is more accepting and less resentful. Their emotional pain management is also different. They are often accused of being the ‘cry babies’ – that’s their super technique of coping. Macho men bear mental pain like a cross, as crying is un-manly. If you visualise the everyday heartburns in the workplace and try to hazard a guess as to who is coping with them better, there is only one answer.

This article was never meant to be in praise of men – there is no doubt about their eminence. However, my finding is that if the equally eminent women were to partake in equal measure, many circles can be squared. This need not be a favour to any group, but is a smart strategy. It is akin to mixing different skillsets like accounting, technology, sales, service, design etc. This is not a new finding at all – except in certain places. One hopes Silicon Valley is not considered one of those.