What Women Want #3 : A Place To Call Our Own January 7th, 2020
“What we want is a place to call our own,” says Ashwini, “a workplace that is inclusive and fair”.
Ashwini is a relationship manager in a bank. Her office is in one of several floors the bank occupies in a high rise building in the financial centre. We’ve known each other for many years. Ashwini is one of the smartest, hardest working people I have ever met.
“Offices are built by men, for men,” she says. “Just like our cities. And even though women make up half the workforce, we’re rarely involved in decisions on design.”
“Oh,” I say, confused, “I thought a large proportion of architects and interior designers are women.”
“Hah, I have heard this,” says Ashwini, “and it is wrong! Less than 25% of architects are women. If you consider senior architects, that figure drops to sub-5%! So, client decision makers are men; architects are men; contractors are men – is it surprising that offices across the world are geared to men and leave women out in the cold?”
“I stand corrected,” I say. “So, what changes would you make to your workplace?”
“Quite a few,” Ashwini answers, “and most of these are small tweaks which can have big impacts. This is where gender awareness comes in. We need to understand and recognise how women’s needs differ from men’s.”
“For now, let’s talk about just three aspects.”
A PLACE TO GO
“Let’s start with bathrooms,” says Ashwini.
“Bathrooms?” I ask, puzzled.
“Yes,’ she says. “I don’t know if you have noticed, but most offices have more bathrooms for men than for women. And women need bathrooms more than men. For example, on our floor, where we have as many women as men, the men’s bathroom has 6 urinals, 4 cubicles and 3 wash basins. The women’s bathroom has 3 cubicles and 2 wash basins.”
“Really?” I ask, astonished (I have never really visited women’s bathrooms). “Why?”
“Same reason,’ Ashwini says wryly, “men clients, men designers, men contractors.”
“So often,” she continues, “we hold back, or go to other floors where we think the bathrooms may be less crowded. And if even one cubicle has a maintenance issue, God help us!”
I am hearing about issues that never even crossed my mind before.
To be fair,” she continues, “modern building codes provide equal flooring space to male and female bathrooms. But this is not enough. Male bathrooms have both urinals and cubicles, thereby increasing the access. Also, men don’t have periods or babies or urinary tract infections. And finally, if you studied even a little bit of biology in school, you may recall that women have smaller bladders than men.”
“I have never thought of these things,” I confess.
“We are sending our daughters to workplaces designed for our dads…” Melinda Gates
“Adding to women’s facilities will actually improve productivity,” Ashwini says, earnestly. “Many of my female colleagues say that 60% of the time they need to use the bathroom is spent in waiting or searching for available facilities. Isn’t that time better used in productive work?”
“Absolutely,” I agree, “Why didn’t any of my women colleagues speak of this to me when I was CEO? I could have done so much to make things more comfortable for them?
“For the same reason I am not speaking to my CEO or supervisor,” says Ashwini, sadly. “I don’t want to be seen as a whiner or ‘difficult’ employee. And bathrooms are not a topic women are comfortable discussing, anyway.”
“I just wish I had been more sensitive, and listened more,” I say, thinking of all the lost chances.
“I wish we women raise our voices more and make ourselves heard,” says Ashwini. “It’s a two-way street, Shesh.”
“That’s true,” I say. “What is your second point?”
A PLACE TO WORK
“Did you know that numerous studies show that open plan spaces can make sexual harassment worse?” asks Ashwini. “That they can make women feel like they have to dress up much more than they would otherwise? That they can make it difficult to deal with any emotions, whether work or entirely not work related?”
“What!” I exclaim. “I always thought open plan offices help improve communication and teamwork.”
“That’s how men think,” Ashwini says, in a resigned tone. “Women need a little privacy. We feel much more comfortable in a cubicle that allows us to do our work without worrying about who’s watching us and why. You need to understand, Shesh, that many of us feel exposed in open offices, with the crawling feeling that someone is watching us all the time, judging us, checking us out.”
“I am not saying that closed-in spaces are the answer. Open plan offices do have plenty of benefits. But can we not have an office that has diverse workspaces? A mixture of open plan, and cubicles, and private rooms? Allowing people the freedom to choose and move between them, depending on their requirements and needs?”
I think back to the offices I had worked in. What Ashwini was saying was very possible. Offices did not need to be homogenous. They could be designed much more diversely, making them so much more friendly to different needs.
I look at Ashwini. “I agree,” I say, “Offices and workplaces can be easily designed differently, making them much more effective. And your third point?”
A PLACE TO UNWIND
“Many companies are now upgrading offices to make them more friendly and fun,” says Ashwini, “which is great! But, the definition of fun seems to be based on male preferences.”
“For example, on the 11th floor, we have a gaming area, a foosball table and a pool table. A far cry from the offices I started my career in, I assure you! Sadly, this is focussed on what men like and how they unwind and bond.”
“To this day,” Ashwini continues, “I have yet to see an office which has a reading corner. Or a yoga room. Or a quiet alcove where we can sit and chat and have a cup of tea. These spaces are what women can unwind in. Or catch up on personal updates with colleagues.”
Ashwini was right. I remember sprucing up one off my offices to make it more fun. And what did I put in? Foosball and table tennis and darts. We never even considered yoga or reading.
“I agree, Ashwini,” I say, with remorse, “how unaware and ill-informed I have been throughout my career! I wish I had known all this earlier.”
As I walk to the elevator, I see 4 women standing outside the women’s facilities. Thirty plus years in the corporate world, and I notice this for the first time? Shame on me…
A PLACE AT THE TABLE…
I am retired. There is not much I can do to change anything in the workplace anymore. But you can. You can look around you and see things that I did not see. And then, act on them.
What can you do?
- Ask questions.
- Be situationally aware.
- Consider diverse needs.
- Plan inclusively.
Most of us spend much of our lives in our workplaces. Help make them welcoming, friendly and comfortable. Give everyone a place at the table…
If you want to transform your work environment, don’t just click ‘like’. Share your views, your criticisms, your comments and your disagreements. Let us start a movement that will shatter past practices and paradigms and lead the way to a better world.
Cheers,
Shesh.
(Singapore / 07 January 2020)
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A Place
