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Stop Fixing Women: Why Building Fairer Workplaces Is Everybody's Business
Millions of words have been spent in our quest to explain men’s seemingly never-ending dominance in boardrooms, in parliaments, in the bureaucracy and in almost every workplace. So why is gender inequality still such a pressing issue? Wage inequality between men and women seems one of the intractables of our age. Women are told they need to back themselves more, stop marginalising themselves, negotiate better, speak up, support each other, strike a balance between work and home. This searing book argues that insisting that women fix themselves won’t fix the system, the system built by men. Catherine Fox does more than identify and analyze the nature of the problem. Her book is an important tool for male leaders who say they want to make a difference. She throws down the gauntlet, showing how business, defence, public service and community leaders might do it, rather than just talk about it. She shows that not only will this be better for women but for productivity as well, not to mention men and women’s health and happiness at home and at work.
272 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2017
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688 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 11, 2021
A friend lent me this book, and I wanted to read it immediately so I could give it back; otherwise it may have languished on my TBR list for months or years, along with many others I haven’t got around to reading yet. I am glad I did.
The author, Catherine Fox, is Australian and has been writing about women and women’s issues for many years, so she is well qualified to write this one. Interestingly, though, the subject is very much NOT ‘women’s issues’ but everybody’s issues that affect both women and minority groups, i.e. everyone who is not white, middle aged and middle class (ish).
The basic premise is that the way we work and hire people is all geared towards recruiting the same people over and over again – the ones described above. The author wondered why we have had 20 years (and more) of companies saying they intend to recruit more women, and especially more women in top management positions, but despite modest increases not much has changed and progress is agonisingly slow.
She decided to do a lot of digging, and she has researched her subject well. Fox looked at many statistics, surveys and studies from Australia, the UK, USA and several other countries, and interviewed many people. She discovered that there are several reasons that purport to explain why more women are not in top jobs: they are not forceful/confident enough; they don’t have enough experience, and they don’t have enough ‘commitment’. What she found was that it is not the women who need to change, it is the system, because for various reasons the men who by and large do the recruiting recruit ‘themselves’ or people just like them – men, white men. This happens for several reasons including ‘the boys’ club’, unconscious bias, a false sense of ‘meritocracy’ and fear. There is much more to it than that but that is the basics. I didn’t agree with everything she said but that may change over time. Most of it made perfect sense to me.
Catherine Fox gives many examples and a good deal of evidence for her beliefs, and they mostly stack up. The few men in power who have taken positive action have seen a greater proportion of women joining them at the top table and in middle management, and the arguments also apply to minority social groups. It is also a fact that companies/organisations with the most diverse workforces tend to be the most successful because the variety of people means they can benefit from many different points of view, ideas and cultural nuances that enhance their success.
The book is well written and the author quotes many sources. Sometimes it can seem a little dry if you hate statistics but they are not too intense. In any case, the bean counters would have us believe that business is all about getting the metrics right, right? I believe this is an important book that should be required reading for middle and senior managers, and should help governments form policy. A level playing field has to be better for society as a whole so let’s try to create one – we have a long way to go.
The author, Catherine Fox, is Australian and has been writing about women and women’s issues for many years, so she is well qualified to write this one. Interestingly, though, the subject is very much NOT ‘women’s issues’ but everybody’s issues that affect both women and minority groups, i.e. everyone who is not white, middle aged and middle class (ish).
The basic premise is that the way we work and hire people is all geared towards recruiting the same people over and over again – the ones described above. The author wondered why we have had 20 years (and more) of companies saying they intend to recruit more women, and especially more women in top management positions, but despite modest increases not much has changed and progress is agonisingly slow.
She decided to do a lot of digging, and she has researched her subject well. Fox looked at many statistics, surveys and studies from Australia, the UK, USA and several other countries, and interviewed many people. She discovered that there are several reasons that purport to explain why more women are not in top jobs: they are not forceful/confident enough; they don’t have enough experience, and they don’t have enough ‘commitment’. What she found was that it is not the women who need to change, it is the system, because for various reasons the men who by and large do the recruiting recruit ‘themselves’ or people just like them – men, white men. This happens for several reasons including ‘the boys’ club’, unconscious bias, a false sense of ‘meritocracy’ and fear. There is much more to it than that but that is the basics. I didn’t agree with everything she said but that may change over time. Most of it made perfect sense to me.
Catherine Fox gives many examples and a good deal of evidence for her beliefs, and they mostly stack up. The few men in power who have taken positive action have seen a greater proportion of women joining them at the top table and in middle management, and the arguments also apply to minority social groups. It is also a fact that companies/organisations with the most diverse workforces tend to be the most successful because the variety of people means they can benefit from many different points of view, ideas and cultural nuances that enhance their success.
The book is well written and the author quotes many sources. Sometimes it can seem a little dry if you hate statistics but they are not too intense. In any case, the bean counters would have us believe that business is all about getting the metrics right, right? I believe this is an important book that should be required reading for middle and senior managers, and should help governments form policy. A level playing field has to be better for society as a whole so let’s try to create one – we have a long way to go.
February 24, 2018
I found this tricky to rate but mostly because I haven't read anything like it before, not because I didn't like it. This book shows how workplace gender discrimination needs to be tackled by changing male attitudes, and organisational structures and practices, as opposed to fixing the things that make women different to men. The book is very readable and I liked the little streak of snarky, sassy humour throughout. It is set out well and the chapters flow into each other nicely. There are a few case studies highlighting effective changes made by various companies to improve female recruitment and retention which are interesting. Overall I found this sometimes anger-inducing but very eye-opening. I'd say it's definitely worth a read by anyone who is serious about changing gender discrimination in the workplace.
September 3, 2018
Good stuff, but will the necessary people ever read it?
June 15, 2017
This book covers a very important topic, but there is sadly nothing new here. I do wonder what it will take to actually get change in workplaces when there are already so many statistics, books and discussions about inequality and disparity and causes. Good to see an Australian perspective. I've always been slightly negative about the Male Champions of Change concept, but the author shows why it is important and how it can help.
November 21, 2017
Unclear who the target audience is for this book - as a woman it’s reassuring to read that the problem is the system, not me, but there are few recommendations on how to change the system and it’s unlikely that anyone with the power to change it would get more than a chapter through!
Read
April 21, 2017For years society’s “fingers” have been squarely pointed at women. We’ve been told what to do, what to avoid, to lean in, speak up, support each other and back ourselves. But has this information – which is sometimes contradictory – actually helped achieve anything? The gender pay gap remains largely unchanged and the percentage of women in senior management and leadership roles remains at a disappointing low. Thankfully, leading women’s commentator, Catherine Fox advocates a different approach as well as offering much food for thought in her third book, Stop Fixing Women.
To read the rest of this review please visit: http://magazine.100percentrock.com/re...
To read the rest of this review please visit: http://magazine.100percentrock.com/re...
December 10, 2019
Catherine Fox is one of Australia's best commentators on women in the workplace, a role she has held since before many of us realised it was a thing.
She cuts to the real issues and calls out the bullshit. So for this reason alone it is worth reading whatever she puts to print.
I particularly like her call to dismantle the 'deficit model' to explain why women are not represented highly in leadership roles - the one that suggests its because we lack confidence, or ability, or don't speak up or whatever. She notes instead that the structure of work was established to suit men in traditional environments (usually married, with partner at home) because that was the clear societal expectation back when the modern workplace was established.
I also like her assessment that many of the things we do in organisations to improve outcomes for women aren't working. Primarily because we focus on 'fixing the women' ie. the deficit model rather than fixing the system and the biases within it.
Of particular interest is her view that unconscious bias training doesn't work. Primarily again because it focuses on individuals (this time usually men in the workplace) rather than the systems and structures of work.
So, all good stuff.
My concern with the book is a common one. These books have a time stamp. Like others of its type it is full of up to the minute data that is out of date five minutes later. We are wading through examples that have passed, data that is out of date and people that no longer exist. As a result I skim read loads of stuff I'd seen again and again.
The wonderful Cordelia Fine is mentioned often in the book. Her work, by comparison lasts and lasts. There's something to be learnt from that.
I feel that Catherine's work is more suited to Quarerly Essays, Podcasts, articles, interviews and conferences rather than a book. That said, skim it for the gems within. And there are some gems.
She cuts to the real issues and calls out the bullshit. So for this reason alone it is worth reading whatever she puts to print.
I particularly like her call to dismantle the 'deficit model' to explain why women are not represented highly in leadership roles - the one that suggests its because we lack confidence, or ability, or don't speak up or whatever. She notes instead that the structure of work was established to suit men in traditional environments (usually married, with partner at home) because that was the clear societal expectation back when the modern workplace was established.
I also like her assessment that many of the things we do in organisations to improve outcomes for women aren't working. Primarily because we focus on 'fixing the women' ie. the deficit model rather than fixing the system and the biases within it.
Of particular interest is her view that unconscious bias training doesn't work. Primarily again because it focuses on individuals (this time usually men in the workplace) rather than the systems and structures of work.
So, all good stuff.
My concern with the book is a common one. These books have a time stamp. Like others of its type it is full of up to the minute data that is out of date five minutes later. We are wading through examples that have passed, data that is out of date and people that no longer exist. As a result I skim read loads of stuff I'd seen again and again.
The wonderful Cordelia Fine is mentioned often in the book. Her work, by comparison lasts and lasts. There's something to be learnt from that.
I feel that Catherine's work is more suited to Quarerly Essays, Podcasts, articles, interviews and conferences rather than a book. That said, skim it for the gems within. And there are some gems.
November 16, 2020
The title tells you all you need to know. Catherine Fox makes the case that the unequal pay and representation of women in the workplace is not the fault of women, nor a problem that women need to bear the responsibility for solving. Men need to also be involved in changing the structures that keep women in the place they are currently in. The chapter "From victim blaming to system shaming" contains the key points on this topic.
Later in the book, Fox makes the point that removing the structures impeding women improves an organisation because they can then harness a greater diversity of skills and experiences. This can be applied, not only, to gender-based discrimination, but is worth noting for any workplace that seems to employ a uniform type of person (e.g. a legal firm where all the partners are men who went to similar schools).
A particularly strong example explored in detail are the changes that took place in the Australian Defense Force, and the work of David Morrison, with his team, to change their culture.
The way the book was written didn't appeal to me very much - it often read to me as though the author was "name dropping" (when I had coffee with CEO XXX XXX....) and it seemed somehow scattered in its approach. It was one of those books that I think I would have preferred as an essay.
Fox really doesn't like books like The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know and Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Fox believes they "blame women", and sell a narrative that if women behaved more like men they would succeed in the workplace. I think this is a false dichotomy. Both approaches are needed: women do need more confidence, AND there are major structural problems in the workplace. Changing those structures needs powerful men to see the problem and take action.
Later in the book, Fox makes the point that removing the structures impeding women improves an organisation because they can then harness a greater diversity of skills and experiences. This can be applied, not only, to gender-based discrimination, but is worth noting for any workplace that seems to employ a uniform type of person (e.g. a legal firm where all the partners are men who went to similar schools).
A particularly strong example explored in detail are the changes that took place in the Australian Defense Force, and the work of David Morrison, with his team, to change their culture.
The way the book was written didn't appeal to me very much - it often read to me as though the author was "name dropping" (when I had coffee with CEO XXX XXX....) and it seemed somehow scattered in its approach. It was one of those books that I think I would have preferred as an essay.
Fox really doesn't like books like The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know and Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Fox believes they "blame women", and sell a narrative that if women behaved more like men they would succeed in the workplace. I think this is a false dichotomy. Both approaches are needed: women do need more confidence, AND there are major structural problems in the workplace. Changing those structures needs powerful men to see the problem and take action.
June 19, 2020
In this book, the author examines the reasons why men’s seemingly never-ending dominance in boardrooms, in parliaments, in the bureaucracy, and in almost every workplace.
Focused on the typical differences of wage inequality and the absence of women in the higher ranks of the companies. Usually women are told they need to back themselves more, stop marginalising themselves, negotiate better, speak up, support each other, strike a balance between work and home. This searing book argues that insisting that women fix themselves won’t fix the system, the system built by men.
Catherine Fox does more than identify and analyse the nature of the problem. Her book is an important tool for male leaders who say they want to make a difference. She throws down the gauntlet, showing how business, defence, public service and community leaders might do it, rather than just talk about it. She shows that not only will this be better for women but for productivity as well, not to mention men and women’s health and happiness at home and at work.
Focused on the typical differences of wage inequality and the absence of women in the higher ranks of the companies. Usually women are told they need to back themselves more, stop marginalising themselves, negotiate better, speak up, support each other, strike a balance between work and home. This searing book argues that insisting that women fix themselves won’t fix the system, the system built by men.
Catherine Fox does more than identify and analyse the nature of the problem. Her book is an important tool for male leaders who say they want to make a difference. She throws down the gauntlet, showing how business, defence, public service and community leaders might do it, rather than just talk about it. She shows that not only will this be better for women but for productivity as well, not to mention men and women’s health and happiness at home and at work.
January 30, 2020
The main premise of the book is that it’s not the fault of women that they are not getting to ‘sit at the table’, get unequal pay for the same job and the myriad other inequalities that abound. Some may keep saying sorry or not speaking up or not ‘leaning in’ but those comments have become almost stereotypical. What needs to happen is that powerful men need to take action to allow the space for talented women to enter the arena and the men make themselves sponsors, mentors and donors in the business of creating level playing fields. A good read that beats up the stereotypes.
January 16, 2021
Great. I was reading and remembering every time someone has said that women need to be more confident, to my own internalising of the message that women have to be better to get the same. Get ready to be filled with righteous indignation as you read this book and want to get up and do something about fixing the system, not fixing women.
Saying that, there wasn’t anything in the book that was new to me and it could have done with a few less examples, especially repeated examples. Other than than, great book.
Saying that, there wasn’t anything in the book that was new to me and it could have done with a few less examples, especially repeated examples. Other than than, great book.
September 2, 2022
Catherine Fox’s message is simple- structural and deliberate change is need to make the workplace equitable and deliver better economic outcomes.
How we achieve this goal, however is anything but simple.
Moreover real tangible change is slow. And it must be lead by the current captains of industry and our political leaders.
Meticulous evidence based research and many years of experience make this a convincing read.
On a personal note- whilst progress is excruciatingly slow -I take some heart to remember that the bigger the backlash- the more impact this change is having.
How we achieve this goal, however is anything but simple.
Moreover real tangible change is slow. And it must be lead by the current captains of industry and our political leaders.
Meticulous evidence based research and many years of experience make this a convincing read.
On a personal note- whilst progress is excruciatingly slow -I take some heart to remember that the bigger the backlash- the more impact this change is having.
December 1, 2023
So much to relate to in this book!
January 29, 2023
A helpful book (even if a little bit dry) that gives some tips to challenge the patriarchy and change the system e.g. by encouraging male advocates, and not the women.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews