“…But it doesn’t say “Leader.”
Let’s be real.
Open, honest, and productive conversations about gender in the workplace are never easy to have, during Women’s History Month – or any time of year.
But those discussions are needed. Without them, it’s hard to limit the impact of bias on the careers, contributions, and well-being of women. There is a stronger business case for addressing the impact of bias on gender diversity in the workplace.
According to McKinsey’s 2023 report, Diversity Matters Even More, the fourth in a series investigating the business case for diversity, the case for gender diversity on executive teams “has more than doubled over the past decade.” In each of McKinsey’s previous reports (2015, 2018, and 2020) there has been a steady upward trend, tracking ever greater representation of women on executive teams. Each time McKinsey has assessed the data, the likelihood of a financial outperformance gap has grown. In 2015, the report found top quartile companies had a 15% greater likelihood of financial outperformance vs. their bottom-quartile peers. In 2023, that rose to 39%.
Leaders need tools to mitigate biases and have difficult conversations about gender diversity in the workplace. At Ibis, we’ve seen and heard the very real impact of enabling these conversations to happen using a unique and effective tool in our toolkit: Interactive Theater.
With Ibis' Interactive Theater, employees explore bias by watching true-to-life scenarios connected to their own workplace, such as meetings, interviews, and conversations about career development. These scenarios are portrayed by professional actors who stay in character after each scene to answer audience questions. An expert Ibis facilitator helps support lasting, meaningful dialogue between the scene’s characters and audience members.
Our scenes allow conversations to continue. They empower learners with a greater understanding of Unconscious Bias. But don’t take our word for it.
One scene in particular left a lasting impression on a group of leaders last Fall.
In the scene, “Ann” arrives at her manager “Trevor’s” office assuming she is going to be promoted. Trevor, meanwhile, assumes Ann’s remote work arrangement might hinder her ability to accomplish her goals. They have a conversation that demonstrates some of the challenges and biases that are part of their dynamic.
Trevor: Look, Ann - I want to make sure you hear this the right way, You’re a great asset to the team. And people like working with you. You’re a calming influence. When you’re on a project you get things done on time, there are no fireworks, and there’s no drama.
Ann: But ...?
Trevor: There’s no “but”. Ok, maybe there is …. ok “calming” is important, but it doesn’t say “Leader”. A strategic Senior Project Manager needs to be able to make things happen. They need to be strategic.
Ann: But didn’t you just say that when I’m on a project you never have to worry about me getting the job done on time?
While this is just a snippet from the scene, you can see how the complexity and nuances of these conversations call for leaders to have better skills and tools to navigate these situations. Additionally, intersectionality with a combination of identities (in this case, race as well as gender) adds further distinct challenges for Women of Color in the workplace.
Jenny Ames, a Manager at InterSystems, reflected on the power of this scene to catalyze change in her organization.
“Last November at the MassTLC ‘Key Strategies for Women to Thrive’ event, InterSystems sent several employees and partners to learn and grow in how to we can help all our employees continue to thrive.
At this event, we had the fantastic opportunity to participate in an Interactive Theater by Ibis. The format for this training was very unique and effective as it provided the opportunity to process difficult conversations in a safe environment, as we watched an interaction between actors.
It brought to light the potential unconscious biases that could be present, allowed us to reflect the various perspectives present, and brainstorm ways to improve and enhance conversations at our organization.”
Ames also found that the Q&A portion of the experience was invaluable for learners.
“The opportunity to ask questions of the actor and actresses after the initial interaction while discussing with others after the sessions were very effective as catalyst to continue these conversations. Thanks to Ibis for what we’ve learned and continue to learn through this session!”
Interactive Theater is a unique approach to DEI understanding that enables learners to discern impact from intent. They can start to recognize how their behavior affects others and develop actions that align with their sphere of influence.
Erika Hopkins, the former Lead for Global Talent Management at Staples noted; "I really thought the actors' presence and how they brought these biases to life was just phenomenal!"
An Interactive Theater session is an opportunity to help employees process real-life challenges, empowering them to frame the conversation. Rather than being based on theory, or a list of do’s and don’ts, the technique explores the complexities and ambiguities of how diversity affects the way we engage with one another.
Organizations can offer employees Interactive Theater virtually or in person and can easily adapt its content to support managers, executives, independent contributors, recruiting teams, and many other levels and roles.
A global appetite for nontraditional DEI learning has brought Virtual Interactive Theater Training to thousands of employees around the world at organizations such as Stanford University, Hasbro, Inc., and Edgewell Personal Care Company, where Karen Anderson, Director of DEI, said, “The impact can be felt throughout our company and has resulted in meaningful dialogue at different levels within the organization.”
Start the conversation by contacting us today!
