The National Science Foundation recently handed out $103,000 to Villanova University to study how professional men can encourage female leadership in their workplaces.
The gist goes something like this: researchers claim workplaces tend to do better when they have women in leadership positions, because women are awesome and independent and natural leaders. But these super-strong women can’t get there themselves – they need men’s help to achieve these coveted spots.
Confusing, much? Check out Villanova’s explanation:
In order to encourage female leaders, many companies leverage diversity training initiatives or women-centered solutions, such as women's networking groups or leadership training. While these solutions have merits, they often place the burden of creating more gender inclusive organizations on women themselves. A more effective approach to enhance gender inclusivity is to understand the role that male leaders may play in supporting women's advancement within organizations.
This proposal seeks to identify effective behaviors of male champions for female leadership and for supporting gender equality in organizations.
… Male champions, or male leaders who value diversity in the workplace and support advancing talented females to leader positions, have a critical role to play as agents of change to enhance gender equality.
Ugh, men. Can’t live with them, can’t get promoted without them.
So now, it’s going to cost taxpayers more than a hundred grand to figure out how men can help women climb the professional ladder, since it’s apparently a pretty substantial burden for these femmes to take on all by their pretty little high-heeled (YET STILL ENTIRELY CAPABLE AND INDEPENDENT, DAMMIT!) selves.
Translation: Women are awesome and don’t need men. But they do. Even though they don’t.
#Feminism.