Essentials of Gender-Inclusive Communication and Collaboration

In the 1990s, John Gray, an American psychotherapist and author, sold over 15 million copies of his book, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. Failing to account for social and political reality, and leaning heavily on biological determinism, his outdated thesis comes across as overly simplistic, stressing biological sources of gender difference, when culture plays a far more prominent role.

From the moment the ultrasound photo captures the sex of an unborn child, the well-oiled gender production machine fires up its pistons, and well-meaning friends, family, and parents start training the baby to conform to prescribed forms of femininity or masculinity based on a very small piece of the puzzle that is human identity. Think princesses and pink for girls, and trucks, toy guns, and blue for boys. The messages that women are nurturing, submissive and emotional, and men are strong, unemotional and reasonable are so entrenched in our culture that most of us take them for granted. None of these traits have anything to do with biology; they are about culture.

As a consequence of these stereotypes, women are often overlooked for leadership roles, and men who express their emotions in healthy, prosocial ways are considered deviant, effeminate, or gay, and not to be taken seriously. Stereotypes are limiting and destructive, keeping us from fulfilling our potential and making us terrified of what others may think of our authentic selves. They are repeated and reinforced over our lifetimes, making it difficult to be objective.

To resolve this dilemma, we must ask ourselves, what are we communicating to girls and boys when we conform to and reinforce society’s rules about what is acceptable femininity and masculinity?

Gender Inclusive Communication and Collaboration in the Workplace

Most 21st-century workplaces are team-based hubs, where the axiom, ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, was never more apt. Effective communication and collaborative approaches within and across teams, out to suppliers, contractors, and the public, grease the wheels of the economy. When people feel supported, heard, and respected, they are happier and more productive. Research proves that organizations and businesses that employ a diverse, representative workforce selected from a large pool of qualified candidates are more profitable and resilient.

ESS 809, Essentials of Gender-Inclusive Communication and Collaboration examines the cultural messages, norms and processes that demand we accept inaccurate and unhelpful stereotypes about women and men, forcing us to uphold a system of inequity that negatively impacts our work, family, and relationships. The course establishes the difference between sex and gender, and leads students to begin recognizing how we have been trained to think about gender in ways that are not always congruent with our lived realities. Students will examine leadership styles, communication patterns, power and hierarchy, and interpersonal behaviour to assess how gender-inclusive communication and collaboration can enhance workplaces. By developing ways to think about gender diversity in terms of equity and human rights, students will hone their gender analysis and open themselves up to new and better ways of communicating and collaborating within teams and across organizations.

Never has the need for gender-inclusive communication and collaboration been more salient. Join us as we transform stale stereotypes and timeworn practices into fresh, innovative approaches to contemporary problems.

About the Author

Cole Gately, MA (he/they) is a part-time instructor at McMaster University both at MCE and the BHSc. (Hons) Program. He has worked in social services, focusing on people experiencing homelessness, both as a frontline street outreach worker, and as an adult educator. Between 2019 and 2022, he was Diversity & Inclusion Facilitation Lead at the City of Hamilton, where he ran workshops for the City’s workforce. During the pandemic he volunteered to serve Hamilton’s homeless population once again as a street outreach worker focusing on encampments. In 2022, Cole and a friend instituted their own consulting firm, Intersecting: Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression Consultant which offers facilitation, online learning, organizational development, and research services to organizations and businesses in Ontario and beyond. In 2010, he graduated from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto with an MA in Adult Education and Community Development.

Learn more about the Essentials Programs – Learning for Professionals program by McMaster Continuing Education.