Gary Ford, co-founder of Men for Inclusion and an inclusive leadership consultant at U.N. Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Men should not remain on the sidelines in discussions about gender diversity in the workplace, according to Gary Ford, co-founder of Men for Inclusion, a U.K.-based organization. Instead, they should actively stand in solidarity with women to create a united front for gender equality.

"Our previous focus on gender diversity has alienated some men," Ford said during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Wednesday. "A lot of diversity and inclusion work has focused on women. Men have either been ignored, or have chosen to ignore it because they didn't think it was about them or they felt blamed."

Ford explained that traditional approaches on gender equality often positioned men as privileged and biased without adequately engaging them in finding solutions. This has led to fears among some men that gender equality would mean fewer opportunities for them. These fears have brought strong backlash from many young men in Korea who oppose feminist activism, but Ford believes this is based on misconceptions that must be corrected.

The interview took place during his visit to Seoul for the U.N. Women Seoul Dialogue, where he was invited to lead a workshop. He has also recently taken on a role as inclusive leadership consultant at the Seoul-based U.N. Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality.

He emphasized that initiatives like U.N. Women's "HeforShe" movement align with his belief that men must stand in solidarity with women to foster gender equality.

Similarly, Ford's initiative aims to shift the conversation toward inclusion as a mutually beneficial outcome for everyone, including men. By actively involving men in crafting solutions, he believes they can recognize that addressing gender inequality ultimately benefits all genders.

His approach goes beyond the idea of male allyship.

"Of course, male allyship is a good thing, and I spent some time as a male ally," Ford said. "But there's a risk that it just becomes men coaching, mentoring and supporting women on how to succeed in the current culture. There's also the risk of creating a new set of female leaders who are perhaps just like the male leaders, and maybe not very inclusive."

Ford, who spent over two decades in the finance sector including his position as the managing director at JP Morgan Chase, first encountered these issues when he was asked to serve as an executive sponsor of a women's network group in the tech industry, a male-dominated field.

This was a light bulb moment for him, when he realized the career barriers women face that are often overlooked by men.

"There's lots of diversity and inclusion programs, but only a few were delivered by people who look like me: a 60-year-old white guy," Ford said. "But the fact is, the people we need to influence look quite a lot like me."

This realization led Ford to co-found Men for Inclusion with Mark Freed in 2021. The consulting firm advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), guiding men and leadership teams to actively foster inclusive workplace cultures.

Gary Ford, right, co-founder of Men for Inclusion, speaks during a session at the U.N. Women Seoul Dialogue held in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of U.N. Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality

'Accidental sexism'

Ford believes that oftentimes, people in leadership roles unintentionally create cultures that add barriers for women, a phenomenon he calls "accidental sexism."

In his co-authored book "The Accidental Sexist: A handbook for men on workplace diversity and inclusion," Ford explains how even well-intended actions — by both men and women — can reinforce obstacles for women due to unconscious biases about gender roles and behaviors.

"There's a belief that women are more conscientious, better at paying attention to detail and managing relationships and people," Ford explained. "But that's not true of all women. Unfortunately, we end up steering women toward those types of tasks."

On the other hand, men are often perceived as more ambitious, committed to their careers and better suited for leadership, resulting in gender disparities in career progression.

Cover of the book "The Accidental Sexist" co-authored by Gary Ford / Courtesy of Amazon

"Men are more likely to be promoted based on their potential, whereas women, it's always about their past achievements," he said.

He also addressed the issue of benevolent sexism, where seemingly positive actions reinforce gender stereotypes. For instance, women often receive less direct feedback because managers worry about how they might react.

"Managers often make assumptions about women with young children, thinking they don't want to travel overseas, work late or take on stretch projects, without even having a conversation with them," he said.

Finding a short-term solution to these issues is challenging, but Ford believes that fostering open conversation and engagement is key. He advocates for creating an environment where people can learn from their mistakes without feeling guilty, which he sees as crucial for making progress.

However, in Korea, where gender issues have become deeply polarized — especially among the younger generation — many men may find it challenging to stand in solidarity with women. Feminist movements often face backlash from so-called anti-feminist groups that view these efforts as discriminatory toward men.

"I think polarization is increasing everywhere, but it does seem to be bigger here is because those young men feel that they have challenges and are not getting the right opportunities," Ford said.

"We have to listen more to their concerns. Gender equality cuts two ways and where there are issues affecting men, as well as women, we need to find good solutions for them too. Better lives for women and girls cannot be seen as being at the expense of boys and men — we have to find ways in which we can engage people on solving similar problems together."

Ford also highlighted the importance of showcasing male role models who genuinely commit to gender equality and demonstrate it daily, rather than simply paying lip service.

Those role models don't have to be CEOs, he added.

"The role models can be someone who openly discusses gender equality, those who are making it clear that this subject matters to them. They could be men who work flexibly, take parental leave or maybe even full-time stay-at-home fathers."