Men at Work
The Roadmap to Gender Partnership
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
Work isn’t working—for women or for men.
Despite decades of progress, women are still facing persistent gaps in pay, representation, and opportunity. But here’s what’s often overlooked: men are struggling, too. Pressured to conform to outdated stereotypes—stoic, aggressive, competitive—many men feel boxed in, disconnected, and unable to show up as their full selves.
In Men at Work, Jennifer McCollum, President and CEO of Catalyst, reveals a bold truth that the key to building inclusive, high-performing workplaces isn’t only about helping women—it’s about unlocking the full potential of men as well.
Through powerful personal stories and Catalyst’s groundbreaking research, McCollum shows how inviting men into the inclusion conversation as gender partners—not just sponsors or allies—creates workplaces where everyone thrives. Drawing on interviews with men and women at leading companies around the globe, she proves that when men and women operate as mutually accountable partners, fairness expands, innovation flourishes, and belonging becomes the norm, not the exception.
This book is a wake-up call and a roadmap for leaders ready to move beyond performative inclusion and toward real, lasting change. Because when we free men from the “man box,” we help men lead with authenticity, connection, and purpose—and we also help women rise.
Men at Work is for anyone who believes that inclusion should feel like a win, not a sacrifice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this smart guide to creating equitable workplaces, McCollum (In Her Own Voice), CEO of Catalyst, a nonprofit focused on women's advancement in the workforce, explores how businesses flounder when they adhere to rigid gender stereotypes. The solution is to engage men in efforts to make workplace cultures fair and inclusive, she argues: "Instead of calling them out, we need to invite them in as partners to embrace new, more flexible norms across gender." According to the author, both men and women chafe at being confined to gendered norms in the workplace, including the expectation that men be competitive and aggressive while women remain warm and vulnerable. One antidote suggested by McCollum is to buddy up with a partner to cross-promote each other's work; doing so can help women avoid the appearance of self-promotion, which can render them dislikable, and makes men look generous. Gender-neutral parental leave allows both men and women to take time off to care for a newborn, preventing either from being stigmatized for stepping away from the job. Expanding the number of people on a leadership team to increase diversity (instead of making people fight for inclusion in an exclusive group) can lead to more innovative decision-making. Shrewd advice and enlightening anecdotes make this an actionable manual for workplace inclusivity.
