Male role models needed for women to reach the top

Gender equality is not yet commonplace for many companies. Just a women's quota for European corporate executives is not enough. In fact, this will change little for the Netherlands, as a women's quota has already been in place here since Jan. 1, 2022. For more women to reach the top, male role models are needed to influence the behavior of other men.

Men hold the majority of leadership positions, so the power lies with them to change things. We need their support to help and really make a difference in closing the gender gap and achieving equality in the workplace.

Gender equality in business

When men participate in gender equality programs, progress is made three times faster than when they do not, Boston Consulting Group United Kingdom research shows. This is the focus of the Men as Advocates for Women's Visibility summit on June 27. It is an initiative to engage men in the conversation about gender equality in business.

As an HR service provider, we see a role for our organization in creating a fair labor market. I am not just talking about gender, but also about work ability, cultural diversity, age and lhbti+. It's about learning and evolving together so we can build a future where workplaces are more diverse and equal.About the summit
The Men as Advocates for Women's Visibility summit organized by personal branding institute BrandedU and HR services provider HeadFirst Group will take place at HeadFirst Group's headquarters in Hoofddorp on Monday, June 27. Our goal is for diversity to become part of companies' DNA. An afternoon full of connections, stories and panel discussions to get inspired with the people who take this topic seriously contributes to this.

Nancy Poleon, founder BrandedU, presents the summit along with Maarten van Rossum (VP of public affairs at Lightyear). They will engage with men active in promoting gender equality in the workplace. Some examples are Baba Touré (Founder & Managing Director at Hammerfest), Clayde Menso (Director at International Theater Amsterdam), Dirk van Zon (HR Business Partner at Rituals), John Olivieira-Siere (Publisher at OneWorld), Melchior de Ridder (CEO at Nationale Nederlanden Next), Michael Kimmijser (Small Medium & Corporate Business Lead at Microsoft), Philippe Stulens (Chief Marketing Officer at Randstad), Rafe Rosato (Chief Innovation Officer at DLL) ánd Han Kolff (Chairman of the Board at HeadFirst Group).