Network Logic - Index of
Network Logic - Index of
Network Logic - Index of
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Old boys and new girls<br />
practices. In contrast, the institutions that nurture social ties among<br />
men do not tend to hold networking as their formal or explicit aim.<br />
Furthermore, women’s networks should be understood as being<br />
fundamentally concerned with altering social relations, rather than<br />
preserving them. Just as it is useful to view patterns <strong>of</strong> social<br />
connectivity among men through the filter <strong>of</strong> power relations, it is<br />
also helpful to see women’s networks as a disruptive force impacting<br />
upon those relations. By actively creating opportunities for women to<br />
extend their personal and pr<strong>of</strong>essional networks, women’s networks<br />
alter the dynamics <strong>of</strong> the patterns <strong>of</strong> social ties established by men,<br />
and create alternative spaces in which male norms and behaviours<br />
can be challenged. Directed in the right way, women’s networks thus<br />
have the potential to create more inclusive working environments for<br />
all. For example, the GE Women’s <strong>Network</strong> allows men to attend<br />
meetings as a way <strong>of</strong> drawing them into conversation about the<br />
dynamics <strong>of</strong> gender in the workplace and how managers can treat<br />
employees <strong>of</strong> both sexes fairly. In its early years <strong>of</strong> existence, the<br />
Lloyds TSB Women’s <strong>Network</strong> developed a set <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
development tools for its members, which were eventually adopted by<br />
Human Resources and taken into the mainstream <strong>of</strong> the core<br />
programme <strong>of</strong>fered to all employees.<br />
The missing link in equality strategies?<br />
These insights have much to <strong>of</strong>fer the current debate on the future <strong>of</strong><br />
gender equality. For much <strong>of</strong> the last 30 years, the legislative and<br />
policy instruments <strong>of</strong> the state have been regarded as the most<br />
effective way to protect individuals from discrimination and to<br />
compensate for historical disparities <strong>of</strong> power. Over the past decade<br />
this framework has been challenged by the ‘business case for equality’<br />
– an approach that attempts to link equality goals with workplace<br />
diversity and business objectives. Thus business imperatives, in<br />
theory at least, remove the need for coercion or heavy regulation by<br />
the state. While the ‘business case’ approach is widely recognised by<br />
policy-makers and employers, concerned voices from the equality<br />
lobby point to slow rates <strong>of</strong> progress and the failure <strong>of</strong> ‘s<strong>of</strong>t’ tools to<br />
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