Alan Fraser was raised and educated in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, the city where he still lives.
He studied History & Philosophy at the University of Leeds then began working in various roles in the voluntary sector (and briefly in local government), predominantly focussing on issues of housing, homelessness and community development.
Since 2015 has been chief executive of YMCA Birmingham, an independent Christian charity affiliated to the international YMCA movement. He is also a husband, father, failed rock star, aspiring writer and Anglican priest.
Why do you support the HeForShe campaign?
There’s a variety of reasons for me. As a charity CEO I want the best skills in my organisation and I don’t want to miss out on the best talent just because of gender inequalities at work. As a human being, I care about justice and fairness and I don’t want to feel that I am in any way contributing to injustice or unfairness. As a man in a position of authority within an organisation, I recognise that I have the ability to influence people and affect change. If I’m serious about wanting the best people regardless of gender, and serious about creating a fairer workplace then I need to take responsibility for making that happen. And I need to set an example.
Why do you think it’s important for men to support gender equality in the workplace?
It can’t be left to women alone to fight for gender equality. If we think in that way then the whole debate becomes a zero-sum game in which every victory for women is experienced as a defeat for men. Gender equality ultimately benefits everyone because it focuses on getting the right people in the right jobs. But more than that, the fact is that many of the people who are in a position to change the culture of their organisations are men. Gender equality will happen more quickly (and with much less pain) if men are partners in co-creating a more equal workplace.
How welcome are men in the gender equality conversation currently?
If I’m being honest I don’t think that most men feel at all engaged in the gender equality conversation. We know that it’s happening and that it is A Good Thing, but we are not sure whether we’re ‘allowed’ to get involved and, if so, on what terms. I think we’re reticent to get involved a) because we don’t want to be seen as trying to take over the conversation and silence women and b) because even some women have found themselves in the middle of a social media ‘beasting’ and we don’t feel equipped to deal with that. So the tendency is for us to keep our heads down and just let the conversation happen in the hope that someone will tell us at the end what’s been agreed.
Do you think groups/networks that include the words “women in…” or “females in…” make men feel like gender equality isn’t really their problem or something they need to help with?
I think women-only networks definitely have their place – they can be empowering and energising, and really help women to find a voice, particularly in gender equality conversations. But we do need to recognise that if they become the primary places where the workplace gender equality conversation is happening then it is a conversation that will be happening largely without any input from men.
What can businesses do to encourage more men to feel welcome enough to get involved in the gender debate?
Men need to be invited to take part in the debate and places need to be created for the debate to take place on equal terms. But the key point is to recognise that
people of goodwill are able to hold to variety of different views. If we want men to take part then we need to recognise that they may be entering the conversation at a different starting point to women. If the purpose of the conversation is simply to get men to change their minds and agree with women then they are probably going to be reluctant to take part. Something genuinely has to be up for debate.
But equally men have to accept that they can’t enter the conversation and expect everything to go their way. The purpose of debate should never be to move one group of people to a place that has been created and occupied solely by another group of people. The purpose of debate should always be for both sides to move to a new place that neither has occupied before; a place that they have created together.
Do you currently mentor any women or have you in the past?
No – but I have offered!
Have you noticed any difference in mentoring women – for example, are women less likely to put themselves forward for jobs that are out of their comfort zones or are women less likely to identify senior roles that they would be suited for?
It is definitely the case in my experience of hiring and recruiting that women are often less confident in putting themselves forward for senior positions in the first instance, and if they do put themselves forward they seem more likely to self-sabotage their application by downplaying the skills and experience. I once sat through an interview for a permanent senior position in which the female candidate told me boldly that she’d got no directly relevant experience that qualified her for the role – despite the fact that she’d been doing the role (perfectly adequately) on a temporary basis for three months.
Conversely, men do often seem more confident in their own ability – even when that ability is only the ability to lie through their teeth about their relevant skills and experience. I’ve lost count of the number of hours I’ve wasted in interviews listening to men who are obviously woefully unsuited to a role trying to blag their way through. Someone has no doubt done doctoral research on this issue, but I’ve yet to come across a convincing explanation as to why this happens – it is so exasperating!
