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40 ¦ DECEMBER 7, 2020 EXPERT OPINIONS

Women’s Initiatives That Are
Perfectly Useless

By Vivia Chen

E Photo: Slava Dumchev/Shutterstock.com
very time I write about how some women’s report everyone can cheer: flexible working ar-
initiatives might be too insular or mommy- rangements are now widely accepted—an unex-
centric, I get angry letters from women who pected silver lining resulting from the pandemic.
accuse me of being a traitor to my gender. Some Acritias reports that “female lawyers in particular
ask whether I have children (yes, I do), while others have benefited from their changed working patterns
simply call me anti-mom. during lockdown and many will leave their firms if
Well, folks, it’s not just my opinion that some those new work patterns cannot be sustained.”
initiatives reinforce stereotypes. According to a Because family responsibility can set back
new study, Transforming Women’s Leadership in women’s careers (the other major barrier is bias,
the Law Global Report 2020, by consulting firm according to Acritas), flexible working arrange-
Acritas (now part of Thomson Reuters), “the most ments are an absolute key to women’s advance-
useful policies are not those which are aimed at ment, the report says.
‘fixing’ women or setting them apart from their Now back to the thorny subject of women’s ini-
male peers.” tiatives. Which ones are harmful? Acritas names
But before I get into what’s wrong with some a few—gender-blind work allocation, reverse
women’s initiatives, let’s start with a finding in the mentorships and women-only networks.

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