36: Dr. David Smith and Amy C. Waninger - Men Mentoring Women and Networking Beyond Bias

Thought leaders in mentoring and networking join this episode to share stories and lessons for men as allies and those looking to diversify their networks. Dr. David Smith, co-author of Athena Rising:  How and Why Men Should Mentor Women and gender expert, shares his candid conversation giving a peer constructive feedback.  In his story, he confronts benevolent sexist behavior with one of his peers in the military.  Similar to chivalry, benevolent sexism refers to protecting or treating women differently.  It is often done with good intentions, yet is unhelpful for women long term.  While men often are socialized to be the "knights in shining armor," that is not what an ally does.  Allies help those they mentor, sponsor, and/or champion to instead advocate for themselves. Amy is the author of Networking Beyond Bias:  Making Diversity a Competitive Edge in Your Career.  She shares her own personal story of addressing gender bias in the moment and how she called out negative behavior, leading to positive change.  As Amy describes for our listeners, diversity goes beyond just race, gender, LGBTQ, or abilities, it is how we think and how we behave.  She offers a clear strategy to diversify your network – reach out to those outside of your own industry.  While it feels good to be comfortable with those like us, we learn when we are uncomfortable.  We learn more from others different than us. Both Amy and David have an important message for men to engage as allies and mentors, rather than shy away, especially in a #metoo era.  Follow David at http://www.davidgsmithphd.com/. Follow Amy at https://leadatanylevel.com/. You can also access her complimentary eBook at https://leadatanylevel.com/pivotpoint.  Both books are also available on Amazon.   Follow us @nextpivotpoint on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and connect with us 1:1 at www.NextPivotPoint.com.  We post daily about leadership, equality, and career development on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliekratz/.