Why Mark Zuckerberg and his call for more “masculine energy” in the work environment is toxic
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, says workplaces need to promote “masculine energy.”
In a podcast (the entire episode is three (3!) hours long), Zuckerberg said the corporate world is "culturally neutered," adding, "I think a culture that celebrates aggression a little more has its own merits that are really positive.”
Before you start boiling over with anger, it gets even better: “It's one thing to say we want to be welcoming and create a good environment for everyone... and I think it's another to basically say 'masculinity is bad '.”
Men have it worse than ever - is that true?
My first question is, Mark, are you okay? Are you aware of the world we actually live in? Do you know where male aggression in our society has brought us and how bad toxic masculinity is?
But lest we forget: One of Zuckerberg's first projects was Facemash, a "fun" website that hebrought into beingto check and evaluate the relationship status of his female fellow students.
We also live in a time when billionaires are scrambling to conform to President Donald Trump's unique toxic masculinity. As a side note, Zuckerberg's comments came after he removed fact-checking from Meta and hinted that he plans to do the same with his diversity and inclusion team.
All of this couldn't come at a worse time: violence by men against women and girls is increasing worldwide. News stories reporting the destruction of women's lives by aggressive male behavior highlight how terrible this is every day around the world: prominent examples include the conviction of the ex-husband offor rape and the murder of Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptei.
No country has achieved gender equality. In Germany, women work until. Over the last decade, around 90 percent of CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies have been held by men. And although there are more CEOs named Steve than female CEOs in the UK (!), I was very fortunate to have a very different workplace experience to the majority.
My experience in an office full of women
Josh Smith
I am a man who has worked exclusively in female-dominated fields. All of my bosses were women and I was either the only man in the room or one of two as I progressed through my career from fashion assistant at a major fashion magazine to entertainment director at GLAMOR UK.
And today, as I have my own podcast,Reign with Josh Smith,host – where the vast majority of my guests are famous women, from Jodie Foster to– my entire team is made up of women (and one man – who is awesome, by the way).
I didn't realize what a privilege it was until early in my career, when I heard about the experiences of my friends who worked their way up through companies, in workplaces that were full of inappropriate comments, behavior, and just plain toxic.
My experiencesFriends weren't much different - some didn't come out at work out of fear, and one used to say absolutely nothing about his life outside of work just in case he accidentally spilled it.
I was shocked because in my workplace experience there were no inappropriate jokes or suggestions about a colleague's sex life or the way she dressed or behaved. Everyone was able to speak openly about themselves and their lives. And in this environment, no one tried to adopt “masculine” behaviors such as imposing themselves in order to get ahead. Such behavior was useless, ignored, and worthless.
Women were welcomed back and celebrated for making personal life choices, from having children to getting married, and were made to feel that these choices did not limit them in any way. The environment around them was completely flexible. And why? Because this summed up everything that made up female-dominated workplaces: support, encouragement and encouragement to be the best version of yourself, just as you are. Everyone could feel themselves in their ownand develop in his/her life outside of work, and discussions about wellbeing and mental health were always welcome.
As in any work environment or relationship, there could of course be tensions, but overall it was about integration and not exclusion.
At school I was bullied mainly by boys and even by male teachers, and now I get hate on the internet as a public figure - and I can say: every single one, which I receive, comes from a man. This environment was a refuge for me.
“Masculine energy” not only harms women, but also men
Knowing firsthand how rewarding female-dominated workspaces can be, I find Zuckerberg's comments very disturbing. We tend to think of these views as being about the positive sides of hypermasculinitydark part of the internet.
But when Zuckerberg talks about cultural changes at one of the world's largest and best-known companies, it reinforces the opinion of some men who believe that masculinity is truly in crisis.
Onerecent global studyfrom market research company Ipsos shows that more than half of Generation Z boys and men believe that thehas gone too far. These comments only encourage misogynistic rhetoric from those already in the workplace and those new to the workplace, creating an even more toxic environment for everyone.
Zuckerberg's comments fail to take into account how much harm patriarchal aggression does to everyone...including men! This is not only harmful to women, but also to marginalized groups in the workplace. It deeply concerns me that Zuckerberg's comments imply that women are seizing power - because if that were the case, we wouldn't be advocating for reproductive rights (again!) or still fighting for equal pay.
We need to empower more women and increase “feminine energy” for the benefit of everyone in the workplace, rather than focusing our attention on promoting masculinity at this time.
Progress is not achieved through regression. Progress is made when we embrace new ideas rather than going back to old values. We need to include everyone, including men, but that’s something that doesn’t happen with stereotypical “masculine energy.”
We need more female energy in the workplace, not less, for the benefit of all.
