Do You Wipe The Seat?

Do You Wipe The Seat?

by | Blog

Speaking on behalf of most men, accidently peeing on a toilet seat happens often.

When this happens, you are faced with a decision – to clean it up or to move on and pretend it wasn’t you.

Hopefully you choose the former.

But evidence suggests that many of us choose the latter.

I would presume that when using a public toilet as opposed to one in your home, the chances increase that you will move on and pretend it wasn’t you. (I’m sure there’s a research paper in that).

Again, I point to evidence. Evidence that I’ve seen in public bathrooms.

Now what do you do when you see pee on the seat when you arrive?

Do you clean it or do your thing and leave it?

Those who make the latter choice may convince themselves that it wasn’t them so they have no responsibility to clean it up.

They count themselves lucky that it wasn’t a number 2.

Perhaps unconsciously, they thank their cis-male privilege that they don’t have to sit down to pee.

Our fellow (cis-female) humans do not have this privilege.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?

Well, what do you do when you seen inequality within the system? Do you wipe the seat, or leave it for others to do it?

Any by ‘others’ I mean it will usually be a woman that has to do it, or perhaps a cleaner (let’s call them the DEI team).

You may not need the seat wiped in order for you to be ‘successful’ with what you are trying to do.

You probably notice ‘the pee’ but it doesn’t inconvenience you enough to do anything about it.

It may not have been you that put ‘the pee’ there in the first place.

But to walk past it and do nothing, only perpetuates the obstacles encountered by others, who don’t share your privilege.

It is much easier for us to do nothing, but that will only ever help people like us to ‘succeed’.

We have all left pee on the seat. Maybe it was ours. Someone else’s. A combination.

It is not someone else’s job to clean this up. And we shouldn’t only wipe the seat when it will serve us.

The reality is noone is going to call you a ‘champion of change’ for wiping the seat, but it’s the things that you do when no one else is looking that determines your level of commitment to making the system fairer for everyone.

Now, I’ve heard enough horror stories from female bathrooms to know that women can contribute to this problem as well (particularly in public bathrooms).

Speaking to the women, perhaps you have successful ‘squatted over’ the system. Well done you, but that doesn’t help the women that aren’t like you, or other genders.

Women who have succeeded in the system also have a responsibility to ‘wipe the seat’ for others, ensuring the system is fair for everyone, not just people like them.

Take a moment and look down.

Look down at the systems and processes that you’ve successfully worked through to get where you are.

There is plenty of pee to clean up.

No excuses. Wipe the seat.

Episode 7 – A 26-year-old expiry date

Episode 7 – A 26-year-old expiry date

by | Podcast 2022

Click here to listen to the episode.

Episode Notes

In this episode we chat with two singer-song-writers, Keppie Coutts and Ben Romalis about gender issues within the music industry, and the impact the music industry has on gender perspectives.

We share insights into some of the everyday microaggressions, and the gendered, racial and age-related obstacles encountered by artists.

We discuss how ‘networks’, and the lack of representation particularly in positions of power and influence in the industry work to exclude anybody who isn’t a white man.

We discuss gendered stigmas attached to instruments and different genres, before finally taking a deeper look at song lyrics – from Blurred Lines, to grapevines, and the zig a zig ahs.

Dr Linda Peach

Guest Keppie Coutts

Keppie Coutts is a Sydney-based singer-songwriter, who also teaches contemporary songwriting in universities – currently for the Berklee College of Music Online, The Australian College of the Arts, and the Sydney Conservatorium’s Open Academy, as well as being the co-founder of the YouTube channel, How To Write Songs.

Her most recent release was an album of songs premiered inside an audiobook published by Penguin Random House, called MOTHERTONGUES – and is one of the first audiobooks in the world to contain a full album of original songs.

Keppie received her formal training as a musician at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where, in 2005, she was one of 4 females in a guitar department of almost 1000 students. Keppie also worked for several years as the Program Coordinator in the Office for Cultural Diversity at the Berklee College of Music after she graduated, where she was involved in conversations daily about race, gender, age, ability and other aspects of diversity that impacted inclusion, representation, and power inside the college, and the music industry at large.

Dr Linda Peach

Guest Ben Romalis

Ben is currently a lecturer at JMC Academy, where he lectures in song writing and composition for screen and music production. He’s a content creator and has released two full length independent albums under his own name. 

He founded Silamor Studios in 2014, which is a boutique studio specialising in composition, audio recording, and video production, and he continues to write and release music under the pseudonym of Silamor. 

Ben is a founding member of the alternative folk outfit Green Mohair Suits, who have four albums, and toured extensively throughout Australia and the United States.

In addition to holding a Bachelor of Contemporary Music from Southern Cross University and a postgraduate diploma in Composition for Film and Television, he has toured with the Australian cricket team as chief performance analyst and he’s recently moved into freelance business coaching and works closely with the organisation HUB – Humans United by Business. 

Episode 6 – Look For It

Episode 6 – Look For It

by | Podcast 2022

Click here to listen to the episode.

Episode Notes

In this episode, we chat with Dominque Powrie, Managing Director of DDI, about gender equality and leadership.

We chat about what makes for great leaders, and how we should be identifying talent, whilst exploring why the best leaders may not necessarily be the ones who end up in leadership roles.

We discuss why we still have a way to go to ensure equality in representation of all genders at senior leadership, and how the inherent biases still permeate our processes.

Finally, we share practical ways that executives can be allies, mentors, and sponsors, and the significant impact that we can all have to ensure fairer outcomes.

Dr Linda Peach

Guest

Dominique Powrie, Managing Director of Development Dimensions International (DDI).

She started her career at DDI as a leadership development consultant, working as an executive coach as well as a facilitator before moving into business development where she managed key client accounts which included top 100 ASX listed companies.

Dominique is passionate about empowering leaders in the face of complexity they experience every day and she also heads up the women in leadership practice at DDI Australia, where she collaborates with organisations and industry associations to design and deliver keynote speeches, conference presentations and workshops, with the aim of uplifting and supporting the success of female leaders and their sponsors.

You can connect with Dominique via LinkedIn

 

Episode 5 – An issue for the comfortable as well as the precarious

Episode 5 – An issue for the comfortable as well as the precarious

by | Podcast 2022

Click here to listen to the episode

Episode Notes

In this episode we chat with Dr Stephen Weller, Chief Operating Officer at Australian Catholic University, to discuss gender inequality within the tertiary education sector.

We explore the importance of diverse representation in decision making, governance and policy making, and how change is taking longer than it should be.

We examine some of the underlying issues associated with casualisation, flexibility and academic promotions, and how these are providing significant barriers to achieving gender equality.

Dr Linda Peach

Guest

Dr Stephen Weller, Chief Operating Officer at Australian Catholic University.

Dr Weller comes with quite extensive experience across tertiary education management, having worked for UWS, UTS, UQ, Victoria University, and James Cook University.

Doctor Stephen Weller, also holds a PhD in organisational justice from Victoria University. 

In addition to that, he’s got a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Master of Commerce in employment relations, and a Bachelor of Arts, Government, and Public Administration. 

He’s also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Chair of the Board of Higher Education Services.

 

How many circles do you see in the image below?

How many circles do you see in the image below?

by | Blog

It is not a trick – there are actually 16 circles.

Look again.

When you see them – trust me – it’ll be all you can see.

I stumbled across this optical illusion – it’s called a Coffer Illusion. (You can search for it if, like many people, you still can’t see the circles and want further help).

It took me ages to see the circles, and then they appeared – as plain as the rectangles and lines that I was seeing before.

This is a great way to think about our privilege.

When we have it, we can’t see it.

Others will tell us that barriers exist for those without certain privileges, but when we have privileges – we don’t see them.

And because we can’t see them – we arrogantly determine that they don’t exist.

We may even think that others are making it up.

Well, it’s there. So are the circles.

And just like with privilege, when we spend long enough looking for what others can so plainly see, eventually we will see it.

And eventually, that’ll be all we can see.

And instead of questioning their existence in the first place, we will wonder why we never saw it before.

And now that we see it, we take action.

Bloke Coaching is a program to help men understand male privilege, patriarchy and prejudice, and be proactive in driving gender equality.

My clients consistently report that once they become aware and see the obstacles, see the microaggressions, see the privilege – they can’t unsee it.

They see it in the media, they see it in movies and tv shows, they see it in restaurants. 

They see it when on public transport, when they are in meetings, in playgrounds and at school. 

They see it at home.

The reality is that, unfortunately, until you actually start seeing it, you aren’t going to be nearly as effective as you think you are at tackling it.