Early and often: Start the conversation about gender equality at home

Children have a way of getting straight to the heart of the matter. When I told my oldest son (age 9) several days ago that I would be joining his art class to help with an embroidery project, our conversation went like this:

Son: Mom do you even know how to sew?

Me: Nope.

Son: Does Grandma know how to sew?

Me: Nope.

Son: That’s OK, because Grandma taught you to work hard and to never give up. And Papa knows how to sew. [My father is a surgeon and does the sewing in our house, including high-risk operations on stuffed animals]

As the mother of three wonderful boys, I confess that there are days when I feel my husband and I are great parents simply because everyone makes it to bed uninjured. But most of the time, I aim higher: I want my boys to be terrific little people, who will become terrific grown-up people. That includes teaching them that gender equality is not just a “women’s issue”, it’s everyone’s issue.

As a partner at PwC, I’m very proud that my firm also believes gender equality is everyone’s issue. We’re part of the United Nations’ HeForShe campaign and engaging our women and men around the world in important conversations about workplace equality. PwC’s commitment to HeForShe includes raising awareness about double standards, working to ensure that everyone in the room can voice her ideas, a Global Inclusion Index to evaluate women’s career progression and leadership across PwC’s network, and enhanced HR policies—like providing equal paternity and maternity leave—designed to drive equality at work and at home.

Several of my male colleagues have told me their personal investment in gender equality began when they had daughters. Whether we are dads who want their girls to have equal opportunities to excel and lead, or moms who want their boys to be allies for the women in their personal and professional lives, all of us parents should make sure that HeForShe starts at home. Our children aren’t born with stereotypes or blind spots, and it’s our job to ensure these obstacles to equality aren’t acquired at home by the next generation.

So by all means, engage your co-workers and communities in the conversation around gender equality. But remember that some of the most important work that parents—both dads and moms—can do is to teach their children—both boys and girls—these same values.