EP 10: Gender Equality, Workplace Allies & Cross-Gender Mentorship with W. Brad Johnson & David G. Smith

Enjoy our conversation with W. Brad Johnson and David G. Smith, gender in the workplace experts. We discuss challenges women face at work, "workplace allies" and the culture of mentorship in the military.  The conversation is filled with empirical evidence and practical guidance as we also discuss: 

• Athenas 
• Zero-sum bias of gender equality
• Potential vs. competency 
• Effects of being "rated" or evaluated
• Overcoming exclusion  
• Workplace Allies & gender equity 
• Benefits of cross-gender mentorship
• Culture of leadership expectation in military 
• Advice for connecting with potential mentors 
• Advice for new leaders

 Brad & Dave's work can be found here:
https://www.workplaceallies.com/
https://hbr.org/search?term=david%20g.%20smith

Biographies: 

W. Brad Johnson, PhD, is professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at the United States Naval Academy, and a faculty associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. A clinical psychologist and former commissioned officer in the Navy’s Medical Service Corps, Dr. Johnson served as a psychologist at Bethesda Naval Hospital and the Medical Clinic at Pearl Harbor where he was the division head for psychology.

He is an award-winning mentor with distinguished mentor awards from the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association. He is also a fellow of the American Psychological Association and recipient of the Johns Hopkins University Teaching Excellence Award. He has served as chair of the American Psychological Association’s Ethics Committee and as president of the Society for Military Psychology.

Dr. Johnson is the author of more than 130 journal articles and book chapters—many on the topic of mentoring—and 14 books, in the areas of mentoring, gender in the workplace, and professional ethics. 

David Smith, PhD, is Associate Professor of Sociology in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the United States Naval War College. A former Navy pilot, Dr. Smith led diverse organizations of women and men culminating in command of a squadron in combat and flew more than 3,000 hours over 30 years including combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a sociologist trained in military sociology and social psychology, he focuses his research in gender, work, and family issues including bias in performance evaluations, retention of women, dual career families, military families, and women in the military.

Dr. Smith is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters—many on the topic of gender and the workplace—and 2 books in the area of gender in the workplace and inclusive mentoring relationships. These books include Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace  and Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women. 

You can reach us at:
Website: https://earfulofleadership.buzzsprout.com/
Email: earful.of.leadership@gmail.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/earful.of.leadership/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarfulofLeadership/

This podcast was inspired by: Military Mentors, Militarymentors.org
Special thank you to your first sponsor: Mai Lee Eskelund

Disclaimer: Earful of Leadership is an independent project and is not endorsed by the Department of Defense or any Military component. The views expressed are those of the host and the content of this podcast is not meant to provide any legal or medical advice.