Undoing Men’s Privilege: What Local Authorities Can Learn

In the pursuit of truly inclusive public services, local authorities must confront a difficult but necessary truth: gender inequality is not just a women’s issue. It is a systemic issue rooted in male privilege an invisible but powerful force that shapes decision-making, leadership, and organisational culture. Undoing this privilege is not a matter of individual goodwill; it requires intentional, structural change. Michael Flood and Bob Pease’s paper Undoing Men’s Privilege and Advancing Gender Equality in Public Institutions offers a compelling and challenging framework for how institutions especially those in the public sector can move beyond surface-level equality initiatives and begin dismantling the deeper cultural and structural norms that uphold male dominance.

“Men’s privilege is embedded in the very fabric of institutions.”  Flood & Pease

This quote encapsulates the central thesis of the paper: that male privilege is not merely about overt sexism or discriminatory behaviour, but about the subtle, often unexamined ways in which institutions are designed to benefit men. In local government, this can manifest in multiple ways:

1. Male-Dominated Leadership Teams

Despite decades of progress, senior leadership in local authorities remains disproportionately male. This imbalance is not just a numbers issue it affects whose voices are heard, whose experiences shape policy, and whose leadership styles are valued. The dominance of traditionally masculine traits such as assertiveness, competitiveness, and control in leadership selection criteria can marginalise collaborative, empathetic, and inclusive leadership styles often associated with women and non-binary individuals.

2. Gendered Assumptions in Service Design

Public services are often designed with implicit assumptions about gender roles. For example, housing and homelessness services may overlook the unique vulnerabilities of women fleeing domestic abuse. Transport planning may ignore the fact that women are more likely to travel with dependents or make multi-stop journeys. These blind spots are not accidental they reflect the gendered perspectives of those who design and approve services.

3. Unequal Parental Leave Policies

While many councils offer generous maternity leave, paternity and shared parental leave policies often remain underutilised or poorly promoted. This reinforces the idea that caregiving is primarily a woman’s responsibility and discourages men from taking on equal parenting roles. A truly gender-equal workplace would normalise and encourage men to take parental leave without stigma or career penalty.

4. Lack of Support for Male Allies in Gender Equity Work

Flood and Pease argue that men must be active participants in dismantling male privilege but too often, male allies are unsupported or unsure how to engage. Local authorities can play a vital role in creating safe spaces for men to explore their own privilege, challenge sexist behaviour, and advocate for change. This includes training, peer support networks, and visible leadership endorsement.

Why This Matters for Local Government

Local authorities are not just service providers they are employers, community leaders, and democratic institutions. If they fail to address gender inequality within their own structures, they risk perpetuating it in the communities they serve. Moreover, councils that embrace gender equity tend to be more innovative, resilient, and trusted by their residents.

Undoing men’s privilege is not about vilifying men it’s about recognising that the playing field is uneven and taking steps to level it. It’s about shifting from performative equality to transformative inclusion.

Key Stats to Consider

Numbers tell a story and in this case, they reveal a persistent and troubling imbalance in gender representation and experience within local government.

Only 36% of council leaders in England are women, despite women making up 51% of the population.

• This gap is not just statistical it reflects a systemic issue in how leadership potential is recognised, nurtured, and promoted. Leadership pipelines often favour those who fit traditional, masculine-coded leadership traits, leaving many capable women overlooked or unsupported.

In 2023, just 18% of Chief Executives in local government were female.

• This figure is particularly stark given the sector’s commitment to public service and equality. It suggests that while women may be well-represented in middle management, they are not progressing to the top at the same rate as men. This may be due to structural barriers, unconscious bias in recruitment, or a lack of flexible working arrangements at senior levels.

A 2022 LGA survey found that over 60% of female councillors had experienced sexist behaviour or harassment in their roles.

• This is not just a workplace issue it’s a democratic one. When elected representatives face sexism, it undermines their ability to serve their communities and discourages others from standing for office. It also signals that local government environments may not be as inclusive or safe as they claim to be.

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These figures highlight the persistence of gendered power imbalances in local government. They are not anomalies they are symptoms of a system that continues to privilege men, both overtly and subtly.

“Undoing privilege requires more than awareness it demands action.”  Flood & Pease

Awareness is the first step, but it is not enough. Councils must move beyond diversity statements and into the realm of structural reform. This means:

• Setting targets for gender balance in leadership

• Auditing recruitment and promotion practices for bias

• Creating safe reporting mechanisms for harassment

• Normalising flexible and inclusive working arrangements

• Investing in leadership development programmes for women and non-binary staff

Gender equality is not a tick-box exercise it is a cultural transformation. And it begins with recognising that the current system, however well-intentioned, is not neutral. It is shaped by privilege. Undoing that privilege is the work of everyone in the organisation, especially those who benefit from it.

From Awareness to Action: Strategies for Local Authorities

Flood and Pease outline a series of practical strategies that public institutions can adopt to begin dismantling male privilege and advancing gender equality. For local authorities, these strategies are not abstract ideals they are actionable steps that can reshape organisational culture, improve service delivery, and foster inclusive leadership.

1. Institutional Self-Assessment

Before change can occur, councils must understand where they currently stand. This means conducting honest, rigorous assessments of how gendered norms show up in policies, practices, and culture. Tools such as the Gender Equality Audit or the Barrett Values Centre culture model can help identify unconscious biases, structural inequalities, and cultural blind spots.

Councils should ask: Whose voices are missing from decision-making? Whose experiences are centred in service design?

This process should be inclusive, involving staff at all levels and ensuring that findings lead to tangible action not just a report that gathers dust.

2. Male Allyship

Flood and Pease emphasise that men must be active participants in gender equity work not as saviours, but as collaborators. In local government, this means encouraging male leaders to:

• Call out sexist behaviour and language

• Mentor and sponsor women and non-binary colleagues

• Advocate for inclusive policies and practices

• Reflect on their own privilege and positional power

Importantly, allyship must be supported institutionally. Councils can offer training, peer networks, and leadership endorsement to ensure male allies feel equipped and empowered to contribute meaningfully.

3. Policy Reform

HR policies are often where inequality is most visible and most fixable. Councils should review policies through a gender lens, asking:

• Are flexible working arrangements truly accessible to all genders?

• Do parental leave policies support shared caregiving responsibilities?

• Are recruitment and promotion processes free from bias?

Policy reform should be ongoing, not reactive. It must be informed by lived experience and co-designed with staff from diverse backgrounds.

4. Leadership Development

Creating pathways to leadership for women and non-binary staff is essential. This goes beyond mentorship it requires sponsorship, where senior leaders actively advocate for the advancement of underrepresented colleagues.

Councils can:

• Invest in leadership development programmes tailored to diverse talent

• Set targets for gender representation in senior roles

• Ensure selection panels are diverse and trained in inclusive recruitment

Leadership must be redefined to value collaboration, emotional intelligence, and community engagement not just traditional, hierarchical models.

5. Narrative Change

Flood and Pease challenge institutions to rethink the stories they tell about leadership. Too often, leadership is associated with masculine-coded traits like assertiveness, control, and decisiveness. Councils must promote alternative narratives that celebrate:

• Empathy

• Listening

• Collaboration

• Inclusivity

This means highlighting leaders who model these traits, sharing their stories, and embedding these values into organisational development frameworks.

“Men must be willing to give up privilege.”  Flood & Pease

This is perhaps the most challenging and transformative aspect of the work. Undoing privilege means redistributing power. It means listening more, speaking less, and being willing to change long-standing practices even when uncomfortable. It requires humility, courage, and a commitment to justice.

What Can Councils Do Today?

Local authorities don’t need to wait for a national directive to begin this work. Here are four practical steps councils can take immediately:

• Audit your leadership pipeline

  Examine who gets promoted, and why. Are there patterns that reflect bias or exclusion?

• Run gender equity workshops

  Include sessions specifically for men on privilege, allyship, and inclusive leadership.

• Celebrate inclusive leadership

  Publicly recognise leaders who model equity, empathy, and collaboration.

• Support women’s networks

  Fund and promote internal groups that advocate for gender equality and provide peer support.

These actions may seem small, but collectively they signal a shift in culture a move from passive awareness to active transformation. As public institutions, councils have a responsibility not only to reflect the communities they serve, but to lead by example in building a fairer, more inclusive society.

Final Thought

Undoing men’s privilege is not about blame it’s about responsibility.

It’s about recognising that the structures we work within were not built equally for everyone, and that maintaining the status quo however unintentionally perpetuates inequality. For local authorities, this is a moment of opportunity. Councils are uniquely positioned to lead by example, not only as employers but as democratic institutions that shape the values of the communities they serve.

By embracing the challenge of dismantling male privilege, councils can model what inclusive, equitable public service truly looks like. This means embedding gender equity into leadership, policy, culture, and everyday practice not as a side project, but as a core organisational priority.

“Gender equality is everyone’s business.”  Flood & Pease

This quote is more than a slogan it’s a call to action. It reminds us that equity is not the responsibility of women alone, nor of HR departments or diversity leads. It is the collective responsibility of every councillor, every officer, every leader.

The journey may be uncomfortable at times. It will require reflection, humility, and courage. But the reward is a stronger, fairer, and more representative local government one that truly serves all its people.