Workshop gleichstellen.ch

Identify and record existing knowledge about the subject, any known solutions, and possibly any reservations or opposition. These posters can be referred back to in the course of the workshop.

Discussion questions :

• What really stood out for you ? Why ?
• What do you think of Corinne Vitale's statement that her husband would be willing to cut his work hours after the birth of their child, but she would not be willing to do so ?
• Claude Werder, managing director at her employer Samuel Werder AG, explains the company's open attitude and helpfulness concerning part-time work. Do you think that this is enough flexibility with regard to work hours ?
• Claude Werder tells the story of a colleague who threatened to quit if he could not work part-time. It worked. What does it mean if this is the only way part-time work can be allowed ? Who can work part-time ?
• Based on what Mr Werder has said, are you hopeful that fathers might be able to spend more time with their children in the future ?
• What do you think of part-time work and/or job-sharing in leadership positions ? What would you think of a national right to part-time work or workload reduction ?

Discussion question :
Claude Werder outlines a vision for the future in which men will have more time for their families and thus be able to work part-time more often. What would have to happen to allow this ?

Then present results/ideas to the whole.

In the video, social researcher Lucia M. Lanfranconi tells of a single father in a management role who did not dare ask if he could reduce his workload. What would have to happen for men to feel free to express their needs ?
Role play a hypothetical conversation between this man (Mr Miller) and his boss (Ms Huber) when he decides to ask her for reduced work hours in each of these three variants :
Outcome 1 : The boss agrees to allow Mr Miller to keep his position while working part-time.
Outcome 2 : The boss points out the difficulties caused by the demands of a leadership while working part-time and suggests a compromise.
Outcome 3 : The boss does not agree to his request and suggests to Mr Miller that he quit his job and find one without management responsibility where part-time work would be more realistic, or else stay on full-time as he is currently doing.
Then discuss in the whole group how the two roles felt in each of the variants and which variant would be most likely to occur in the real world.

At the beginning of the video clip, you were introduced to social researcher Lucia M. Lanfranconi. As part of her research, she has found that part-time work in managerial positions is often taboo and not claimed. Would a possible solution be a general right to part-time work or workload reduction, for example, for mothers and fathers ? Have a panel discussion where students play the following roles :

• Employer representatives : categorically against a right to part-time work or workload reduction, for example, for mothers and fathers.
• Representatives of a fathers' organisation : in favour of a right to part-time work or workload reduction, for example, for mothers and fathers.
• Equality expert : in favour of measures to put women in leadership positions in as many companies as possible.

Then discuss in the whole group how the two roles felt in each of the variants.

Step 1 :
Word associations : Participants each have 30 sec. to write down on individual post-it notes as many words as possible that they associate with a phrase suggested by the facilitator (random words such as spring, solidarity, or having to do with the focus of the workshop). Quantity over quality here ! The post-its are collected after each round and then hung on an "inspiration board" poster.

Step 2 :
This is where the actual tour of the three posts begins. Participants have 5 minutes at each post and then move on until they have visited them all. The objective is to develop as many new and creative measures to improve part-time working in a company as possible.
Inspiration board : The post-it notes generated in step 1 can be rearranged or added to.
Random input : On the basis of random objects presented to them, participants write or draw associations related to the focus of the workshop.
Idea map : This is a brainstorming session where the idea is passed around a circle, with each new participant providing new concepts, references and links.

Step 3 :
Inspired by the material provided around the room and the elements on the poster, participants draft 3-4 ideas each on achieving more equal access to flexible hours within a company. This is done in pairs selected by the facilitators. Duration : 20 minutes.

Step 4 :
The pairs present their results in brief. Then the participants are given 5 glue dots each with which they can individually evaluate the ideas ; all of their points can be awarded to a single idea or split among the ideas as they wish.