THE BOX YOUR PEOPLE ARE STUCK IN COSTS YOU MORE THAN THINK.
the problem
$15.7bn
Annual cost of harmful masculine norms in the US alone (Equimundo, 2024).
When people, particularly men in leadership, operate inside narrow, unexamined definitions of who they're allowed to be, everything downstream suffers. How they lead. How they listen. How much risk they take. How honest their teams feel they can be.
This isn't a gender politics issue. It's a performance issue that affects your entire workforce — not just the men.
75%
Of HAN participants had meaningful conversations with family, colleagues, or strangers they wouldn't normally have had.
19%
Of men living strictly within the "Man Box" report suicidal ideation (JSS & Respect Victoria, 2024).
THE OPPORTUNITY
"This was the first time I've ever spoken to my son about vulnerability."
- HAN participant
When identity opens up,the whole organisation shifts.
Hard As Nails is a remarkable social experiment. We ask men to paint their nails and live with them for a week. What we've measured; across 406 men, three validated psychological scales, and a randomised controlled trial is something the leadership development industry has been trying to engineer for decades.
But here's what makes it different: the impact doesn't stop with the men who participate.
When men in your organisation visibly break an identity norm, it triggers conversations that wouldn't otherwise happen. Partners notice. Colleagues ask questions. Teams discuss things they've never discussed. The experiment creates a permission cascade - from the men who participate outward to everyone around them.
Our hypothesis, grounded in the pilot data: the men experience the primary transformation. But the secondary effect — on the teams they interact with — is the primary impact on your organisation. The conversations, the visible participation, the collective experience of watching identity norms bend in real time.
That's what shifts culture.
HOW IT WORKS
A Pop-Up in your reception. A month that changes how your people talk to each other.
Your organisation signs up to take part in Hard As Nails during our national campaign month. We install a professional Pop-Up nail salon in your reception, lobby, or communal space — and over the course of a week, men across your organisation can walk in and get their nails done.
Visible | Voluntary | Fun | Rigorously measured
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We run a company-wide pre-assessment — not just for the men signing up, but across the whole organisation. We measure your baseline: identity flexibility, psychological safety, openness to conversations about gender and norms. Every man who signs up to get their nails done completes an individual assessment too.
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A professional nail salon takes over your reception for a week. Men book 30-minute slots. They get a high-quality manicure. They walk out with painted nails and back into their normal working day. The conversations start immediately — in the lift, in the meeting room, at lunch. We can get hundreds of nails done, visibly, across the week.
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Participants live and work with painted nails for a full working week. They receive daily content: conversation prompts, reflection questions, research insights. The wider organisation receives its own set of tools — ways for women and non-participating
colleagues to engage, observe, and capture their own experience of what's shifting around them.
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Post-assessment for the whole organisation. We measure what shifted — not just for the men, but across the company. Identity flexibility. Psychological safety. Willingness to have honest conversations. Perception of leadership openness. You receive a full impact report with pre/post data specific to your organisation.
WHO BENEFITS?
"I thought this was going to be about how others see me, but it became about how I see myself."
- HAN participant
Men participate. Everyone benefits
For the men who get their nails done:
A direct, embodied experience of identity flexibility. They confront their own assumptions, discover the "Expectation Gap" (78% were surprised by the lack of negative reaction), and develop measurably greater openness, confidence, and willingness to challenge norms.
83% reported having conversations they would never normally have. 38% showed increased readiness to step in against inappropriate behaviour. The Man Box scale showed statistically significant movement.
For the women and wider teams:
This isn't passive observation — it's active participation. Women interact with the men, have conversations about what they see, share how it makes them feel. The visible norm breaking creates a new conversational space across the whole organisation.
We provide structured tools for the wider workforce: conversation prompts, reflection exercises, and a way to capture what shifts in team dynamics when the men around you start questioning their own assumptions.
THE EVIDENCE
This isn't theory. It's measured behaviour change.
83%
Reported tough or taboo conversations they wouldn’t normally have.
93%
Would take part again
78%
Surprised by the lack of negative reaction
MEASUREABLE SHIFTS
Pre & post: what changes
The wider impact: beyond the men who participate
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The wider impact: beyond the men who participate 〰️
The pilot data shows that the experiment's impact extends well beyond the individual participants:
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The experiment doesn't stay in the individual's head, it radiates outward into every relationship ion text goes here
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These are conversations happening with colleagues, partners, children, friends
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Men opened up about their lives in ways that changed the dynamic with the people around them
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The experiment becomes a shared experience, not an individual one
"I had to avoid situations, because of my pink nails which really brought a feeling of marginalisation and how much privilege I have."
HAN participant
the science
Why this works and why it lasts
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Why this works and why it lasts 〰️
The mechanism is grounded in established psychological theory. This isn't a gimmick, it's a carefully designed intervention that uses embodied experience to drive measurable attitude change.
WHAT YOU GET
Tools, measures, and an experience your people will talk about for years.
THE CAMPAIGN
Hard As Nails runs a national campaign month — a coordinated, high-profile moment where organisations across the UK take part simultaneously. Your company's participation places you within a movement that's tackling tough issues affecting not just men, but all members of society, through a creative, positive, and evidence-based exploration of identity.
Think of it as your organisation's visible commitment to the conversation that matters most right now: what happens when people are free to be more than the roles they've been assigned.
Participating organisations get national media coverage, shared campaign assets, and the credibility of being part of a research-backed movement with published data and academic leadership.
YOUR COMPANY’S WAY OF TAKING PART IN SOMETHING BIGGER
A portion of every partnership funds what comes next.
A percentage of every corporate partnership fee goes directly to funding men and boys mentoring programmes — extending the impact beyond your organisation and into communities that need it most.
Your participation doesn't just change your culture.
It helps build the infrastructure for a healthier generation of men.
To check pricing and availability email: emma@samconiff.com