The glum facts of bias in the workplace
Is your style of thinking adaptive or innovative? (pressmaster/Adobe)
As we celebrate International Women’s Day this week, Helena Cain reflects on the daily microaggressions women experience, and provides some appropriate responses – emphasising the key is to notice them and speak up if we’re ever going to see the change we so desperately need.
I’m usually a lover of fun facts – but this week I’m compelled to focus on the very glum facts of bias in the workplace, which not only wears down individuals and keeps the patriarchy in place, but also decreases potential growth and innovation in our economy.
The Mandarin recently published an article revealing that the success of STEM campaigns to increase the number of women in these professions is resulting in these professions being considered ‘soft’, with wages in these fields consequently decreasing. This glum fact threw me, because it shows just how strong and embedded the social, cultural and structural forces are, to maintain the unequal status quo.
Men as allies: In more recent years, having men as advocates and champions of change has been recognised as a major trend in accelerating women’s equality. Many progressive CEOs and influential leaders have committed via formal public channels to helping build diverse and inclusive organisations that challenge stereotypes and bias.
The topic is so vast and draining that it can be difficult to know where to start – but this year’s UN International Women’s Day offers guidance with their #BreakTheBias campaign.
In this article, I’m choosing to focus on what they call ‘microaggressions’. I know exactly what they are, but the term is new to me, and I like it, because these acts aren’t harmless, they are aggressive and damaging, and until we call them by their real name, bystanders may feel they can ignore or tolerate them.
The rise of women is not about the fall of men. (UN IWD quote)
Microaggressions are the small (did they happen, does it matter?) subtle acts and language that unbalance the power in a room, a team or an organisation. They sustain long-held biases that work against equality. I’m focusing on gender equality because it is International Women’s Day, noting that this bias compounds the disadvantage for each additional minority descriptor you add – ethnicity, ability, sexual identity, religion, etc.
Microaggressions are a part of almost every woman’s daily experience (73%), and we get so used to them we sometimes let them slip past us, or make allowances for the perpetrators, or we’re worried about making waves, being seen as aggressive or sensitive or emotional ourselves, or we’re just tired of fighting it.
I have a special reserve of energy just for this task, however, and I ask you to start creating one of your own, because it’s important – if not for yourself, then for every woman in your life – including your daughters.
Quick quiz results:
Quick Quiz references: McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org Women in the Workplace 2021 Report. A study involving 423 companies and more than 65,000 employee participants.
Q. In a study or performance reviews, what % of women received negative feedback on their personal style such as “you can sometimes be abrasive”? And what % of men received that same type of feedback?
A. 66% of women. 1% of men.
Q. When a woman’s name was replaced with a man’s name on a resume, how much more likely were the evaluators to say they would hire the applicant?
A. Over 60% more likely.
Q. What % of women have experienced workplace microaggressions (everyday sexism like being mistaken for someone more junior or having their competence questioned)?
A. 73%.
Q. How many times more often do men interrupt women than other men?
A. Almost 3 times more.
So for those who are wondering – what are these microaggressions that I find so insidious?
Beyond my tedious experiences of ‘mansplaining’, the not so subtle ‘what she’s trying to say is…’ and the ever familiar repeating an idea originally put forward by a female voice and claiming it as their own, here are some examples put forward by the UN International Women’s Day project. They also offer some appropriate responses for when you next notice these biased behaviours:
You’re in a meeting and a woman colleague is spoken over or interrupted.
~ Speak up, with “I’d like to hear the rest of <name’s> thoughts” or “<name> raised a good point, I’d like to consider it before we move on”.
Your colleague advocates for a job candidate with no gap in her resume over another with a gap from when she was a home-based mother.
~ Push for the candidates to be evaluated on their skills and experience, without taking into account the time taken off for caregiving.
In a meeting, a woman strongly disagrees with a man about how to approach a problem. He says or suggests that she’s getting too emotional.
~ Speak up, with “I think <name> is making a good point / she doesn’t seem too emotional to me”.
You see a colleague introduce a senior woman as ‘the nicest person in the office’ without mentioning her job title or accomplishments.
~ Speak up, round out the compliment with a reference to her overall performance, achievements and senior role.
In a meeting, a client only looks at and speaks to the men on your team.
~ Speak up, and bring her into the conversation, highlighting her expertise and why she matters “<name> would be great to answer this question, she’s actually our resident expert on the topic”.
You notice that the same woman is asked to take the notes or organise the refreshments at your weekly meeting.
~ Suggest that everyone takes a turn.
A coworker asks “who’s the new girl?”
~ Respond with “the new woman we’ve hired is … <and add her credentials>” or be more direct: “I’m sure it wasn’t your intention, but calling her a girl can undermine her standing here at work”.
There are so many more. I think any woman reading this will relate to most, and if there are any men reading these who either don’t notice these instances, wonder why it matters, or think this is trivial – please enquire further, have conversations with women about it, or visit the International Women’s Day resources and guidance, where they will describe multiple common undermining situations, why they matter and what you can do about it.
I also encourage interested HR practitioners and leaders to visit the IWD site and see if the ‘ready to go’ LeanIn training module and supporting materials on #breakingthebias could be useful to you.
All women and men – please pay attention to what is going on in the room, in your team, and organisation and take responsibility for the role you should be playing to #BreakTheBias. It matters.
