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How Women Are Valued In The Workplace: Why What You Say Matters

Forbes Coaches Council

Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership, Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University.

Do workplaces today still undervalue women? My answer is a resounding yes. Maybe not in every workplace, but I would guess that this would be true in at least 95% of the workplaces in the U.S. Of course, many of these statements or behaviors are subtle and relate to unconscious bias, but other forms of undervaluing women are overt and conscious.

Yes, I do think progress has been made, but “genderwashing”—which is associated with the myth of equality—is common even in organizations that are working toward inclusivity. Scholars (paywall) have defined genderwashing as “superficial attempts to address gender inequity within organizations [that] fail to create structural change or disrupt engrained power dynamics.”

The bottom line is that sexism is embedded and often invisible in the way we talk, behave and even think, and it can negatively impact women’s careers. We all need to do better.

So, what does undervaluing women look like in workplaces today? Recently, my team and I collected statements from nearly 1,000 women on sexist comments they have received or heard. For the “undervaluing women” theme, we heard 887 examples of things ranging from general undervaluing statements to infantilizing/condescending, assumed incompetence, using sexist terms and “Affirmative Action” assumptions. Here is a representative sample of these statements:

• “I was told that I could participate in a vendor meeting, but I should not comment. If I have information to share, I should talk to my male peer and have him provide my feedback.”

• “I shared a great idea in a private meeting with this person, an idea that would benefit the entire team. Directly after that meeting, this person met with a man and asked the man to be in charge of implementing the idea.”

• “I said I was a web developer in a social media environment, and a man told me that ‘cutting and pasting a man’s code doesn’t make you a developer.’”

• “He said, ‘I hired a woman, and she is doing a really good job. I never expected this. I might hire more.’”

• “A manager said, ‘Don’t you worry your pretty little head, I’ve got this.’”

• “A man I manage told me, ‘You are not a real executive, you’re just checking a box.’”

So, were these surprising? I ask this question often and most women say no, while some men either think the statements are “not a big deal” or that “people today would not say those things.” Of course, true male allies react differently. In our research, we also gathered responses but found that most women don’t know how to respond to these undervaluing statements, and most men don’t understand how to respond as allies, either.

There are a lot of things companies can do to show they value women in the workplace—from working to address and understand the gender pay gap to creating a culture that educates and openly addresses sexism—but there are also things individual employees can do. When you see or experience sexism, try employing these strategies:

1. Prepare. In the spur of the moment, it is often difficult to think of a way to respond in what might feel like a clever, strategic or even competent manner. This is true for women and male allies alike. Prepare ahead for responses to statements you may have already heard in your workplace. Questions work well. For example, “What do you mean by that exactly?”

2. Take action. When you hear comments or jokes that undervalue women, like the ones I have shared, push back quickly. For example, saying, “Ouch,” or “We don’t do that here,” could drive home the point that something is amiss.

3. Call out the behavior. When you observe a sexist comment or behavior, quickly point it out and offer a solution. This may not be aligned with the culture of your company now, but it can be.

While these strategies may not create change immediately, they can help get the ball rolling on a culture change in your office.


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