Every woman has heard the term “Boss Babe” or “Girl Boss” but how much does the idea actually translate in the workplace? According to the American Progress Center, women account for nearly half of the workforce. Although they represent about 52% of professional and management roles, they only represent about 15-30% of other leadership positions. In the most recent decades, most women are progressing in their roles as leaders in the workplace. Women have historically outnumbered men in terms of education, but that power does not translate to the workplace. The word sexism itself often brings on feelings of discomfort. Women themselves also can find it uncomfortable. According to Forbes, sexism comes in two types, benevolent and hostile.
Hostile sexism exists in the most obvious forms through stereotypes, evaluations, negativity or generalizations. In the workplace, it often presents itself as comments or statements such as talking about “women’s work”, asking a woman to get coffee or take notes, or assuming females are always in lower or less paid positions. These remarks are often extremely noticeable to women and other coworkers. They also are often brushed off as jokes. Benevolent sexism however is more subtle and happens in different ways. It often hinders women from advancement or networking opportunities. It means that women are often not invited to opportunities whereas a man with the same qualifications would be.
The issue with sexism is that it can be super subtle or super obvious. If a man tells me to “get in the kitchen” then he’s obviously being sexist towards me. But if he doesn’t invite me out to a working lunch because he figured I’d make my own, that might be a little more subtle. Sexism also comes in descriptive ways. Men and women are often described differently though they possess the same qualities. Men are often described as assertive, dominant or competitive, while women are often described as collaborative, kind, or challenging. While neither of these descriptions are bad, a woman is less likely to be described as assertive compared to her male colleague.
Sexism, just like racism, homophobia, ablism and ageism can be very hard to detect. It’s often not ever challenged because it can be so hard to see or hear. Gender bias is one of those things that is implicit and hard to know if you are even bias. Women, especially young women or mothers are treated most unfairly in my opinion. Young women fresh out of college or trade school often face people who believe they are inexperienced and need a male mentor or older mentor. Women also tend to group together, and while this isn’t a bad thing, it makes it more difficult for women to challenge men when they ae being sexist whether intentional or not. Mothers are greatly affected by sexism in the workplace. People assume that a lengthy maternity leave is “just a break” or that postpartum depression or guilt is “fake”. Women don’t get a long enough maternity leave especially in fast-paced or competitive workplaces.
This isn’t to say that sexism is only directed at women in the workplace. Men certainly do face sexism as well in and out of the workplace. Similar to any type of discrimination, understanding it and signs that it can be occurring. Sexism can be a form of microaggressions towards men and women similar to how benevolent sexism occurs. It’s a barrier that can affect progression in the workplace and advancement for women. Being aware of how people act, speak or engage with others can be the best way to understand where sexism takes place. It takes courage sometimes to be able to bring up acts of sexism to HR or supervisors and it can be difficult to deal with. But doing so can combat sexism and deteriorate it in the workplace. Speak up and speak out.
HXCO, Cecilia