Women Get Shut Down While Speaking at Work

The kind of bias discussed below is a real problem. It’s a real problem ethically. It’s a real problem practically (since good ideas are being shut down). And it’s also a “real” problem in another sense: it’s hard to know what to do about it. But creative solutions are out there, and the piece below mentions some. The piece is by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and business professor Adam Grant. (One further suggestion: leaders must role-model suitable behaviour, by making sure that they themselves are not part of the problem.) >>>

LINK: Speaking While Female (NY Times)

…We’ve both seen it happen again and again. When a woman speaks in a professional setting, she walks a tightrope. Either she’s barely heard or she’s judged as too aggressive. When a man says virtually the same thing, heads nod in appreciation for his fine idea. As a result, women often decide that saying less is more.

Some new studies support our observations….

What do you think?

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