Here’s a scenario for the last major type of gender bias. After this I will likely not be posting Instagram threads from this series, but if you all would like more examples, I’d be happy to keep writing these short blog posts! Just let me know. Now, let’s get into it!
Say a colleague comments to you that another coworker “only got the promotion because she’s __ (a woman of color).” You know that this woman has been working hard for a long time for this opportunity, and you believe it was well-deserved. You can simply ask, “What makes you say that?” Sometimes that’s enough to make someone rethink their view. Or better yet, stand up for your coworker: “I think she got the promotion because she’s terrific and has done excellent work.” You might also take the opportunity to make a larger point about the value of diversity: “Plus, it’s good for the company to have more women of color in senior roles, because diverse teams tend to perform better. Anyway, would you rather everyone in our office have similar or diverse backgrounds in general?” If they don’t seem to be catching on, or if you feel the need to expand, here’s what you can say: “People tend to underestimate women’s talents compared to men’s—and that bias can be even stronger when it comes to women of color. That means that women often have to accomplish more to show that they’re as competent as men. And when a woman of color succeeds, some people discount her accomplishments and assume that her success is due to external factors like affirmative action, rather than her own hard work and achievements. If this idea goes unchallenged, it reinforces a damaging stereotype about the talent of people from underrepresented groups and discounts the additional layers of bias that they’ve had to overcome to get to where they are now. Comments like this can foster sexism and racism and make the workplace feel hostile to some employees—and employees are generally less happy in hostile workplaces.” Hope you've enjoyed this series! Big things are coming soon and I couldn't be more excited. See you soon!
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Neha SaggiFounder and director of LeadHERship. Archives
March 2021
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