Sexism Archives - Andie & Al

Man and woman negotiate a business deal.

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Equality & Diversity, Fighting Stereotypes & Breaking Biases, Sexism

Why Anti-Bias Training Doesn’t Work

Why aren’t we seeing more progress in ending gender diversity in senior leadership? The primary reason is most diversity initiatives are premised on a fundamental misconception: The assumption underlining most of these initiatives is that if we address individuals’ biases, leadership diversity will follow. But women are not held back by individuals’ beliefs alone. Entrenched systems, processes and practices make leadership diversity so hard to achieve, and it is these systems that we need to change. Identifying more effective approaches is a...

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by Andie & Al

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Sexism, Women versus Women, Women Working with Women

Introducing Our New Book!

It’s Not You, It’s the Workplace: Women’s Conflict at Work and the Bias that Built It is at the publisher. The editing and proofreading are finished; now the production and marketing begin. The book will be formally released August 27, but we will be distributing copies of it at our workshops beginning in July. Between now and then, we plan to write a series of blog posts on many of the topics we discuss in the book. These posts will go out...

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by Andie & Al

millennial woman making dinner with two small children

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Equality & Diversity, Sexism

Are Millennials Egalitarians at Home?

Gender bias is most often associated with the workplace, where discriminatory standards and expectations affect perceptions of women’s and men’s competencies, achievements, and potentials. But gender bias also operates at home by creating discriminatory standards and expectations about women’s and men’s duties and roles. As a result, the bulk of housework and childcare has historically fallen on mothers. Recently, however, several studies have reported that millennials are egalitarians with respect to the allocation of domestic responsibilities. For example, researchers report...

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by Andie & Al

woman boss teaching millennial men and other workers at meeting

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Equality & Diversity, Fighting Stereotypes & Breaking Biases, Leadership & Management, Sexism

Don’t Count on Millennials to End Gender Bias

Millennial men—those born roughly between the early 1980s and the late 1990s—are often said to be far more egalitarian with respect to gender than their older counterparts. For example, Boston Consulting Group reported in 2017 that “men younger than 40 are far more attuned than older men to the obstacles women face in the workplace,” and “are more willing to change their behavior to make the interventions [needed to reduce those obstacles] succeed.” Likewise, in a paper prepared for the Council...

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by Andie & Al

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Advocating for Yourself, Equality & Diversity, Fighting Stereotypes & Breaking Biases, Sexism, Stereotype Threat

Rules Are Not Self-Enforcing

Serena Williams broke three rules in her September 8th final match at the U.S. Open. She received coaching signals, broke her racquet, and “verbally abused” the chair umpire calling him a “thief.” All three of these actions are in violation of the Grand Slam Code of Conduct. But rules are not self-enforcing; someone has to determine there has been a violation and then decide whether further action should be taken. So the question in Williams’ case is not whether she broke...

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by Andie & Al

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Fighting Stereotypes & Breaking Biases, Gender Communication Techniques, Life Balance & Positive Mindsets, Sexism, Stereotype Threat

The Apple in the Room: Avoiding the Temptation to Buy into Traditional Gender Stereotypes

When women think about the impact of gender stereotypes in the workplace, they often think about what they can do to avoid, overcome, or confront the workplace biases that flow from them. We’re addressing these biases and offering suggestions for dealing with them by using attuned gender communication. But women focusing on the stereotypes that other people have about them should not obscure the importance of the stereotypes that women have about themselves: their talents, capacities, resources, and appropriate objectives...

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by Andie & Al

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Equality & Diversity, Motherhood bias, Office Politics, Sexism

Looking for a Cure for Bias?

Do you struggle with whether or not to tell someone a piece of food is stuck to a tooth or their chin? If performing this helpful act makes you uncomfortable, how likely are you to point out someone’s bias as many suggest that we do? Mixed reactions greet those courageous enough to call out bias. Some emotionally intelligent individuals accept the feedback and work to be more impartial. Others, however, when advised of a bias, react defensively; deeply offended in the...

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by Andie & Al

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Equality & Diversity, Leadership & Management, Office Politics, Politics, Sexism

Gender Equality is Now a Political Issue

We have always thought that the great disparity in women’s and men’s career achievements was a clear and objective indication that the sexes are not treated equally in the workplace. Women have, unquestionably, made impressive gains as they have entered historically male-dominated career paths. For example, in 1980, men were twice as likely as women to have managerial jobs; today women are just as likely as men to hold such positions. Nevertheless, the gender achievement gap remains wide in most leadership...

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by Andie & Al

male employee and female employee working on a computer after hours

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Equality & Diversity, Fighting Stereotypes & Breaking Biases, Gender Communication Techniques, Office Politics, Sexism

Why It’s So Tough for Women to Find Male Mentors in the Workplace

A Harvard Business Review research report concluded that the primary factor “keeping women under the glass ceiling” is “the absence of male advocacy.” The report found that high-performing women simply are not getting the male mentorship they need to reach the top because they are not interacting in business contexts on a one-on-one basis with the senior men in their organizations. Without such interactions, male leaders lack the familiarity, knowledge, and incentive to sponsor women and advocate for their career...

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by Andie & Al

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Equality & Diversity, Fighting Stereotypes & Breaking Biases, Sexism

Cautionary Notes When Reading “How to Raise a Feminist Son”

Claire Cain Miller’s recent article in the New York Times about raising a feminist son has attracted a good deal of attention. Without doubt, the article contains much sensible advice: parents should provide boys with positive role models, call out biased stereotypes, and stop conduct that is demeaning, intolerant, or disrespectful. But the article also contains a number of mistaken or misguided ideas. Let’s look at five of them. Is Raising a “Feminist” Son a Good Idea? Miller attempts to limit the...

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by Andie & Al