Perceptions of Women in the Workplace
7 December 2009
Whitney Johnson blogs at Harvard Business Publishing about the perceptions and prejudices toward women in the workplace, and gives us much to think about.
She cites a few academic studies which confirm her own experiences in which she stood for something she clearly deserved and wasn’t treated the same way as her male colleagues.
My experience and this study indicate there can be a social cost when women negotiate. A cost that is consistent with the findings of psychiatrist Anna Fels: when we are giving something to someone else, we are feminine; when we are asking for something from someone, we are not.
A similar lesson is also presented in the excellent book Brain Rules by researcher John Medina. Both women and men have what seems to be an innate tendency to think that women who ask for something are pushy, yet men who ask for the same exact thing are not perceived that way.
Simply being aware of such perceptions and being conscious of them in our own decision-making and communication can make a big difference in our workplaces.