I work for a really great company in a really great industry. Publishing is, on the whole, pretty women-friendly (as some dudes have pointed out - albeit in a complainy tone, annoyed that there is a single large industry in which men do not dominate. Excuse me while I play you the world's tiniest violin). My company is one of those women-friendly places. I have never felt looked down on or in danger of earning less money or failing to earn promotions because of my gender. I have a fabulous female boss, whose boss, in turn, is also a woman. They make for great role models.
However (there's always a however, isn't there?), as our CEO himself pointed out at a meeting earlier this year, there is a discrepancy between the percentage of female employees at our company and the gender ratio of the board room. The company employs around 65% female workers. The board room consists of 95% men.
Our CEO has asked for advice on how to fix this. Workshops to encourage female leaders? More open discussions or focus groups to work on the problem?
Let me just say also that the fact that the CEO brought this up all on his own speaks volumes about our company's culture. It's one of the many reasons I love it here.
But then, at a happy hour a few nights ago, the topic turned to women's advances in the workplace and feminism. One of our other colleagues was sharing how she felt that, coming from a science background, this company was a breath of fresh air, because she'd experienced so much misogyny in her science work. Me and the only guy left at happy hour that night (poor guy) were nodding in sympathy. I have many friends in the sciences, and he came from a science background as well. We'd both seen the bias in that area.
The fourth young lady at the table interjected to say, essentially, that women just need to get over it already.
When I reminded her of the lovely speech our own CEO gave, and the 95% male board room in our own company (let alone a less friendly one!), she replied "Well there's nothing here holding women back." And when I brought up the workshops the CEO had proposed organizing, her answer was "No one's DISCOURAGING women leaders here."
And here is where I put on my rantypants (they are very tight and punk-y, in case you were wondering). Granted, tipsily explain-yelling that there is a HUGE difference between NOT DISCOURAGING and ENCOURAGING (see: all failed education programs ever) is probably not the best way to convince someone that you are correct.
But the problem at the heart of this discussion is that EVEN IN what I am going to totally unbiasedly* say is a fantastic equal-opportunity working environment, gender discrimination happens. Women are as guilty of it as men (see example above). Saying "women need to get over it, we're free already!" is basically just sticking your head in a pile of sand and hoping the world's problems will magically vanish while you're down there.
Do I blame my company? Of course not. I blame the society that we're living in, which has fed our ancestors the same lines for hundreds upon thousands of years: Women should be meek, docile and stay at home. Men should be burly, outgoing hunters (and this is a problem for guys too, because WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING SENSITIVE? NOTHING).
But companies and industries like this one are taking steps in the right direction. Acknowledging a problem exists is the first step to fixing it. I doubt sexism is going to vanish anytime this decade. Or even in our lifetimes or our children's lifetimes. But that's no reason not to fight it.
* cough
Great post. Unfortunately very true. Women simply don't have the same 'boy's network' that exists in many other fields -- and that's part of the sexism, even if it's not active discouragement. I also love how you point out that restrictive gender roles hurt men, too.
ReplyDeleteI think that people who make these statements are making a similar fallacy as to people who claim to be 'color-blind', because the sad reality of this country is that many people do not have the opportunity to be 'color-blind' because their skin color actively affects their life and opportunities within society.
In other words, if we intend to intelligently tackle social issues, then we can't pretend that they don't exist or claim that they don't exist for us.
And while sexism doesn't seem to play a role in the act of getting published, it certainly plays a role in how people perceive published work.
Agreed! And yeah, there are definitely similarities to the 'color-blind' problem too. It's hard to recognize your own privilege when you have been born and raised with it, and never been able to experience life without it...
Delete>>there is a HUGE difference between NOT DISCOURAGING and ENCOURAGING
ReplyDeleteHuge? We are talking about grown-ups here, right?
Women aren't capable of spotting an opportunity and taking advantage? Women need someone whispering in their ear to reach for the stars? Women need seminars and workshops in order to see what's right under their noses? While men don't need these things?
You're infantilizing women. Any woman in 2012 who can't see the numerous examples of female achievement in public life, or who believes "Women should be meek, docile and stay at home" is too inattentive for a spot at the top. I don't want a female CEO or CFO or Marketing President or Sales President or major stockholder who had to be led by the hand to her position. She'll be a wimp as a competitor against other companies whose leaders got to the top through character and brains, not baby-sitting. I mean, when do the workshops and seminars and baby-sitting stop? When are women finally responsible for their own success or failure?
You and your CEO are also assuming that the 95% male boardroom presence is a "problem." How come that's a problem while the 65% female workforce isn't? But how come it's a problem anyway? Evidently, the people who are both interested and qualified for the boardroom are overwhelmingly male. If women are actually being shut out on the basis of gender, they need to sue.
Recent graduates and new employees, but yes, grown-ups. And yes, I do think the difference is HUGE.
DeleteAnd I didn't say the seminars and focus groups should be for women only.
There are examples of women in top positions, but they are nowhere near as prevalent as male industry leaders out there. From birth, we treat men differently -- all of society does, and I'm guilty of it on occasion too. We tell them to "act like a man" and "suck it up" and "take charge," because that's what they are supposed to do. Whereas with women, we excuse or dismiss them. "Oh, she's being dramatic" or "she's PMSing" when we're angry. It is not company- or industry-specific, it is a worldwide thing we are raised with since birth. That makes it that much harder to overcome it, when you're rising up the ranks in a company and your higher-ups are talking about who deserves the raise, the woman (who, keep in mind, they have been trained to see from birth as more emotional and dramatic -- and who herself has been trained to see her own feelings that way) or the man -- they may not make a consciously biased decision. But it is going to influence them. It's impossible for it not to. The first thing you notice about most people is their gender, and it imparts a whole list of things into your brain that you probably aren't even aware of.
So, no, I don't think women need to be infantilized or babysat. Eventually, yes, I hope we can be responsible for our own success or failure -- I just don't think we have reached that point yet. And the numbers reflect that. All things equal, a boardroom would be approximately 50/50. Or at least close to it. I mean, say you have a boardroom of 20 people -- it's not always going to be 10 and 10, but you'd expect it to at least be around 12 and 8. Not 19 and 1. I'm sure there are women who are interested and qualified for boardroom positions -- the chances that only men would be interested and qualified in a large company with a workforce that's not just relatively equal, but skewed towards more women (and the reason I mentioned that is because it's just all the more striking how few board members are women when you look at the overall percentages) are extremely slim.
And IF only men are interested and qualified for the boardroom position, and if there just happen to be no women who want this position or apply for it... That says something about society as well. We unconsciously condition young boys to think of themselves as the breadwinners, and we unconsciously condition young girls, nowadays, to think of themselves as the ones who should also work, but also should "marry rich" or "have a fallback plan" just in case. You see it all the time. And I've nothing against stay-at-home moms or dads -- those are important-as-hell positions. But I think there are plenty of men out there who would prefer to stay at home, and plenty of women who would prefer to keep working, but who feel pressure by society to do the opposite.
I'm sorry, I just do not believe that only little boys dream of running their own businesses, and I do not believe that only young men have ambitions and higher aspirations.
Oh, wow. I can't even.
DeleteYou just made a TON of assumptions and excuses that are used every day to keep women out of executive positions.
Until the day that advancement is 100% merit based, we will see gender and color imbalance in the upper echelons of corporations. Corporate America is starting to realize it and companies are starting to take the gender bias situation seriously because-- wait for it-- it really does impact the bottom line. Companies where women have been encouraged to succeed have shown better overall financial metrics and employee retention.
But maybe I, Ellen, and the Wall Street Journal (dicussing the McKinsey Study) are wrong. Huh. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304746604577381953238775784.html
Very well stated. I completely agree. Women are still having to fight for equality. And they shouldn't be. Sure very few people are technically standing in our way, but no one is helping us or encouraging us either. Sounds like you work at a great place though. ^_^
ReplyDeleteI work in the IT world and I think the discrimination isn't really intentional. More women in the sciences are smart, but we have a quality surprising to many, great social and communications skills. So, why are our skills not recognized for their value? We make smart look too easy. We can't have a whole lot of that now, can we. My emotional intelligence tells me, at the end of the day, I get to go home and be with my family and enjoy what we have together.
ReplyDeleteOne day, ONE DAY, I'll get to be the boss. When that happens, watch out. Morale will be on the rise, because I do happen to believe that quality is in a person and not their gender.
Great post! I'm a woman working in a highly male-dominated field and I've seen both overt and unconscious sexism during my 10+ years in the workforce.
ReplyDeleteThe girl who said "Well there's nothing here holding women back." needs a field trip to my world, where I've been told by coworkers that I "should be at home having babies" or managers who unconsciously give the women all of the clerical work on top of our regular work because "women are better at organization." What about men who actively ignore women in meetings (this happens ALL of the time, btw?) Or clients who think of us as eye candy? I-- and other female coworkers-- have been consistently being placed in the position of saving a male coworker's butt and project-- only to have the coworker shine. And if you complain, you're "getting emotional again." How about places that won't advance women because "Well, they're just going to get pregnant and leave" (While illegal, I was told by MALE coworkers that this had been brought up as a reason in former corporations(!)) In meetings, a woman is "Hormonal" and "too passionate" if she speaks in the same way as a man who is "firmly expressing their opinion." And because advancement still is not 100% merit based, men still have bonding opportunities with upper management that women cannot engage in (post work at bars, on the golf course, at men-only clubs.) Men in the C-suite level will mentor and advocate for other men, but typically do not advocate for women (unless corporations are actively aware of the situation.) It's really frustrating to hear other women trying to hold us back.
Let's not even talk about the disparity in salaries for men versus women. That's another sucktastic hard truth.
I actively try to encourage young women into STEM (science, technology, math, engineering) careers, but I also let them know that there are still challenges. I'm learning to guide and mentor young women. My female coworkers and I support and promote each other. But there's only so much that we can do. Corporate leaders need to take it the rest of the way (and yay to your company for recognizing it!)
Hey I went to women's college to try and unbrainwash myself, but boy it's hard! (see how I used boy there)
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is that a lot of dudes take this sort of thing personally-- much of the problem today is so insidious because it can't necessarily be blamed on anyone's intention. It's just like an ever present mist that gets into our ears. Really it only hurts everyone. When people say "down with the patriarchy" it is a message to take down the Patriarch also known as "the Man." If you look at our society today 30% of black men in America have done jail time so "the Man" is definitely harming both men and women.
Should I ask for that promotion? Should I climb to the top? I think the problem is a lot of women question themselves where someone else perhaps male may just go for it. No matter how much women have accomplished, the board room is still a difficult place for them to find themselves.
One example of an insidious way sexism affects women is that women who chose to start a family are hindered in their career, while expecting dads are often awarded a "daddy bonus," raise, or promotion.
I'm not sure where I got the 30% statistic but I just got this one from wikipedia
DeleteApproximately 12%-13% of the American population is African-American, but they make up 40.1% of the almost 2.1 million male inmates in jail or prison (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics_of_incarcerated_African-American_males
It may seem a little unrelated, but I think issues of sex, race, prejudice are often connected. I wonder if there are many people of color on the board?