• Home
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Login

Join In!

  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • twitter

Progressive Women's Leadership

Empowering. Supportive. Bold

EMPOWERING. SUPPORTIVE. BOLD.
  • Training
    • Career Development
    • Communication
    • Leadership
  • All-Access
  • Custom
  • eGuides
  • Blog
    • Leadership
    • Communication
    • Community
    • Life Balance
    • Gender Partnerships
    • Women in the World
  • Resources
    • Podcasts
You are here: Home / Gender Partnerships / Sexism at Work: Exposed in a simple office experiment (Try it for yourself!)

Sexism at Work: Exposed in a simple office experiment (Try it for yourself!)

March 24, 2017 By Lynn Varacalli Cavanaugh

Okay, sexism still exists, most women would say. But it’s often invisible and harder to define or identify in the workplace than it used to be.

Two co-workers – one male and one female – saw for themselves just how differently the sexes are treated at work: Nicole Hallberg and Martin Schneider worked for a resume-writing service in Philadelphia a few years ago when Martin noticed a client being unusually rude and dismissive to him in an email.

Gender inequality on career path business concept. Business lady runs against businessman on career path, but fails because on her side of path there are a lot of obstacles. Gender differences.

Sexism at work: Overcoming the hurdles

He then realized he’d accidently been signing off his emails as “Nicole” (they shared an email account at the time). When he told her, she admitted that she’d sent out emails using his name in the past, in an attempt to get faster responses.

Getting “Mansplained” at work

You see, she struggled all the time working with clients who would fight with her. They “‘mansplained’ things all the time,” she told Newsweek. “I was doing thousands of these resumes, and people were trying to explain the simplest terms to me.”

Her boss would also tell her it took her too long to work with clients.

So, the two decided to switch online identities for a week to see what would happen. And that’s when each of them realized how blatant bias could be in the workplace.

Martin noticed how everything he asked for or suggested was questioned. He was getting condescending replies and one even asked if he was single, while Nicole was seeing a boost in productivity like never before. “I had a great week,” Nicole told Newsweek.

“[Martin] was shocked,” said Nicole. “He said, ‘I had this invisible advantage I never knew about.'” But it wasn’t shocking to Nicole – or probably any other woman in the workplace.

Shutting Down a Mansplainer

To shut down a mansplainer who’s giving you an unnecessarily condescending explanation of an issue, theory, technology, etc., here are some strategies:

  • Interrupt him. This seems to be the overwhelming advice from women. You might say, “Oh yes, I’m up to speed on that … Is there something new I should be aware of?” “Challenge any and all mansplaining,”  Nandini Ramani, Twitter’s VP of Engineering, stresses to CNBC. It is one of her “biggest pet peeves” in her male-dominated field, she said, even as one of the most influential women in Silicon Valley.
  • Ask a pointed question. If someone is explaining a topic that is your area of expertise, say digital content marketing or financial forecasting, try asking a very specific question. If you stump someone with a question about the topic that he’s explaining to you, he may think twice about ever explaining it to another woman.
  • Find an ally. Sometimes it takes an outside force to enact change. Encourage other women to call the person out “so it is not just you sounding the whistle every time it happens,” recommends Rita Sever, author of Supervision Matters.
  • Move on. Sometimes the best solution is to walk away, says Sever, saying something like “Excuse me, I need to make a call. See you later.”

Does sexism exist in your workplace? Please take our survey.

Filed Under: Gender Partnerships Tagged With: conflict, gender bias, Gender Equality, gender gap, mansplainer, sexism, survey

About Lynn Varacalli Cavanaugh

“An important attribute of success is to be yourself. Never hide what makes you, you." -- Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo

As editor-in-chief of Woman’s Own and American Woman magazines, I have championed the personal and professional development of women for years. I started my career unsure of my own path and abilities, but I always had a natural curiosity and an interest in words and writing. When selected to launch American Woman as editor-in-chief, after a string of editorial jobs, I was thrilled—and terrified at being responsible for a brand new venture. All I could do was my best, based on my instincts and years of experience. American Woman was a success, offering me things I hadn’t achieved before—the confidence to do public speaking and a journalism award (Exceptional Merit Media award from the National Women’s Political Caucus & Radcliffe College). I hope my insights, now as an editor for Progressive Women’s Leadership, will help you on your own journey to career success.

Looking to Make a Difference?

Join thousands of other leading women who have made the commitment to change.

GET MORE INFORMATION

KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST

Updates, discounts, and content from Progressive Women’s Leadership. Your information will never be sold or distributed.
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Negotiating Skills: How to Ask for – and Get – What You Want | Course | Starts November 2nd

Popular Posts

  • Why It Pays to Praise: 40 Ways to Say ‘Good Job’
  • Generational Differences
  • Employees complaining about pay? How to respond – and keep morale high
  • Resolve in 2023: Step by Step a New Me Emerges
  • What Great Female Leaders in History Can Teach Us About Today’s Workplace
Progressive Women's Leadership

Training

  • Live Training
  • On-Demand Webinars
  • Custom Training

Blog Topics

  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Community
  • Life Balance
  • Gender Partnerships
  • Women in the World

Leadership E-Guides

 

Free Resources

  • Free Leadership E-Guides
  • Podcasts
  • Linkedin

Copyright © 2023 · Progressive Women's Leadership · Privacy Policy

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In