If you checked the news at all this month, you were probably more than a little annoyed to see headlines like “People keep interrupting Sen. Kamala Harris” and “Uber board member David Bonderman said women talk too much.” But, is this really news or just coverage of all-too-common scenarios of gender bias in the workplace? Five articles this month investigate what these and other instances of sexism mean for women in the workplace. They also ponder ways to correct the imbalance:
The Universal Phenomenon of Men Interrupting Women This article highlights that, no, what Harris and Huffington endured publicly are not isolated incidents. Offering insights and anecdotes from other high-power female leaders, as well as some stats to back them up, this piece explores just how common it is for a woman to be interrupted by her male colleagues.
How to Call Out Your Colleagues’ Gender Bias So what do you do when a peer treats you as less qualified simply based on your gender? This article from Fortune suggests a “collaborative and kind approach” that focuses on opening dialogues.
Why Is the Onus on Women to Curb Workplace Interruptions? In contrast, this article argues that women aren’t the only cohort who should have to take action against gender bias. Instead of a simple “fix the woman” mindset, this piece argues for reconsidering meeting structures to make more equitable space for both genders.
How to Deal with Sexism in the Workplace Pulling from The Feminist Fight Club, this article from Teen Vogue takes a more varied approach to confronting gender bias in the workplace. It specifically calls out six sexist archetypes and offers tips to confront them.
The Science of Sexism Why is there so much disagreement on how to confront sexism in the workplace? One sociologist argues that it’s because underlying conceptions of masculinity lead to entrenched inequality and behaviors of dominance. That’s harder to confront, as this article explains.
In case you missed them, check out this month’s other GovFem posts:
- How to Deal With Your Bad Day at Work
- How to Confront Unprofessional Advances
- 4 Ways to Deal with Offensive Coworkers
Every month, GovFem compiles a list of the top articles about women in government from around the web. If you have an article you think should be included in next month’s reading list, email hannah@govloop.com with your suggestions.