The science of sexism: why are gender issues at work so difficult to solve?

The recent case of a high-profile man releasing a sexist comment during a meeting of a company dedicated to discrimination against women raises a logical question as to why gender issues and the problems of sexism and discrimination in the workplace are so difficult to solve.

Incident in the company Uber

During a meeting of Uber staff on June 13, board member Arianna Huffington said that finding a woman on the board of a company often leads to the fact that women on the board eventually become larger.

David Bonderman replied: "In fact, this suggests that there will be more chatter at the board meetings."

Bonderman resigned from his post the same evening and in his statement said that he understands the "destructive effect" that his commentary produced.

The problem with the recognition of sexism

And although he apologized, many people do not understand how Bonderman could make such a comment at all. The fact is that many people in principle do not understand what sexism is. Many men are sincerely surprised when they are told that their remarks sound sexist. And one of the reasons why a man can not understand that his words are impregnated with sexism is inadequate socialization. For example, they can work in a very segregated work environment and at the same time they may not understand how women feel when they are in the same working conditions. And this surprise, that is, the fact that someone suddenly perceived their comment as "sexy", often leads to discontent and defensive reactions, which are also far from always adequate.

Solving fundamental problems

And to solve this problem, it is not enough simply to point out that the comment was sexist. It is necessary to solve the fundamental problems of power and inequality, which primarily contribute to the emergence of problems like the one that happened in the office of Uber. Companies usually do not discuss such things as masculinity, as well as the role that it plays in gender inequality. However, in the modern understanding of masculinity, domination over women plays one of the most important roles. This is something that is common throughout the society and is not limited to one company, one school or one family.

Masculinity and Domination

In Western cultures, masculinity is based on dominance, both on the dominance of men over other men, and also on the dominance of men over women. Part of the reason that men disdainfully talk to women, do not let them talk or release sexist jokes, is the man's need to demonstrate dominance over women in order to "prove" his masculinity. This understanding of masculinity is not limited to older men, that is, the older generation. A new generation of young people often thinks the same way. Although young people and adolescents may have learned not to express sexist ideas in the presence of women, in most cases they have not changed their view of the status of women. So it's hardly a good sign.

Solution

People who witnessed the manifestation of sexism, recently react very sharply and try to disgrace the offender. And although, of course, paying attention to the problem is very important, this behavior is not corrective. Instead, this approach only deepens the problem. In most cases, companies respond to such situations by holding a compulsory seminar or by passing an online course. However, studies show that such measures do not work if they are not combined with more concrete measures, including identifiable actions aimed at eradicating sexism, and if people occupying executive positions in the company are not responsible for implementing these measures. Online courses often focus on one topic: sexual harassment. Instead, companies should focus on teaching people to recognize how men dominate women, and demonstrate how to avoid it. For example, training may include data that men interrupt women more often than women in men, and that in mixed groups, men speak much more than women. Companies need to seriously think about how to conduct appropriate training, not focusing solely on any one negative action. Instead, they need to think about how sexual discrimination poisons human relationships and how to deal with it.

Be specific

It is very important that the company set specific goals to combat sexual discrimination in the workplace, and also could bring them to all employees. You can not just react to the fact that something bad has happened, and hope that the atmosphere in the workplace will change for the better. One of the most effective ways to demonstrate that the problem actually plays an important role is to include it in assessing the effectiveness of managers and managers. In some cases, people simply do not associate what they do or say with sexism, so they do not take comments on this seriously. Despite the huge attention that attracted episodes with the manifestation of sexism in the workplace, this does not mean that progress is evident in this area. Although companies may find themselves in an unpleasant light due to such episodes, and they have to take certain actions, the fundamental culture remains the same.