Five Hidden Gender Biases

2. Women are more talkative than men

Two Canadian researchers summarized the results of 63 studies that examined how much men and women spoke in different contexts. Women talked more than men in only two studies.

In a business setting, there’s ample evidence men talk more than women.

Notwithstanding this data, women can be perceived as being “too talkative” even when they speak less than men.

3. Misguided perceptions of equality

Men tend to see equality where it doesn’t exist. If a group is comprised of 17% women, men believe it’s more like 50/50. When the group is 32% women, men believe women are in the majority.

Other studies have shown that a group has to consist of 60-80% women before women actually speak as much as men.

4. Women should behave in a stereotypical manner

I’m sure my career has not been hampered by the fact that I didn’t smile more, swear less, show more regret, display more confidence or exhibit other behavior consistent with the submissive stereotype confronted by women daily.

I also can’t recall anyone criticizing my appearance or even commenting on what I was wearing.

How many women in business can say that?

5. Single moms should stay at home.

For many years, I was a single dad with two children. During that time, I had a very demanding job as a lawyer in New York City.

I remember all the compliments I received about how “amazing” it was that I could work and look after two teenagers.

The perception of single women is quite different.

One study found single mothers were blamed for their plight. They were thought to have engaged in bad judgment, an accidental pregnancy or faulted for the failure of their relationship.

Another fascinating study provided fictional narratives about a single parent. They were identical except for the gender of the single parent.

The mothers in the narrative were rated, “less secure, less fortunate, less responsible, less satisfied with life, less moral, less reputable, less of a good parent, and less economically advantaged,” compared to the ratings of the single father.

Reactions to date

The reactions (comments in APViewpoint) to my prior articles on this subject are illustrative of the problem. Most men (and some women) thought the disparity in treatment was related to a choice by some women not to be as career-oriented as their male counterparts.

Most women who contacted me privately or on social media were well aware of the existence of gender discrimination and were frustrated by our collective failure to come up with a way to deal effectively with it.

Being aware of the biases that may be subtly influencing employment decisions is the first step towards eliminating gender discrimination.

For more information about marketing and branding opportunities with Dan’s upcoming book, Ask: How to Relate to Anyone, click here.

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