The Stereotype of the Emotional Woman
Women are used to being outnumbered by men at work, especially the higher up you move within an organization. We've learned over the course of our careers to navigate male-dominated board rooms as best we can, but what has been done to lessen or erase this dangerous stereotype of women being "too emotional" and thus, not leadership material; "too emotional" and therefore not good enough for that promotion; "too emotional" and not taken seriously?
Throughout my career, I've witnessed how men and women are treated differently when it comes to showing emotion. We all know the stereotype of the assertive woman who was perceived as pushy or disruptive, while her male counterpart was perceived as passionate or determined. It's time for organizations to step up and help combat this stereotype. It is affecting women's advancement and negatively impacting careers.
There are numerous articles and research studies pointing to the inequality between women and men in the workplace. Heilman, M. E. (2001) describes how gender stereotypes prevent women’s ascent up the organizational ladder in the Journal of Social Issues. Her article posits that "the scarcity of women at the upper levels of organizations is a consequence of gender bias in evaluations. It is proposed that gender stereotypes and the expectations they produce about both what women are like (descriptive) and how they should behave (prescriptive) can result in devaluation of their performance, denial of credit to them for their successes, or their penalization for being competent."
In today's world, where more and more companies are realizing the importance of empathy and emotional intelligence, it's perplexing that many women are afraid to express themselves authentically, lest they be labeled "emotional." I am sad to admit that there have been times I held back on sharing thoughts and ideas in fear of being labeled "emotional" and thus, hurting my career. As I type this, I realize how disturbing that is, and I'm saddened to think how many other women out there have done the same.
I want to be clear that this is not an attack on men, nor do I think that all, or even most, men believe women are too emotional to succeed in business (or elsewhere). That said, this stereotype does persist. My hope is that by writing this I can spread awareness of the damage such a stereotype can do.
Contact me at hello@nicolebarile.com if you’d like to learn more or visit me here. #futureofglobalwork