How to deal with 'subtle sexism' in office?

• Across workplaces, women are often deprived of opportunities for growth, thanks to the ‘subtle sexism’ that prevails.
  
• Four in five women globally feel an exclusion at work, says a study of 240,000 men and women, conducted by the authors of the book ‘Work with Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men and Women at Work’.
  
• In spite of being well qualified, few Indian women put their talents to work. The Labour Force Participation Rate is at 27%, compared to the global average of 48%, as per a 2018 World Bank report.
  

Apart from the gender pay gap, there is something else that is bothering women at work. They are deprived of opportunities for growth, thanks to the ‘subtle sexism’ at the workplace.

Four in five women globally feel an exclusion at work, says a study of 240,000 men and women, conducted by the authors of the book ‘Work with Me: The 8 Blind Spots Between Men and Women at Work’. Their male colleagues however are unaware of the problem since 92% of them don’t believe that there is exclusion or a barrier to professional success.

‘Hit them with data’

Many women don’t get the chance to speak up to explain ideas, strike work-related conversations with managers. It is defined as a ‘male chauvinist environment’. It includes limiting chances of mentorship, overlooking ideas, excessive counter questions at the meetings and more.

Many female executives state that male colleagues tend to cut their conversations or reiterate ideas at meetings to earn brownie points. These actions are not worthy reporting to the HR about, but yet demotivating enough and translate to little career growth. In fact, in many cases, women complain that a ‘band of men’ tend to chat informally and take decisions without consultation from the female members of the team. And then there is mansplaining where male team members find the need to explain a concept excessively to women.

“We talk so much about issues of gender inequity, but there’s not always a lot of solutions. Statistics can be your verbal karate. Anytime somebody tries to argue against this stuff, I just try to hit them with data.,” Jessica Bennett, author of the book ‘Feminism Fight Club: An official survival manual for a sexist workplace,’ told the Huffington Post.

‘Zero tolerance policy’

According to author Ira Trivedi, male chauvinism at the workplace should be a thing of the past and this will only come by way of adopting global best practices.

“I am a believer of zero tolerance policy. If you are constantly being subject to chauvinism, you can take up the matter with the POSH Committee,” she said. The POSH (Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was formulated in 2013 to ensure a safe, equitable and secure work environment for women in India.

In spite of being well qualified, few Indian women put their talents to work. The Labour Force Participation Rate is at 27%, compared to the global average of 48%, as per a 2018 World Bank report.

“This deficit will continue to exist unless we foster a climate of safety and security amongst the women folk,” Trivedi explained.

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