Men gain influence; Women gain…weight?
I’m preparing a research project on the different ways that men and women gain influence. As a diligent researcher, I went to the literature first to see what has already been done.
Google scholar search 1: “How women gain influence”
Results:
Google scholar search 2: “How men gain influence”
Results:
Notice anything?
Yeah, APPARENTLY men gain influence while women gain pregnancy weight.
Why did this happen?
Let’s see what the science says.
This little search represents a phenomenon known as “male default thinking” or our bias use “man” as our default human or example. We see this happen in all kinds of places and ways.
It’s in…
our language when we use “he” “guys” or “dudes” to represent a group
our signage like the little green or white “man” indicating it’s time to cross the street
our settings for the temperature in the office
our algorithms
our decisions on how to price bus and train fares
our city’s choices on which roads and sidewalks to plow first after a snow storm
our healthcare system
our car safety features
and, most relevant to today’s posts, our views on leadership
When it comes to leadership, ample research demonstrates that we associate leadership and management with stereopically masculine traits. This “think manager-think male” phenomenon has been demonstrated across the globe (Shein et al., 1993; 1996; Braun et al., 2017).
And this thinking even permeates the research! Look at the results from the google search. When I focused my search on “men,” results focused on generic studies on influence, leadership, and expertise. But when I focused my search on “women,” the same general results no longer seemed to imply!
Now, of course, there are also algorithm issues here. Firstly, the algorithm prioritizes or searches different things based on what it has been told is more or less important. So even though I searched “how women gain influence”, it seemed to prioritize these words differently based on “women” - as if any search about women will obviously be about babies and pregnancy…meanwhile, any search about men will obviously be about influence and leadership! (MAJOR eye roll) Importantly, the algorithm is merely a reflection of the available data and what is has been trained to produce. Meaning, the algorithm is producing results in line with the same biases as us!
Together, this points to just how deep our male-default thinking runs. It’s in our workplaces, our road signs, our research….and as a result, it biases the information we consume and learn from.
Why should we care?
Male-default thinking assumes everyone experiences the world the same way (white) men do. As a result, we have a built a world (including our workplaces) that isn’t inclusive or accessible to everyone. And this has nothing to do with capability!! It is simply that our world was largely designed by men and they built a world that works for them.
This bias is a large reason as to why we see so few women and people of color in leadership positions. We have an implicit expectation of who belongs in leadership - white men.
From a moral perspective, this is, scientifically speaking, pretty shitty. It’s inequitable and it shows a lack of concern for and awareness of how others experience the world in which we live.
From a safety perspective, it means that women are less safe when they are in a car crash because car crash test dummies are designed in the likeliness of men.
From a health perspective, it means that women are less likely to receive appropriate treatment because most of the research in medicine has been conducted on men.
From a business perspective, we also limit our talent. Our implicit bias for selecting white men into leadership roles means we limit our talent pool and don’t always choose the best person for the job.
I could go on, but I think you get the point.
How can we fix it?
Reflect! It’s start with taking an honest and hard look at our own thinking!
Ask yourself:
Where do I rely on “male-default thinking” in our day-to-day lives?
What drives this?
What are some ways I can reduce or eliminate this type of thinking?
Educate yourself! There are excellent resources out there that can help you better understand male-default thinking and its impact on our decision making and how we live.
Call it out! When you see someone demonstrating male-default thinking (and once you start looking for it, trust me, you’ll see it everywhere), kindly challenge them. You can use comments like, “it sounds like your focusing on one group here, have you thought about how this might influence other groups?”
Set an example! Male-default thinking is pervasive and no matter how hard you try, you’ll still be influenced by it. But when you do catch yourself doing this, don’t be afraid to call it out and correct yourself.
Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
Painted Wolves: A New Model of Leadership from Powerful Women [book]
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men [book]
Bias in Medicine [video]
References
Braun et al (2017). Think manager-think male. Think follower-think female: Gender bias in implicit followership theories. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 47(7), 377-388.
Schein et al (1993). Think manager, think male. Management Development Review, 6(3).
Schein et al. (1996). Think manager-think male: A global phenomenon? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17(1), 33-41.