Fading in the background

How do professional women navigate workplace barriers? Often, by fading into the background.

Women face the "glass ceiling" due to systemic constraints like the double bind, where assertive women are seen as aggressive, and agreeable women as weak. Additionally, women often bear disproportionate care responsibilities, yet the "ideal worker" is expected to have no outside obligations.

The Gender and the Economy Institute at the Rotman School of Management recently shared a summary of a 2-year study at a large US nonprofit, which found that some women professionals minimize their visibility to navigate these barriers (Ballakrishnen, Fielding-Singh, Magliozzi, 2018).? This strategy of "intentional invisibility" is used to navigate gender biases and unequal expectations in the workplace. By being competent but quiet, women avoid being labeled as bossy or overly assertive.

Avoiding conflicts: Women often downplay their visibility to avoid backlash in biased environments. For example, a software engineer in the study hesitated to join a "Women in Engineering" group, fearing it would overshadow her professional identity.

Maintaining authenticity: Many women view visibility as self-promotion, which conflicts with their mission-oriented and communal values.

Achieving work-life balance: Women with families often opt for low-prestige, low-stress roles to balance career and family responsibilities.

There are important implications for workplaces: organizations have the opportunity to mitigate gender biases that penalize assertive women by fostering environments that challenge traditional gender roles, supporting women's advancement. Further, recognizing the value of diverse work and leadership styles, including non-hierarchical and collaborative ones, and understanding how family responsibilities hinder a woman’s career progression can unlock the full potential of women. ?

Narinder

New Power Labs