Sexist Comments Research: Exclusion from Work Activities & Intersectional Discrimination

To help continue educating the public on what sexism looks like, I am publishing a series of LinkedIn articles that share a sampling of these comments. This ninth article shares comments that focus on exclusion from work activities and intersectional discrimination, both part of the objectification category in our study. Here is some general background about this research: To better understand women’s experiences in the state of Utah, researchers Robbyn Scribner, Dr. April Townsend, and I collected and analyzed a wide variety of sexist comments women have experienced. Overall, about 1,750 comments were provided from nearly 850 participants for this Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) study. The goal of the research was to educate the public (both men and women) on the many forms that conscious and unconscious sexist comments can take, from shocking statements to those that are more subtle.

Background

In this study, the broader “Objectification” theme included comments in which women were viewed or treated more as objects than as human beings. Notably, many of the comments coded in this theme were much more explicit and vulgar than those included in this article. Additionally, not all responses were limited strictly to sexist comments; some respondents also reported sexist situations and behaviors such as unwelcome touching, grabbing, or groping. The analysis of the responses within the Objectification theme produced seven specific categories. I will share comments from two of these sections:

Exclusion from Work Activities: While on the surface, women’s exclusion from workplace activities may not appear to be an issue of objectification, comments in this category generally exposed attitudes of those who saw female co-workers as sex objects rather than colleagues. These 31 comments not only objectified women, but in many cases, participants said it hampered their careers as well. Women reported that these comments were most commonly made in the workplace by men in a position of authority who were 36–45 years of age.

• “I was working towards becoming a partner in my company. One of my co-workers kept mentioning that the partner who was over both of us had been telling him what he needed to do to become a partner. I had never had this conversation. I asked to meet with this partner and said, ‘Is there a reason that you don’t tell me what I need to do to be a partner?’ and he said, ‘I only talk to him about that when we go to lunch, and it would be inappropriate for me to take you to lunch, so I can’t talk to you about it.’”
• “In discussing who should travel with a candidate I was representing, an off-hand comment was made, ‘Well, you can’t travel with him because that creates perception problems.’”
• “A male colleague told me, ‘My wife has to meet every woman I travel with.’”
• “When on a student selection panel, one of the faculty said he couldn’t work with a certain very highly qualified student because his wife would be jealous and suspicious of her.”

Intersectional Discrimination: Comments in the intersectional discrimination category showed overlapping biases that focused on individual aspects of a woman’s identity rather than seeing her as a whole individual. There were 43 comments in this category, and they were most frequently made in the workplace by men between 46 and 59 years of age who were in a position of authority over the study participant. Intersectional discrimination comments focused on gender as well as age, weight, race, religion, and sexual orientation:

• “A man serving a lesbian couple said, ‘So since there is no man here, who is supposed to pay me? Who’s in charge?’”
• “After removing a coffee mug from where it shouldn’t be, I heard one of the men say, ‘ornery old bag.’”
• “One of our board members asked me where I was from. I told him Ogden. He then asked again, but this time asked the origins of my parents. When I replied that my father is American and my mother is Asian, he said to me that he thought Asian women were the most beautiful women in the world and then he touched my arm.”
• “During a deposition, opposing counsel tried to intimidate me repeatedly. At one point I made an objection to a question (totally appropriate for attorneys to do), and he stopped, looked directly at my client and said, ‘Your attorney is too young and dumb to know that she’s not allowed to object that way, but let me tell you, your attorney is wrong.’”

Speaking up against sexism can be a powerful force for reducing gender inequity around objectification, as it can help others challenge their own biases and model more equitable forms of communication. Further, being prepared to respond to everyday sexism can help women feel more confident in their interactions with others. To learn more about the research and ways women responded, read the brief, “Sexist Comments & Responses: Objectification.”

?

Prof./Dr. Susan R. Madsen is a global thought leader, author, speaker, and scholar on the topic of women and leadership. She is also the Inaugural Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Thanks to Robbyn T. Scribner and Dr. April Townsend for their great work on this study!