Ways Leaders Can Address Occupational Sexism in the Workplace

A myriad of social issues exists throughout the complex society in which we live. Our places of employment are a microcosm of the social dynamics that we can consciously observe if we are open to do so. In the workplace, the culture of the workplace is the responsibility of all (Barlow & Sibley, 2018). Prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors are not an exception when discussing some of the myriad of social ills that persist locally, nationally, and internationally. Addressing factors that may cause division or serve as a catalyst for more extensive morale-defeating dynamics against a positive culture must be acknowledged. Formal administration throughout all levels of an organization is responsible for ensuring that professional and ethical conduct are aligned with our roles as part of the human capital (Nagel, 2022). In societies throughout the world, the plight for equality for women continues to be a social issue with no singular remedy for resolution (Bagshaw, 2019). Even within the workforce, gender inequality and sexism continue to exist overtly and covertly. Further exacerbating this unique, but important trend, are how stereotypes perpetuate sex roles and how some may perceive what women can or cannot do.

Understanding the Importance of Addressing Sexism

It is imperative to celebrate the equality of women and to authentically internalize the importance of eradicating the phrase “a man’s job” from one’s vocabulary as it exudes a high degree of ignorance. Sexism, as a social justice issue within the work environment, has direct and indirect influence on the overall professional culture (Bagshaw, 2019; Barlow & Sibley, 2018). Addressing sexism involves resolving misconceptions of gender sex roles within the workplace. Failure to address sexism on any level has a negative and systemic impact of how employees perform their duties, lowers job satisfaction rate amongst employees, impacts mental health negatively, and can lead to sexual harassment claims that can become litigious and ruin the reputation of an enterprise (Bagshaw, 2019; Barlow & Sibley, 2018).

“Tabitha”

Let us look at the case study of Tabitha, a female firefighter. She graduated from the St. Oloff Fire Academy in 2004 and has been employed with the Sandhills Fire Department in St. Oloff ever since. Over her nearly 19-year career, she has worked through the ranks and has been second-in-command as Assistant Fire Chief since 2019. Clifford, the current Fire Chief, is retiring from the department in August and Tabitha’s name has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Fire Chief. Though Tabitha is generally liked by her male counterparts, gossip began to circulate that eventually got back to Tabitha. Though the gossip was bothersome to her relative to her perceived personality, disparaging comments about her inability to lead as head of the department made her the most upset. Tabitha schedules a formal meeting with Cliff to discuss the feedback she has learned, and Cliff decides to take immediate action to bring hopeful camaraderie back into the culture of the fire department.

Change Management: The Application of Lewin’s Three-Step Model

Organizations and the human capital throughout an enterprise serve unique purposes relative to fulfilling the mission, goals, objectives, and ultimate vision. Change management is an iterative process that is individualized to the complex dynamics of an organization and embodies transitional strategies aligned to methods, tools, and technology(ies) (Bakari et al., 2017; Jex & Britt, 2014; Nagel, 2022). Lewin’s Three-Step Model is considered an evidence-based conceptual framework that keeps people and the skills they possess as primary relative to an identified change process (Bakari et al., 2017; Jex & Britt, 2014; Nagel, 2022). Lewin’s model consists of unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. The current state of an organization relates to unfreezing (Bakari et al., 2017; Jex & Britt, 2014; Nagel, 2022). This means that there is an acknowledgment of changes needing to be made, and a defined course of action has been conceptualized toward hopeful, effective implementation. Tabitha’s communication with Cliff, the Fire Chief, allowed for Cliff to acknowledge the seriousness of her claims of sexism associated with false stereotypical claims of her sex invalidating her for a probable promotion. Thus, Cliff’s leadership role in ‘unfreezing’ started with conceptualizing a plan to address the issue at its infancy and to begin an immediate dialogue with the cadre of fire professionals working with the local network of fire stations. The change process, or the changing, is where the new processes are implemented and, with optimistic careful consideration, limited negative impact affects the internal workforce while progressively adapting to the newly learned and/or implemented processes (Bakari et al., 2017; Jex & Britt, 2014; Nagel, 2022). Change began with Cliff’s mandatory meeting with fire station staff to discuss gossip, inappropriate conversations, and facts resultant from experiences of anonymous staff members feeling violated due to disrespectful and disparaging comments. Because Tabitha came to Cliff in confidence, Cliff’s job is to protect Tabitha and to facilitate a team-based discussion highlighting a change on the horizon. At the mandatory meeting, Cliff indicated to staff that there will be cultural sensitivity training held on a specific topic once monthly. The rationale explained was to develop an enhanced understanding of issues relative to public safety and diversity as it aligns with the mission statement of the fire station. Though revisions may be made along the way due to the change process being difficult, the eventual state is to reach the final stage of freezing—meaning, focusing on maintaining homeostasis relative to the changes, with evaluative measures in place that are associated with the collective strategic plan and/or planning process (Bakari et al., 2017; Jex & Britt, 2014; Nagel, 2022). The goal during the final stage is for changes to be accepted and for an increase in morale and motivation (Bakari et al., 2017; Jex & Britt, 2014; Nagel, 2022). Cliff could ensure that freezing is aligned with data so that an assessment of departmental balance can be triangulated from qualitative and quantitative survey questions analyzed via analytics from the SurveyMonkey, a free online survey developer. Trends can be identified between months, along with any other collateral data being kept ensuring that all employees of the department are accountable for application of the viable tools learned.

What Can Transformative Leaders Do to Combat Sexism?

The role of leadership within any organization is to set the tone and to ensure that collegiality is facilitated through a workforce that exemplifies respect and order. Sexism cannot and should never be acceptable, even though subtle tones or comments that can be construed as microaggressions. Leaders should understand their organizational demographics and ensure that policies are fully understood relative to verbal or physical sexism (Bagshaw, 2019). Empowering women within the workplace involves ensuring that opportunities are equitable and that the holistic well-being of all is acknowledged as a necessity towards facilitating positive mental health. Transformative leaders use innovation to develop strategies that address any diversity, equity, inclusivity issues so that fallacies associated within any of these areas do not thwart organizational progress and being mission-focused towards driving successful outcomes (Jex & Britt, 2014). Valuing women is essential in all facets of our society and throughout societies existent across the world. Facilitating professional development opportunities as outlets to showcase gender equality and to establish mentor-mentee relationships in which women in leadership mentor men assists with progressively eliminating biases related to gender (Barlow & Sibley, 2018). It is urged that you are introspective and that you fully understand the ethical principles that align with professionalism. Lastly, but equally essential, leaders must continuously stay abreast with trends relative to social justice issues, such as gender inequality and sexism, and think of how influential allyship can be towards being a vessel towards change that can start within your place of business.

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