At all stages of their career women are likely to be receiving gender-biased feedback – and often colleagues might not even realise they are doing or saying anything that disadvantages women. Her findings and research show that men get critical feedback on average 60% of the time at work, whilst that figure skyrockets to 91% if you are a woman and if you are in menopause, the disadvantage doubles.
It has a huge impact on women’s careers and the workplace at large.
Already, there have been reports of women being taken by surprise after a long period working remotely at some of the behaviours on display on the return to the office.
Founder of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions, Fiona McKay is a leading expert on gender biased feedback in the workplace and says her mission is to eliminate it completely. She says there are phrases and behaviours from colleagues that women at work should be looking out for when they go back to the office as they might be a sign that gender-biased feedback is at play. And the most common feedback women receive is based on their personalities rather than their performance, plus their communication styles are overly critiqued compared to men.
And she says, that for women continuing to work remotely warning signs can also be evident over zoom or video calls.
Importantly gender-biased feedback doesn’t have to come from men. Women can, and do, also give other women gender-biased feedback – often unconsciously – especially if they themselves have worked in a gender-biased culture for some time.
Comments Fiona McKay: “Even when we intend to be completely fair, scientists say our brains have a hard time remaining impartial. Whether you are returning to the office or working remotely there are signs of gender-bias to look out for and to challenge. Removing or reducing gender bias is not difficult, and the first step is to recognise it is happening. My mission is to get rid of gender-biased feedback in the workplace and to stop women being evaluated according to their gender rather than their performance”.
Lightbulb Leadership Solution’s #Feedback First campaign aims to level the playing field and advance the understanding of gender bias globally. The company’s research shows there may be an implicit gender bias that manifests in:
She believes gender bias is something that all workplaces should be challenging, being more open to guidance, challenge and development. If left unchecked a pattern can emerge, often becoming codified into the workplace culture. This inadvertently influences the gender pay gap, equal access to leadership opportunities, discretionary bonus awards and potential poverty in retirement for women.
And to ‘break the bias’, Fiona believes women need to understand the impact that feedback has on their roles and careers, challenge feedback given and amplify that feedback needs to be based on their performance rather than their personalities.
About the authorFiona McKay is a business-strategist, leader and entrepreneur and the founder of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions. Lightbulb’s Menopause Maze TM method is a game-changing evidence based workplace development and online coaching programme and online community professional women that has been shown to equip organisations and high-performing women with new tools that retains and develops their talent, improves career health, transforms career wealth and maintains career momentum for women as they transition through menopause.
