Double Standards, Call-Outs & The Pink Time Tax
5 in 5 - Brave & Heart HeartBeat #141 ❤️
In the wake of the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, now seems like a good time to look at the age-old question about the working woman – can she have it all? – and deconstruct the reason why this question is NOT the question we need to be asking right now.
What about how the “pink tax” rears its head in the workplace, how to get more women in leadership positions, and what to actually do when you witness sexism in the workplace?
Let’s get into it.
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#1 - Jacinda Ardern & the BBC Headline – Can Women Really Have It All?
When reporting the resignation of Jacinda Ardern, the BBC really went all in on misogyny by literally reducing her resignation to the question of her gender, and the outdated question of “Can Women Really Have it All?”. They’ve since changed the name of the article, but guys, we noticed.
First of all, they didn’t even just slip it into the article, they thought the actual title was the best way to make it clear what they think about women in a position of power.
Then throughout the article they basically focus on the fact that Ardern is a mother, noting that women will “pore over her words with particular interest”. Ardern did note that she no longer had enough in the tank to do the job as it should be done, and that she was looking forward to being there for her daughter when she started school – but at no moment did she say she was resigning due to an impact on her family life.
In 2018 she was forced to state that yes she could do the job at the same time as being a mother, and sure, while she was one of the first prime ministers (after Pakistan) to give birth in office, she certainly isn’t the only world leader to ever have had children while she was in power – just one of the only female ones.
Boris Johnson has about one hundred children, of which at least one must have been born while he was in office, and let’s note that after his decision to resign the fact that he was a father was never brought up, and certainly not in a BBC news headline. Basically nobody expects Boris to have it all, what does “it all” even mean? Why is Ardern being judged to such a higher standard of what she should be aiming to have and balance, just because she’s a woman?
She stated that she didn’t have enough left in the tank, as a human. Not as a woman – she literally said the word human.
The fact that the BBC really went with this headline shows just how outdated the views are on women and their position in the workplace. The fact that they changed it at least shows that now, some people aren’t happy about it.
#2 - The “Pink Tax” In the Workplace
We all know about the “pink tax” – the name given to the sneakily increased prices on consumer products aimed at women in comparison to those aimed at men – i.e. razors, tampons, shampoo.
In a Time article published this week, a number of researchers specialising in management and business administration proposed that women face an unequal “pink tax” on their time, as well as on their money.
There is of course the stereotypical division of household labour and childcare which means that working women are often lumped with the brunt of the work in the home in addition to their positions outside the home, but the article makes an interesting point about how this time tax comes into play inside the workplace as well.
Women are more often asked and expected to take on “office housework” – described as necessary but non-promotable tasks such as taking notes, helping new hires, bringing in cake for colleagues and organising leaving or birthday cards and getting coffees for the office. Aligned with gender stereotypes one study found that women volunteer up to 50% more than men for these tasks – because it’s just the done thing.
Women are also less likely to delegate to other employees than men, partly due to guilt about potentially burdening their employees. Finally, women negotiate for time on their work tasks at a lower rate than men. One study showed that men were more than twice as likely as women to request an extension when their deadline was adjustable. Women don’t feel entitled to this time – unsurprising when you look at the difference in how women’s time is judged in comparison to men’s (i.e. Jacinda vs. Boris).
One of the suggestions on how to solve the time poverty issue for women in the workplace is for workplaces to explicitly empower both women and men to use flexible work for family responsibilities – but maybe boycotting “office housework” could be another great place to start.
#3 - What’s The Deal With Menopause Leave
Circling the workplace discourse at the same time as the Jacinda Ardern burnout/being a woman resignation is a debate about, and eventual rejection of the idea of menopause leave for women in the workplace.
There are some strong opinions, ranging from a woman writer for the Telegraph being glad that the law was rejected, as she believes women are more than just their hormones, to outcry about the idea that the law could lead to discrimination against men, and finally a prediction that the rejection of the law will lead to a drain on talent in the workplace with older women being forced out.
The Women and Equalities Committee of the House of Commons, which produced a report with recommendations based on the impact of menopause called the rejection a “missed opportunity to protect vast numbers of talented and experienced women from leaving the workforce”.
However, HR experts note that the introduction of menopause in the workplace as a concept is already a step in the right direction when it comes to helping employees work to their best – just because a law hasn’t been passed doesn’t mean employers can’t open a dialogue on how best to help women facing these issues.
#4 - How To Respond To Sexist Comments In The Workplace
While a lot of the advice on how to empower women in the workplace centres around the importance of experienced female role models and male allies – we found this article pretty useful in giving actual advice on how to react when slighted by sexist behaviour in the workplace.
The idea that sexism can be embedded in the way people talk at work and lead to “undervaluing” women in the workplace is illustrated by examples given by the author. Such as a women whose boss told her “not to worry her pretty little head” and another who shared an idea in a meeting only to see her boss give the idea to a male co-worker to implement in her place.
While there are a lot of things companies can do to show they value women in the workplace such as addressing the gender pay gap and focusing on a culture that educated against sexism, there are also things individual employees can do. The article gives the following advice:
1 - Prepare. It can be difficult to reply in the spur of the moment, but if you know you might be coming up against a troll in the workplace, prepare ahead. Questions work well. For example, “What do you mean by that exactly?” Force them to dissect their terrible behaviour – or at least say it outright so they can be dealt with accordingly.
2. Take action. When you hear comments or jokes that undervalue women, actually push back. For example,a simple “Ouch” can be pretty poignant. Or outright say – that’s not the way we talk anymore. This is really important for male allies too – put your money where your mouth is.
3. Call them out. Quickly point out sexist behaviour or comments and offer a solution. This may not be aligned with the culture of your company now, but it can be.
For English prudes, this may be pretty difficult, but let’s suck it up and get on the right side of workplace history guys.
#5 - Davos 2023 – How To Get More Women Into Leadership Positions
On the very day that arguably the most famous and scrutinised woman in power resigned, (Jacinda Ardern, if you weren’t paying attention up top) women leaders met in Davos to discuss how to reach gender parity in leadership.
They discussed the alarming fact that it will now take 132 years to close the global gender gap, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022 - up from 100 years pre-pandemic. They also described the pandemic as a “shecession” due to the level at which it disproportionately took women out of the workplace.
They discussed the ways in which women role models and men in leadership positions must be working to help open doors to women in leadership roles, noting that these things will not just happen naturally.
Despite being the bane of many a misogynist’s life, they argued that quotas ARE needed for women to get a foot in the door – it’s a simple fact, backed up by research. Not because there aren’t women with the necessary skills, but because there’s so much else stacked against them that isn’t stacked against men.
The quote that stuck was from university of Sciences Po dean and former Minister of Foreign Affairs – “I realized there were very often cases where I would be the only woman in the room, for no reason. There were very smart women outside the room, but they were simply not invited.”
Leadership in the workplace need to be actively inviting women in – and hopefully not waiting 132 years to do it.
Brave & Heart over and out.
Bonus
M&Ms Characters Axed
After facing backlash last year for becoming too woke by changing the female characters shoes from heels to boots and less sexy shoes, to facing the wrath of fox news again this month for bringing out a packet with only female M&Ms in (Shocking!) – M&M’s have decided to get rid of their mascots altogether.
Is this real drama, fake publicity drama, or as some have suggested a run up to a crazy comeback during the superbowl ads.
Either way, the most shocking part of the story is that it made televised news in the US.
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