How Gender-Based Stereotypes Make Workplaces Unsafe for Marginalised Genders

Gender-based stereotypes are harmful presuppositions that can often play into biases within the workplace. Consequently, stereotypes if unchecked can also often lead to prejudiced behaviour and larger forms of discrimination. While diversity and inclusion mandates are an important way to ensure employees feel comfortable and safe within their workplace, addressing stereotypes is an essential way to identify how work environments become unsafe for employees.

Marginalised genders are at the risk of facing gender-based stereotypes within their place of work. This creates a disconnect between them and the workplace culture which in turn also impacts work output. Moreover, stereotypes create a hindrance within the organisational vertical. This creates a homogenous leadership and in turn also hinders growth for marginalised employee groups as well as for the organisation.

What are Gender-Based Stereotypes?

Gender-based stereotypes are cognitive assumptions that individuals hold about particular genders. These stereotypes are most often shaped by societal conditioning. Individuals are constantly faced with numerous presuppositions about different social groups. These presuppositions can then take the form of rigid thoughts and beliefs that individuals hold about social groups. Marginalised genders within the workplace are then faced with these presuppositions. These are harmful not only for the employees but also for decision makers in the workplace.

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While one may understand the gender based stereotypes, it is difficult for readers to point out when stereotypes creep in within their own decision making processes. Some examples of gender-based stereotypes that can be identified are:

1) Assumptions that women cannot take up positions of leadership due to a lack of agentic traits. Agentic traits refers to traits associated with self-assertion.

2) Many organisations shy away from promoting women to positions that require handling of finances. This stems from the age old understanding that women are unable to handle numbers as sociologically, men are better adept to handle the same.

3) Microaggressions, in the form of questioning a woman’s stern nature at the workplace also stem from stereotypes. The understanding that women are supposed to be meek and soft-spoken, even in the workplace and the consequent surprise when an employee doesn’t cater to the same is an example of gender-based stereotype.

4) Biases against marginalised genders within the workplace also stem from stereotypes. A bias against a woman who may have filial duties to take care of as someone who will not be capable of handling workload at the workplace is another example of gender-based stereotype.

5) Leaders, supervisors and managers may also feel the need to micro-manage employees of marginalised genders within the workplace. This stems from a lack of awareness and training wherein their stereotypical understanding of women automatically being inefficient at their work creeps up.

Stereotypes within the workplace can take subtle or more aggressive forms. In subtle form, stereotypes may manifest as microaggressions. For example, attachments of being overly emotional during work presentations with women are stereotypical representations. These can covert into microaggressions when managers hint at the same while a woman is presenting at work. These stereotypes may cause emotional distress to the employee while harming their productivity.

How can Gender-Based Stereotypes Negatively Impact Workplace Culture?

Gender-based stereotypes can have negative impacts on workplace culture wherein, certain employee groups are automatically alienated from certain activities and processes. This isolates a talent pool that would help workplaces better their output and productivity. Moreover, this also inhibits collaborative endeavors within the workplace. Marginalised genders may feel unsafe to reach out to colleagues or supervisors with ideas and projects that could potentially improve organisational output. Moreover, these stereotypes can also limit their connectivity with the organisation’s cultue. This not only creates a disconnect for employees with the kind of work they are doing but also impacts how they contribute to the growth of the organisation.

Often, gender-based stereotypes can also manifest as discriminatory behaviour. These are harmful for career advancement for marginalised genders. Stereotypical attachments of women not being able to take on roles in the finance team are common within the workplace. Gender-based stereotypes then have negative impacts on how workplaces build their teams and moreover on how workplaces shape their culture. Obstructions to employees solely based on their gender has detrimental consequences on how an organisation moves forward and also how employees within that organisation are able to advance in their career.

How can Advisories Help Workplaces Combat Stereotypes?

Advisories like Ungender have in-depth understanding of how gender-based stereotypes are conceptualised within workplaces. Experience with working with a variety of different organisations also helps advisories understand how training and sensitization programs can help decision makers within the workplace combat stereotypes. Moreover, advisories are also able to put in place long-standing training programs that can help organisations address biases within their workplace and acknowledge the same. Bias training programs are an essential way for organisations to ensure gender-based stereotypes do not creep up into decision making processes.

 

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Diversity and inclusion advisories are also able to curate specialised programs that not only emphasize on raising awareness but also ensure policies and processes are in place. Gender-based stereotypes cannot be fully addressed without the help of measures that actively work to ensure equitable distribution of opportunity and space for marginalised gender groups within the workplace. Advisories hence, help organisations address and acknowledge deep rooted gender-based stereotypes while ensuring that both the employee groups and organisational culture remain safe and comfortable.

Written by: Anuska Roy

Ungender Insights is the product of our learning from advisory work at Ungender. Our team specializes in advising workplaces on workplace diversity and inclusion. Write to us at contact@ungender.in to understand how we can partner with your organization to build a more inclusive workplace.