Read on Twitter
After reading the Tokyo Olympic Chief’s comments about women who ‘talk too much’, I wanted to share a short thread about women in leadership (especially in sport, where they are woefully underrepresented), and the importance of them having a voice: https://twitter.com/nikkeiasia/status/1357199054833352704
Mori’s comments aren’t just outdated, offensive, or ‘just’ a comedic gaffe from a man in a position of power and decision-making in sport who was openly appointed because of his business connections.. they’re incorrect https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2021/02/03/tokyo-olympics-head-thinks-women-talk-too-much---research-says-they-dont/amp/
In a review of 56 studies examining which sex talks more, authors found only two of the studies revealed women talked more than men.
A massive 34 of the studies showed the opposite, that men talked more than women
https://web.stanford.edu/~eckert/PDF/JamesDrakich.pdf
A massive 34 of the studies showed the opposite, that men talked more than women
https://web.stanford.edu/~eckert/PDF/JamesDrakich.pdf
Much has been spoken about of the disparity at academic conferences, or the inequality of women speakers at colloquiums.
When determining who should be invited to speak, there are more men invited and they each speak more than women https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/19/study-finds-men-speak-twice-often-do-women-colloquiums
When determining who should be invited to speak, there are more men invited and they each speak more than women https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/19/study-finds-men-speak-twice-often-do-women-colloquiums
Similarly, teachers perceive that girls speak more, even when they are measured not to. This has impacts on engagement in learning environments, and can serve to enable only those who can confidently challenge classmates or ‘know’ all the answers
https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_68785_7/component/file_506904/content
https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_68785_7/component/file_506904/content
To make things worse, if women do speak up, they sometimes face backlash for their assertiveness. A study found that men executives who spoke more often were perceived to be more competent. Women executives who did the same were perceived as less competent https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0001839212439994
It turns out who speaks more has less to do with gender and more to do with higher status. As the @Forbes article points out: “in an Olympic Committee meeting with five women & 19 men, odds are that the men have higher status and are speaking more as well.”
What can you do?
1. Ensure people of all genders are able to speak in your teams, your meetings, and your working environments (where appropriate)
2. Support women in leadership to speak and not be spoken over, silenced or dismissed as ‘anxious’ ‘competitive’ or annoying
1. Ensure people of all genders are able to speak in your teams, your meetings, and your working environments (where appropriate)
2. Support women in leadership to speak and not be spoken over, silenced or dismissed as ‘anxious’ ‘competitive’ or annoying
3. Look at the leadership in your organisation & if imbalanced: ask why? Are you really welcoming diverse voices, opinions, and different ways of thinking? Do you really ensure people who aren’t all ‘the same’ have a voice?
4. And if you’re the boss: speak less & listen more
4. And if you’re the boss: speak less & listen more
Happy Friday 
