New Data Shows Women Are More Negatively Stereotyped At Work Than Men

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Honest feedback and not shying away from the hard conversations are hallmarks of a psychologically safe workplace. It's when that feedback is unfairly biased that problems begin to make themselves known. Research from Textio on workplace bias reveals that organizations' highest performers are also getting the least helpful feedback. What's more, the same study also finds that women are negatively stereotyped at work up to seven times more often than men.

The usual subjects are the biggest culprits. "Emotional" takes the cake with 78% of women having been described by that term versus just 11% of men. "Unlikeable" was used to describe 56% of women versus 16% of men. "Difficult" is the most evenly spread of the negative stereotypes, with 32% of women, 21% of men, and 40% of non-binary and/or gender fluid people having been described as difficult at one point. More troubling than the unbalanced use of negative stereotypes is that the group at work who reported receiving the largest percentage of problematic feedback was high-performing women.

This data supports "tall poppy syndrome," which is a theory where those who achieve success or stand out are criticized or cut down by others. These high performers will find that their efforts and actions are more heavily scrutinized. Envy is often at the root of tall poppy syndrome, which makes one wonder if workplaces still don't want to see women shine too brightly— even if this desire is subconscious.

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