It’s 2021, and sleeping is almost a crime. Yes, to amount to anything in today’s world. You have to be awake and alert. Do you want to be rich? Then you must burn the midnight oil. Do you have an opinion you wish to share? Then you must be WOKE. Anything less, you risk failure, shame, ridicule, and in some cases, the wrath of an unforgiving mob.
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Suppose we could go back in time to say the early 18th and 19th centuries. A time some people might describe as simpler times. The workplace is a holy grail of men—an all-boys club with little to no room for women. In 2021, an average organization does have its fair share of female representation. It’s no longer strange, and we simply call it Diversity. Of course, we have come a long way from when we merely saw women as inferior and incompetent.
Nevertheless, in several industries, there is still a lot to be done about female representation overall. Also, there remains the challenge of women rising to the peak in their respective fields. It is fair to say that currently, women in high positions are often the exception and not the norm.
According to Adeva IT report, about 25% of women are in tech jobs. A similar trend can be spotted when you look at industries like engineering, politics, finance, oil and gas, and much more. While there some semblance of balance in industries like medicine. There is no doubt that high-earning industries are still run mostly by men.
Although women are earning degrees faster than men in recent times, I think there might be some flaws in the hiring process. I have observed that job offers that target women serve to fill some diversity quota. So, I must ask, are employers keen on having women in men-dominated workplaces?
Guess what? I work with women, and I will be sharing my perspective on what it is like to work with women. As with most things in life, there are positives and negatives. The same is valid for working with women, especially if they are the minority.
Team dynamics play a key role in productivity as well as efficiency. In an all-boys setting, things are casual, competitive, and sometimes uniquely dumb. I remember our first female hire. Joy was insanely smart, as expected of everyone on our team. Plus, we surprisingly had a boost in hygiene. I credit that to her presence.
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Despite her unquestionable intelligence, I often observed her need to perfect every task before submitting it. Also, she seemed to form a bond with just one boy on the team. The office banter reduced, especially in moments when she was present. Compared to most people, she tends to over-deliver on her assignments. So, as team leader, I realized that she could either be entirely off or overly correct.
Previously, I could casually pass comments to the boys on various things, from interests to work to their personal lives. With the lady, I found myself carefully censoring myself around her. Even as our team grew to accommodate more women, the same patterns remain. Now, our work became more formal, uptight, less fun, but more productive.
Over the years, the women on the team rarely initiate conversations on promotions and pay, unlike their male counterparts. From a business point of view, I found that it was cheaper to hire women for similar roles, as they tend to ask less than their male colleagues. While there is an argument to be made for effectiveness, team chemistry does suffer.
Why does the team chemistry matter? It is work, and as adults, more than half our lives will be spent at work. It matters that I should be able to freely bond with my colleagues if we assume that we are working towards a common goal. With women in the workplace, issues of communication and sensitivity come up. With people censoring themselves, while good, it is hard to express view comfortably. In my experience, communication, especially at the management level, impacts growth.
As a result, I find myself asking the question, what is the best way to establish effective communication at the workplace without making women feel uncomfortable? Strange as it may seem, I did observe that women on the team react differently to comments depending on the man. For example, “you look great.” That comment could either be harmless or harassment. No one approach fits all when it came to communication nuances.
So yes, I do work with women and it is both exciting and exhausting. With the rhetoric of Men vs Women these days, I would really like to do away with the exhausting part. However, I must mention that remote work has helped reduce any momentary tension in communication. I will like to hear about your experiences working with the opposite sex. Do leave a comment below.