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Essential Insights for Women in Male-Dominated Spaces

Surviving Corporate

Are you tired of being overlooked in a male-dominated work environment? Ever felt muted in meetings or seen your ideas echoed by male colleagues to greater acclaim? Looking back on 2023, I’ve learnt valuable lessons from both my experiences and observations as an introverted woman navigating tech spaces. This article looks at challenges and recommended adjusted behaviours — -rethink your methods at work.

This research was conducted with 10 participants (5 male and 5 female of various languages and cultures from South Africa), all of whom, view their work environments as hostile or toxic. 4 participants were in Financial institutions, 4 from Tech spaces, and 2 from Government institutions. Not all participants answered every question. Here is a summary of the survey, with the remainder of the article based on 1:1 interview feedback.

Contract Type

6 participants were permanently employed while the 2 were in short term contracts and 2 in medium-long term contracts

8/10 Experienced exclusion within company based on race

Open question regarding discrimination based on their race. Participants filled in their demographic information directly in a free form input field. They were of various groups, identifying themselves as African, Asian, Black, Coloured, Indian. 8/10 participants responded that they experienced discrimination base on their race. 1/10 responded discrimination based on race and gender.

Work culture

9 participants responded to describing their work culture. The most common negative issues amongst all 9 were: Environment is stressful, dysfunctional, manipulative, authoritative culture (Power and control sits only with leadership, and they assert their hierarchical power) — no respect for ideas or opinions of employees., toxic, power struggle, gossipy, workplace bullying, racist, aggressive. 4 described their spaces as Competitive and 4 described as Collaborative, while 4 responded “Micromanagers rule”. Some positive descriptions: 3/9 trust based culture, 2/9 described as safe and tolerant.

37.5% responded their workplace enables bullying, and an equal number responded their company doesn’t enable bullying with remainder unsure

37.5% yes, 37.5% no, 25% unsure

4/9 participants responded that their Manager doesn’t demonstrate behaviour of high integrity and ethics

1 being strongly disagree, and 5 being strongly agree

5/8 responded they do not trust that if they report something to their manager they’ll respond appropriately and rectify the problem or escalate

1 being strongly disagree, and 5 being strongly agree

62.5% responded that they had personally seen or have first hand knowledge of employees or managers demonstrating unethical behaviour in the past 12 months

62.5% responded yes, 37.5% responded no

Types of unethical behaviour

Hiding important information from customers, changing sessions without consideration for the teams, misuse of power and disrespecting employees by pretending the spaces are safe to speak up, but publicly humiliating those who speak out

Other unethical behaviour witnessed

3/6 Managers don’t treat us with respect; 2/6 Colleagues lack respect for each other; 4/6 People don’t care about each other in our team — everyone for himself; 1/6 My Manager takes credit for employees work; 3/6 My Manager insists that I work outside of specific work hours — no regard for my time; 1/6 My colleagues or leads take credit for work which they didn’t do; 2/6 My Manager advocates for manipulative tactics (dark patterns) on our customers

Unfair treatment witnessed in the last year

3/4 workload is unrealistic ; 3/4 Unreasonable time pressure; 4/4 My manager ignores me; 2/4 My Manager disrespects me and never supports me; 2/4 My Manager is aware of my learning goals and purposefully blocks me; 3/4 My Manager promotes new people who join the team based on favouritism and not work performance; 1/4 People get away with doing little or now work and get promoted; 2/4 Some individuals who’s parents are on the board get special treatment/opportunities (eg. no consequences if they do the wrong thing)

Reasons for not reporting unethical or discriminating behaviour

3/6 responded Nothing would come of reporting it — no one will do anything anyway; 2/6 fear being victimised; 2/6 believe their managers are complacent, they pretend to care but don’t; 1/6 believe their managers don’t have the power to change things; 2/6 didn’t know someone to report it to who would care; 2/6 feared retaliation; 1/6 didn’t know how to report the issue; 3/6 previously had unpleasant reporting experience; 2/6 didn’t want to get anyone in trouble; 3/6 didn’t trust their manager; 1/6 was documenting and was waiting for the right platform when all relevant members are in the same space in order to raise the issues.

Based on 1:1 interviews the remainder of the issues can be summarised as follows

Understanding diverse workplace rules and boundaries

The unequal playing field: navigating gender biases

GOAL #1: Remember, we have an unequal playing field the rules, boundaries and strategies are different for everyone…

Why it matters?

Ever wondered why it is that when a male colleague repeats what you’ve said in the exact same way, his words are viewed as assertive, and yours as aggressive? Well, who knew, the workplace playing field created different boundaries for men vs women. Men have basically no limits on the workplace playing field or the assertiveness playing field, while women have a much smaller space with more boundaries. So it’s very easy for a women to “overstep their boundary” … generally people would say, “stay in your lane”. or “know your place”. 😐 Just because you believe in being fair, doesn’t mean others play by the same rules.

What can be done differently?

Assess the organisations playing field and articulate the rules, boundaries and strategies for different people and behaviours. Decide if it’s you or the size of the field holding you back. Remember you’re unlikely to change the size of the playing field. If you can’t manoeuvre and stretch those boundaries, then decide if you need to instead search for a bigger playing field.

Dealing with difficult colleagues

GOAL #2: A no-win situation: STOP protecting jerks

Why it matters?

Have you ever worked with someone who knows nothing about the work being done, but will continually tell you how to do your job. Generally they will speak negatively of others, hinting to you that they’ll also bad mouth you once your back is turned. Generally they will give you the wrong information, creating issues for the work at hand and the organisation. And despite you telling them what is wrong, they will insist you follow their direction.

What can be done differently?

Trust your instincts, jerks are jerks, it’s not your imagination. When you get blamed for the actions of them, redirect the accuser to the source of the problem. Stop shielding them or making excuses for their behaviour. As much as we want to see the good in everyone, we can’t naively keep believing that someone has good intentions when you can see how damaging they can be. Call them out and let them take responsibility for their actions.

Speaking up effectively

Break the silence: assert yourself

MISTAKE #3: HOLDING YOUR TONGUE

Why it matters?

As women, we fear being perceived as too aggressive or to too pushy.. these accusations are designed to keep us quiet. Holding your tongue just leaves you frustrated and makes you appear unwilling to speak up for what you believe in.

What can be done differently?

Take more risks with giving your view. Set a goal to speak up at least once in every meeting, and it will get easier the more often you do. Always acknowledge the view of the other person first, then give your opinion backed up with 2–3 good factual reasons. Why 2–3 reasons to back it up? —

Because women have to work twice as hard to be viewed as half as good… unfortunately, this is the reality we live in.

As introverted women in male-dominated fields, understanding workplace dynamics, addressing challenging colleagues assertively, and communicating effectively are crucial. These steps contribute to personal growth and foster a more inclusive work environment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. In male-heavy sectors, gender plays a critical role in defining behavioural boundaries. Women often struggle with a limited scope for assertiveness compared to men. It’s vital to identify and adapt to these varied workplace dynamics, evaluating whether it’s the environment or personal limitations that are restrictive. Understanding and manoeuvring within these parameters, or seeking more inclusive workplaces, is key.
2. Frequently, women encounter undermining behaviours in these environments. The key is to trust your instincts and hold such individuals accountable, rather than excusing their actions. This proactive approach is essential for fostering a positive work atmosphere.
3. There exists a double standard in how assertive communication from women is perceived. Overcoming this requires not shrinking back, but speaking confidently and backing statements with solid reasons. It’s important for women to assert their viewpoints in discussions without diminishing their stance.

Have you experienced similar issues? If you’d like to share your story — reach out and let’s chat

Email: info@designerd.co.za (subject line: Toxic Work Environments)

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