Break Barriers, Not Women

by Jon Scaccia August 13, 2024

Have you ever wondered why gender inequality persists in the workplace despite numerous interventions and initiatives? Despite seeing many successful women in business and leadership, the reality is that women as a group still face significant barriers in their careers. A recent review article sheds light on why the common approach of “fixing” women is not the solution and how shifting our focus to organizational structures can make a real difference.

The Deficit Model: Trying to Fix Women

In efforts to achieve workplace gender equality, many interventions aim to boost women’s motivations and ambitions or to provide them with the skills needed for success. However, these well-meaning initiatives often rest on the assumption that women lack something compared to men. This “deficit model” leads to programs designed to “fix” women, focusing on their supposed shortcomings rather than addressing the structural factors that maintain gender inequalities.

The Problem with Deficit Interventions

1. Lack of Evidence Base: Many interventions lack solid evidence to support their effectiveness. Instead, they reinforce stereotypes about what women supposedly lack, perpetuating a cycle of gender bias.
2. Blaming Women: By focusing on women’s deficits, these interventions place the onus for change on women themselves, implying that they are responsible for the inequalities they face.
3. Ignoring Structural Factors: These women-focused approaches fail to address the systemic issues that are the root causes of gender inequalities.

A New Perspective: Shifting the Focus

Instead of trying to fix women, the article advocates for a shift in focus to the organizational context and culture that maintain these inequalities. By understanding how these systems shape and constrain women’s motivations, ambitions, and the expression of their skills, we can develop more effective interventions.

Motivational Interventions: A Double-Edged Sword

Many interventions aim to boost women’s workplace motivation, especially in fields where they are underrepresented, like STEM and leadership roles. Books like Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In encourage women to seize opportunities without hesitation. However, this approach can inadvertently send the message that women themselves are to blame for not being ambitious enough.

The Reality of Ambition and Work-Life Balance

Research shows that women’s lower levels of ambition are often a response to their experiences in the workplace rather than a lack of inherent drive. Women frequently face a double bind: if they don’t meet masculine ideals of ambition, they are seen as lacking, but if they do, they often face backlash and penalties. Additionally, issues of work-life balance are not just about managing time but also about the lack of role models and support within organizations.

The Impact of Organizational Culture

The expression of women’s skills and attributes, such as risk-taking and confidence, is heavily influenced by organizational culture. Risk-taking is often seen as a key trait for success, but women are penalized more than men for taking risks that don’t pay off. Similarly, initiatives to boost women’s confidence can miss the mark if they don’t address the cultural and structural barriers that undermine women’s self-assurance.

Authenticity in the Workplace

Encouraging authenticity in the workplace has become a popular response to gender inequality. However, as long as masculine ideals dominate, it will be easier for some people to be authentic than others. True authenticity requires systemic changes within organizations to support and value diverse perspectives and experiences.

Toward Systemic Change

The explosion of interventions to address workplace gender inequalities is a positive step, but to avoid wasting time, resources, and goodwill, we must target the root causes of these inequalities. This means shifting our focus from individual women to the systems and structures that perpetuate gender inequality.

What do you think?

1. Have you ever experienced or witnessed the impact of a deficit model intervention in your workplace? How did it affect the individuals involved and the overall work environment?
2. What changes do you think organizations can implement to support women’s authenticity and address structural barriers to gender equality?

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