The double bind, yet again

[astra_nomer]

I can't recall if I ever got around to posting a review of the book "Women Don't Ask" by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. It's very good reading, looking into how women are conditioned to avoid negotiation, and end up losing out because of it. It's a strong driving force behind the gender pay gap.

One would think that the solution would be to encourage women to stand up for themselves, be more assertive, and go out of their way to get what they want. But you'd be wrong.

This article from today's Post refers to a new study that shows that when women do ask for more, they get penalized for it. This conclusion shouldn't be terribly shocking - it's the same old saw about assertive women being perceived as bitches, even though the exact same behavior in men is not only accepted, but rewarded. However, it certainly helps explain why women are reluctant to ask for more in the first place.

It's evidence like this that shows that it's not women's fault that we aren't getting ahead - there are serious cultural hurdles that we need to overcome in order to be successful.

Comments

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

See, I think raising awareness ought to go a long way just by itself. I say "ought to" because I like to believe that most people aren't assholes and aren't purposely trying to discriminate against women. By raising awareness about the unconscious ways that biases act against women, one hopes that people become more conscious of their actions and work harder to be more egalitarian.

However, I do realize that this is a pretty rosy-eyed view of the world. It's one thing to be aware of unconscious bias, and another thing to actively work against it. There are many who will deny that unconscious bias even exists or think that they aren't part of the problem. Also, there are some real assholes out there who do actively discriminate.

Me, I'd like to thwack people over the head. But that's a lot of people to thwack. And, as it turns out, thwacking is a poor negotiating tool, however fun it might be.