“Our political leaders on sexism … have got really high standards,” Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd told The Australian Financial Review in October 2012. “I have seen no evidence of sexism in any of our political leaders on whatever side.”
Really? One wonders how the head of the peak body that represents 100 of Australia’s biggest companies could ignore the obvious when just days before Peter Slipper resigned as speaker of the House of Representatives after his jeering “mussel meat” texts and Julia Gillard pointed out in her now famous “misogyny” speech that opposition leader Tony Abbott believes it’s not necessarily a bad thing for women to have less power and men are biologically “more adapted to exercise authority or to issue command.”
Then over the next eight months, we heard two shock jocks insult the then prime minister: Alan Jones quipped that her recently deceased father “died of shame”, while Howard Sattler asked if her romantic partner was gay and, thus, her private relationship a sham. To top it off, at the end of March, a fundraising dinner for Liberal candidate Mal Brough offered a menu of “Julia Gillard Kentucky fried quail — small breasts, huge thighs and a big red box.” While restaurant owner Joe Richards claimed responsibility, the public and other politicians weren’t convinced. As if the sexism in politics wasn’t enough, there was yet another sex scandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General David Morrison, affirmed the Australian army has a culture of sexism. Meanwhile, Melbourne-founded company Solid Gold Bomb sold t-shirts based on the popular “keep calm and carry on” theme; however, they suggested men “kill her”, “knife her” and “choke her” instead.
What’s going on?
The theory is that a sexist backlash occurs when women start getting more power and the status quo, which is predominantly male, gets frightened. Think about it … Australia recently had a female prime minister and governor general, and two state leaders. A woman (Gina Rinehart) is the richest and most powerful person in the country. At the same time, there is strong pressure for Australia to follow European countries and introduce quotas to redress the pitifully low number of women holding CEO and board positions. No wonder Alan Jones accused women of “destroying the joint”. Or is his real worry that an increase of women in power will put a stop to almost 30 years of his outrageous rants?
The worst kind of sexism
There are two kinds of sexism. The first is overt … it manifests itself in dirty jokes and obvious put-downs. The Mal Brough menu incident and Tony Abbott’s belief that biology prevents women from being effective leaders are perfect examples. Then there’s a more subtle sexism, a kind that leaves us uncomfortable, but not entirely sure what happened. It may be called “low level” or “casual” sexism, but its danger lies in its ability to seem normal and acceptable. These are the unconscious assumptions that put the blame on the victim. Don’t you have a sense of humour? You need to grow a thicker skin. Small businesses can’t afford maternity leave. Men handle conflict better. The job requires too much heavy lifting. Don’t get all feminist on me. I know I said “mankind”, but it covers everyone.
Is sexism in the workplace really that dangerous?
Yes. Recent analysis at the Melbourne Business School by Professor Robert Wood and PhD student Victor Sojo reveals that sexist jokes and gender stereotypes are a main factor holding women back from thriving at work. The effect is so profound that women often start conforming to stereotypes instead of focusing on their work. For a business, this kind of sexism has other distressing consequences:
- Reduced productivity and performance
- Poor employee health
- Higher staff turnover
- Low morale
- A bullying culture.
How to protect your business from sexism
Ultimately, you are responsible for the culture of your small business and need to set the standard of expected behaviour, leading by example to ensure all stakeholders are welcomed and valued for their unique contributions.
As always, I recommend a written plan, one that states your policy on sexism, gives a list of steps you will take to minimise the risk and outlines how you will deal with any incidents. You might:
- Openly discuss the issues and the barriers that hold women back at work.
- Point out sexism. Be consistent.
- Choose to have an equal number of male and female employees, suppliers and associates.
- Have a “no joking” policy … simply don’t talk about sex in any work-related context.
- Promote a balance of work and family concerns, introducing flexible working hours, a focus on results instead of time, and opportunities to work from home.
- Give up gender specific language and idioms … mankind, fireman, Mrs, maiden voyage, throw like a girl.
- Challenge your assumptions — pink doesn’t have to be for girls, there’s no reason why a man can’t be a receptionist.
- If you’re the only or one of few women in the room, acknowledge it. Be light, but put it out there.
- Where possible, provide leadership opportunities and training for women.
- Be a mentor to other women entering your field.
- If you can’t find a job you love, start your own business and set your own rules.
Reverse sexism and queen bee syndrome
Are only men sexist? No. While this post has focused on men being sexist to women, I acknowledge that women can be sexist too, both to men and other women. It especially disappoints me when women openly prey on other women or deny sexism still exists, despite overwhelming evidence otherwise. To use a recent example from the entertainment world, what message does gossip columnist Liz Jones send when she accuses pop star Rhianna of “inviting rape” with her fashion sense? And what can we make of Rhianna’s retort that Jones’ lack of journalistic integrity is because she’s a “sad sloppy menopausal mess”? I personally don’t agree with terms such as “reverse sexism” or “queen bee syndrome” … sexism is sexism no matter who perpetrates it.
