High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews

I think this is an outgrowth of our general social tendency to judge men by what they do ("he works at a hedge fund!") and women by what they're like ("she's really sweet!").

I found this paragraph in particular interesting:

> Words like bossy, abrasive, strident, and aggressive are used to describe women’s behaviors when they lead . . . . Among these words, only aggressive shows up in men’s reviews at all. It shows up three times, twice with an exhortation to be more of it.

My current boss told me after I got hired that he liked me at my interview because I came across as aggressive. It's a personality trait that works great for men, because we're given a wide latitude between "aggressive behavior" and "abrasive" behavior. To a certain extent, we correlate a certain level of aggressiveness, credit-taking, and talking over others with leadership potential. But it seems for women, such behavior can result in being told: "Sometimes you need to step back to let others shine."

Re: High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews

#7

Post by ThoreauAway » Thu, Aug 28, 2014, 9:48 PM UTC

i don't find this shocking

Re: High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews

#8

Post by kelukelugames » Thu, Aug 28, 2014, 9:51 PM UTC

At my previous job, I had both male and female co workers who were bossy and abrasive.

I don't know if that means I transcended gender or just needed to find a better place to work.

Re: High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews

#9

Post by cm2012 » Thu, Aug 28, 2014, 9:51 PM UTC

Is it possible that professional women are more abrasive than men in aggregate? I am not saying that is the case, only that it is another hypothesis from the data. If that was the case and I had to guess a reason, it would be that groups with more power insecurity tend to overcompensate in other areas.

Another explanation could be industry. More women work in Fashion and marketing, which have generally more dramatic environments.

Re: High-achieving men and women are described differently in reviews

#10

Post by justinsteele » Thu, Aug 28, 2014, 9:55 PM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #9

Is it possible that professional women are more abrasive than men in aggregate? I am not saying that is the case, only that it is another hypothesis from the data. If that was the case and I had to guess a reason, it would be that groups with more power insecurity tend to overcompensate in other areas. Another explanation could be industry. More women work in Fashion and marketing, which have generally more dramatic…

It's possible, but the likelihood is so low some might wonder why you're bringing that possibility up rather than discuss the much more likely alternative and how we can fix it.

Also; "I asked men and women in tech if they would be willing to share their reviews for a study and didn’t stipulate anything else."