Forms of sexist behaviour and how you can avoid them
What you need to know:
- Making comments about someone dressing, physical appearance, body size and shape is not a way of appreciating your colleagues. It is sexism.
- It suggests a level familiarity that they may not share with you.
- As a rule, if that compliment is not based on someone’s competency, avoid it.
According to the Council of Europe, Europe’s leading human rights organisation, sexism is any act, gesture, visual representation, spoken or written words, practice, or behaviour based upon the idea that a person or a group of persons is inferior because of their sex, which occurs in the public or private sphere, whether online or offline.
Here are examples of sexist behaviour.
Role stereotyping
This involves assuming that some people are best suited for certain tasks based on their gender. Examples of role stereotyping include expecting men to handle difficulties and tough conversations while assigning women tasks that are believed to be simpler. Some employers expect women to perform secretarial duties such as taking minutes in meetings, filling out paperwork, serving food and drinks, or setting up meetings and even planning events even when it is not relevant to their job. In the long run, such women end up being seen as doers, not leaders, which does not help their careers.
Devaluing women’s opinion and contributions
This can take the form of men needlessly causing interruptions whenever a woman is speaking, or even “mansplaining”, which is men oversimplifying and over explaining a subject with the presumption that because the person being told is a woman, she can’t have knowledge on the subject.
When this happens, even if you are not the offended party, ask the offender to let the speaker finish, and if you are the speaker, keep talking even after being interrupted and lean in when talking, which is a body language used to establish authority.
Masking insults with jokes and name calling
Making jokes such as warning someone to be careful not to break their nail, giving pet names such as “sweetie” or “mrembo” to colleagues, asking someone to man up when they fail at something and even asking them to dress a certain way when meeting a client are all very sexist jokes. They show that you don’t take women seriously.
Focusing on someone’s physical appearance
Making comments about someone dressing, physical appearance, body size and shape is not a way of appreciating your colleagues. It is sexism. It suggests a level familiarity that they may not share with you. As a rule, if that compliment is not based on someone’s competency, avoid it.
