Double Standards in Tech Reviews: Is it your Performance or Personality?
By Gina Scanlon
TIME Magazine recently included the word ‘feminist’ in a poll entitled, ‘Which Word Should Be Banned in 2015?’ Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs later issued an apology for the word being added to this list after widespread controversial chatter ensued following its publication. With the steady hostility of the word ‘feminism,’ could it possibly have a correlation with the hostility in general towards women in positions of authority or status?
If you label yourself a feminist, for example, does this create unwanted attention in the workplace? Does this automatically make you ‘abrasive,’ and ‘bossy?’ The simple definition of feminism is: “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities,” (Merriam-Webster) but when women attempt to achieve power equality in the workforce, their personality is called into question.
How it Plays Out at Work: Flawed Performance Reviews
Abrasive. Aggressive. Bossy. Have any of these words ever been used to describe you in a work evaluation? If the answer is yes and you are a woman, you are not alone.
A recent study conducted by Kieren Snyder suggests that women in tech (and other fields) are being evaluated based on their personality rather than for their job performance, unlike men. Snyder analyzed 248 performance reviews from 180 people (105 men and 75 women from 28 different companies, including technology corporations. Out of the full set of reviews, 71 percent contained critical feedback. The big difference was that out of those critical reviews 58.9 percent were critical of male employees, and 87.9 percent were critical of female employees.
An example of one woman’s review reads, “Your peers sometimes feel that you don’t leave them enough room. Sometimes you need to step back to let others shine.”
“This kind of negative personality criticism—watch your tone! step back! stop being so judgmental!—shows up twice in the 83 critical reviews received by men, writes Snyder. “It shows up in 71 of the 94 critical reviews received by women.”
Snyder’s study seems to correlate with the stereotypical language women have become accustomed to hearing in the modern workforce. Women are meant to be more giving, supportive and congenial, and willing to share the spotlight with our fellow employees. We are not conditioned to be disagreeable, and when we are, we run the risk of gaining an unpopular reputation.
Is it about skills?
Inc.com’s editor-at-large Kimberly Weisul writes on the topic that, “Men get criticized because they fail to develop or exhibit certain skills. Women get criticized for perceived personality flaws.”
An NPR story by Jennifer Ludden in 2011 found that women hesitate when it comes to asking for a raise because they find the notion “intimidating.” This may be true for some women and confidence is definitely a skill to learn sinc men are 4 times more likely to ask for a salary increase.
Leading academics will tell you that women ask but aren’t received well for asking. Economist Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon University showed people videos of men and women asking for a raise, “following the exact same script” and people responded favorably to the man, but commenting that the woman was “way too aggressive,” according to Babcock.
A recent Pew survey found that young women are starting their careers better educated than their male counterparts and 75% of this survey’s participants believe that “Millenial women are “much more likely than men to say more change is needed to achieve gender equality in the workplace.” This belief does not make it a truth or a reality since there are still systemic barriers to advancement including the unconscious bias that is so prevalent in annual reviews.
It is encouraging to know what women are making strides in occupying jobs and this is in the USA and in other parts of the world.
In a CNN editorial by Saadia Zahidi, she cites that more women are attending university in huge international markets like Brazil, China and Russia, and that they are “increasingly providing the skills that emerging market companies need to compete on a global stage.” China, in particular, holds many jobs in the tech market.
This research strongly suggests that more women will be entering the competitive workforce, which surely will include tech jobs, and will be vying for high level positions in the future.
Changing social perceptions take time, but the numbers of Millenial women who are committed to striving for equality is encouraging.
But from a measurement standpoint, there need to be more accurate performance review standards set in place. The findings above call for some investigation by HR departments of corporate companies.
“At most mid-size or large tech companies, HR leaders supervise review scores to uncover and correct patterns of systematic bias,” Snyder writes. “This is a call to action to bring the same rigor to the review language itself.”
Perhaps with a combination of better measurement strategies and a shift in social perception of future generations, women will be judged not by supposed traits ,but by the level of their competence at work.
