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When attending meetings, women need to speak up more, a new study claims.
Women may be showing up for meetings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re speaking up at those meetings.
In a recent study, researchers at Brigham Young University and Princeton University found that in a typical meeting where decisions get made, women are clamming up, speaking 25 percent less than their male counterparts.
The study, published in the American Political Science Review, found that when women find themselves in the minority they tend to keep their thoughts to themselves. Interestingly, when a guy is the token male in a group, he isn't at all likely to find himself tongue-tied.
While the decision to remain silent can be good if you’re ever arrested, if you’re hoping to be recognized as a leader, keeping your mouth shut is not such a smart choice. The study found that group members who had a lot to say were more likely to be seen as influential. So it comes as no surprise that with women talking less, fewer women were recognized as leaders.
“In school boards, governing boards of organizations and firms, and legislative committees, women are often a minority of members, and the group uses majority rule to make its decisions,” said study co-author Tali Mendelberg of Princeton. “These settings will produce a dramatic inequality in women’s floor time and in many other ways. Women are less likely to be viewed and to view themselves as influential in the group and to feel that their ‘voice is heard.’”
Although women often freeze up in meetings where they’re in the minority and the group needs to arrive at a majority-rules decision, there are situations where women will open up and share their thoughts. Once women form the majority of the group, they’ll really start talking and will be more likely to assume leadership roles. Also, if a group has to arrive at a unanimous decision, women are again more likely to speak up. When a group has to reach a unanimous decision, women recognize that every vote is equally important, prompting them to feel the need to contribute something to the overall effort and discussion.
The study’s researchers noted that women not only flourished when the group had to build consensus, but discussions began to take a different tone as well. When women took more active roles, the whole vibe of the group changed. The researchers found those groups to be more positive, more inclusive and have fewer negative interruptions than the male-dominated discussion.
“Women have something unique and important to add to the group, and that’s being lost, at least under some circumstances,” said Chris Karpowitz, the study’s co-author and an assistant professor at BYU.
The study focused on 94 groups made up of five individuals each. Group members were asked to perform “work” tasks to earn hypothetical amounts of money. Each individual was told they would take home earnings based on both performance and the group’s decision about how to redistribute the money earned as a whole. The groups were told to distribute the money in the “most just” way. On average, groups deliberated for 25 minutes, even though they were only required to deliberate the distribution system for five minutes. Participants voted by secret ballot, but half of the groups followed majority rule while the other half decided only with a unanimous vote.
Not only did the tone of the discussions change when women participated more, but the substance of the discussions shifted as well. When given the task of setting a group’s minimum wage, women tended to include discussions of family need and issues of care in the discussions. Researchers noted that women were more likely to ask questions like, “How does this affect a family?” or “How would a single woman do this?” And, what they were saying wasn’t just girl talk; girl action took place as well. Groups with a majority of women and groups led by consensus building were more generous with their reallocation of money.
“When women are silent, they’re not just silent and someone else is making the argument they would have made anyway,” Karpowitz said, recognizing the loss of ideas when women fail to give their input.
Dana Macario is a Seattle-area writer.
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"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln
from the article "Women have something unique and important to add to the group, and that’s being lost, at least under some circumstances,” said Chris Karpowitz"
What is this unique and important wisdom that is not spoken ? Do women, but not men, have some sort of magical sixth sense that makes women, but not men, superior ?
We've read countless articles from the 1990's about the superiority of female management and articles today how women "rule" the Internet. So, where's the proof that women are better managers? Where's the proof that women are more than the biggest spenders and shopper on the Internet?
Grrrl power. You go girl. Boys are stupid. Throw rocks at them.
That applies to this writer too, seems like.
Military officer training can instill strong confidence in women. I just can't relate to timid women.
me too, and I'm female...
Most males are into competitive sports and competitive work - they will bully their way to dominance in work situations. Women don't like that game and prefer to avoid confrontation and conflict. That's why they make better politicians who get things done. Women don't have a the same need as men to prove they are Top Dog.
As an Army NCO with a 15-year military career, I don't have that problem, but being an outspoken woman with an opinion is frowned upon by both men and women in the workplace. Even quiet men find a way to dominate the workplace.
I think there are so many variables to this, it's pretty hard to test. I admit, I keep quite in a lot of meetings, and sometimes that's for good reason. It really depends on what my role is, my grasp of the subject, or interest in the subject. If I feel strongly about something, I speak up. The more important it is to me, the more I will contribute and work to influence. If it's a stupid, lame meeting, and I really don't want to be there, I'll speak very little, just hoping to get it over with!
I think it's more about personality and group dynamics than a male/female thing. I've been in meetings where the guys keep very quiet too.
Be much more interesting if they broke down the type of jobs the people were doing. Many woman in the technical meetings speak up just as much as the men.
The meeting they may be more quite in is where what is being discussed is mostly opinion based and the woman I suspect are smart enough to know it is only the person in charge opinion is going to matter anyway
This is my experience too. I'm an female engineer and if the subject is boring, not one I can or care to speak much about, or involves some new management element, then I prefer to keep quiet. If it's something that I know about and/or I have a good understanding of the personalities in the room, then I have no problem talking.
So women "clam up" and are "timid?" Americans are so biased in favor of confidence that we fail to notice the harm caused by excess confidence. Excess confidence leads many men to believe that their ideas are the most important in the room, that everyone needs to hear what they have to say, and that they don't need to listen to others. We are so biased against empathy that we fail to notice many women are listening and considering the ideas of others. A lot of these hyper confident men are widely respected only by themselves... and thought to be complete idiots by their peers and direct reports. Women can boost confidence in military officer training... where do we send our men to learn empathy?
Excellent point.
empathy starts at home....
Funny. I've been in some of these almost-all-women meetings. They talk a lot more than they accomplish. Whole hour long meetings to figure out something that should have only taken 10 minutes.
Baloney.
Turkey.
bullcrap....put that on a sandwich!
It took me awhile to learn to speak up. I worked in the beginning in a dept with 49 male professionals and me, also a professional. They all liked to interrupt each other. Most females do not do that. The best interaction was at a company that valued teamwork. The last company had the proverbial bully CEO to whom I reported. What a challenge that was.
What a load of crap. If I have something to say I'll say it. I've even crashed meetings I wasn't invited to because I had something to say.
I just don't need to be a freakin (office) politcal suck up windbag to do it.
So you are one of the 75% that does speak up. I get tired of trying to pull thoughts or ideas out of so many quiet people.
This website is the biggest friggin joke. Keep beating the war on woman and inequality drums in the hope that government will make things more fair. Typical liberal bullsh!t approach. First you identify a person in a group then create a false issue, then set the groups against each other and ring the bell for more government intervention to make things fair. I work under three female managers / directors. I sit in top management meetings every day, female employees speak up as needed. In other words, people in the meeting speak up according to their expertise and I've never seen one instance where women are silent. In fact the women I work with are some of the most vocal participants. Keep up with the bullsh!t articles and try to divert attention from the failing economy and failed presidency. But that's what I expect from a MSNBC site. Its not really a news company anymore, just a entertainment tonight cheerleader for the DNC. Shameful.
Looks like you've taken this to a whole new level. I'm sure your experience = everyone else's experience, so you are an expert on communications. You did notice that they are actually reporting on a study done at two universities, one of them a Mormon university? I wouldn't call that liberal.
More MSNBC men suck. The advertising segment is women because women control the bulk of purchasing power. So, when will men rise to be the equals of female consumers ? Are male consumers oppressed ?
Bull. Whenever two women meet they will talk for hours.
Then fire the prima donnas who clam up in meetings. These glamour girls are obviously there just for looks. Not interested at all if they can't provide constructive input to try and better the company. Wonder how much they're paid to just sit there and look pretty.
Meanwhile the mature women, (age 50 plus), those who have ideas and WILL speak up, remain in the unemployment lines or have given up looking altogether.
People that don't speak up in meetings stay quiet because they don't have much to add and are unwilling or unable to defend their statements.
These meetings are nothing more than a way for management to cover their behinds. We can blame the group for any bad decissions. Whoever can put on the biggest show *(Biggest Slong) wins the day.
It is so true..! In earlier jobs, I had never had to speak up in front of people …But my current positions requires me to participate in meetings. I know how difficult it might be to have the courage to interrupt a men leaded conversation.. I’ve always been a calm person and never felt comfortable to take part in discussions. Some month ago I decided to take professional training which really helped me! There are specialized coached for this kind of problem who supported me to be more confident and to overcome the hurdle. I am now taking online coach lessons regularly, in particular the days before important meetings or when I have to make presentations. I really can recommend this training, because for me it was not only a work problem but a general anxiety to speak in public. (see e.g. Your 24hCoach.com) I just want to encourage all women to attack this problem and to get a hearing. It’s worth the effort, not only for the company…
Kind regards,
Penny