By: Caroline Tierney
You’ve probably seen it on social media, or on a news headline, but the #Choosetochallenge has been circulating around this week. It refers to International Women’s Day, which passed on March 8. Men and women across the world participated in this social media hashtag by raising a hand and pledging to challenge gender bias and inequality across all portions of life. When someone says, “Let’s celebrate strong women”, who do you think of? Maybe a historical icon like Amelia Earhart comes to mind, or a humble childhood neighbor of yours, or maybe your mother. Regardless, the entire month of March is dedicated to honoring the courage and resiliency that women continue to exemplify everyday.
Whomever you choose to celebrate this month, we all must continue the conversation of addressing gender inequality in the workplace. While a man’s ambition might be seen as passion for his job, a woman’s similar ambition or assertiveness may be seen as being “bossy”. Women often describe walking a fine line between being perceived as rude and simply trying to have their voice heard. This difference in interpretation alone highlights one of the many gender biases in the workplace. The #choosetochallenge pushes both men and women to recognize these imbalances and fight them whenever possible. Another common example of bias is the wage gap. A female doing the same job or better than a male coworker may find herself getting paid less. This happens everywhere, but the movement #choosetochallenge hopes to instill confidence in women to know their worth and speak up when they see this happening.
One powerful woman that comes to mind when I think of destroying unconscious workplace bias is Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg. Not only has she advocated for gender equality at Facebook, but she has started her own gender equity nonprofit called LeanIn. Sandberg maintains the idea that simply saying, “There’s a bias”, isn’t enough. To truly break this unconscious gender bias in the workplace, Sandberg believes we must talk about which specific biases exist. It’s an uncomfortable conversation, but she has created an interactive learning program called, “50 Ways to Fight Bias”, that teaches companies to identify and fight all types of bias in their workplace.
As one of the first female leaders in the automotive industry, Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors has crushed it when it comes to creating an equal workplace. She is setting a great example that more companies should aspire to replicate. GM is one of few massive corporations to dedicate themselves to fully eliminating a wage gap between males and females, all thanks to Barra’s efforts. Barra believes that in order to include more women in all levels of leadership, from entry level to top executives, a company must practice paying men and women the same. Removing the wage gap is a great way that GM has shown their support for women in the workplace and their strives for equity.
https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/gm-ceo-mary-barra/