MARKETING EVOLUTION
Amplifying Women ’ s Voices In The Workplace
By Marion Wakahe
In 2009 , Taylor Swift was pronounced winner of the best female video at the MTV Video Music Awards for her song , “ You Belong with Me .” As expected she was elated . She walked up to the stage , graciously received her award and began giving her speech saying that she was super excited to receive the award especially because her genre was in country music and she could have gone on but she didn ’ t …
Kanye West ran up to the stage , grabbed the microphone from her and said , “ Yo , Taylor , I ' m really happy for you , I ' mma let you finish . But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time ! One of the best videos of all time !" And just like that , her moment , one that she deserved was stolen .
Women can relate to this , and even more recent the 2020 vice president debate when Vice President Mike Pence interrupted during the segment focused on the coronavirus response . Sen . Kamala Harris turned to Pence and said , " Mr . Vice President , I ' m speaking ." When he continued to talk over her , she smiled and repeated , " I ' m speaking ."
The scenarios above reflect one of the struggles women face as they try to put their points across . Women everywhere can relate to a time at work or during social interactions when they were talked over by men . So insidious is this problem , that unique terms such as ‘ manterrupting ,’ ‘ mansplaining ’ and ‘ hepeating ’ have been incorporated into corporate parlance .
‘ Manterrupting ’ refers to men ’ s habit of interrupting women as they speak . In such a case the lady feels demeaned , and unfortunately most men do not realize that their behavior is hurtful . Research shows that men talk more and longer , and men interrupt women 33 % more often than they interrupt fellow men .
‘ Mansplaining ’ is the tendency for men to complete an explanation a woman is trying to give . This from unfortunate deeply held beliefs that she isn ’ t competent enough to explain , so the man feels he needs to help her .
‘ Hepeating ’ happens when men repeat exactly what a woman had said or suggested earlier in a meeting and making
‘ Manterrupting ’ refers to men ’ s habit of interrupting women as they speak . In such a case the lady feels demeaned , and unfortunately most men do not realize that their behavior is hurtful . Research shows that men talk more and longer , and men interrupt women 33 % more often than they interrupt fellow men . it seem like the idea was completely his own . In other cases , male colleagues dominate discussions and only get input from other male colleagues .
In many cases , men are ignorant of their condescending behavior towards women . They are unconsciously biased against women because of their upbringing . These actions are deeply rooted in upbringing .
Men , as they grow up are made to believe that they should speak up and share their ideas . Women on the other hand grow up being told that they should not speak too loudly , she should be agreeable and not appear to be upstaging men . A lady with etiquette should be seen and not heard , embracing selfless behaviors that include allowing men to speak whilst keeping her opinions to herself . The sad truth is that women are trained to accept dismissal whilst men are trained to demand attention .
And then both boy and girl grow up and are expected to work in the same organizations , produce the same results whilst bearing the same qualifications . These deep-seated beliefs do a lot of harm to women . Any woman who is seen to be outspoken is typically punished for the same and not just by men but by fellow women as well .
Being voluble works well for men . Boldly sharing their ideas creates the impression that they are competent and intelligent . Women who are voluble on the other hand are considered shrill , overbearing , aggressive , and let ’ s not forget the infamous ‘ b ’ word .
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