Chief Marketing Officer, Elisabeth Kurek shares that at her first tech conference, there were more “booth babes” than women working in tech at the event.

This story highlights just how in your face sexism can be – especially since there were no  “booth boys” running around!

Years on, the overt  sexism has toned down, BUT unconscious bias and systemic sexism persist. They are woven into the fabric of our business environments.

Sexism – as well as the other “isms” ( ageism, racism, classism etc) show up in countless ways:

• being overlooked for promotions,

 

• their ideas dismissed in meetings,

 

• their contributions minimized.
  

Yet so many leaders don’t recognize the prejudice in these scenarios when they encounter it – or when they display it.

 

What Senior Leaders Can Do Right Now to Combat Hidden Sexism:

• Scrutinize promotion criteria: → What are unspoken privileges that are baked into the process. These inadvertently favor traditional power traits.

 

• Challenge the “boys’ club” mentality: → Actively promote ways that provide peers with proximity to leaders, clients and stakeholders. Taking your clients hunting? Only 10-15% of women hunt – find more inclusive ways to host exclusive business development  events. 

 

• Hold leaders accountable: → Tie inclusive leadership goals to performance evaluations. Leaders can demonstrate Acts of Inclusion

We can help you pinpoint where unconscious bias affects your business.
We turn your DEI ambitions into measurable business results.

Set up your Inclusion Audit now

 

Watch the full episode of Elisabeth’s session on the Inclusive Exec Series.