ThePowerofWordsMisguidedDescriptionsUndermineWomen.pptx

WIT September 2024 Virtual Session:
The Power of Words: How Misguided Descriptions Undermine Women in Tech

1. The Power of Words: How Misguided Descriptions Undermine Women in Tech Kellyn Gorman Advocate and Engineer

2. Who am I? Kellyn Gorman D atabase and AI specialist 25 years of experience in relational systems Auth ored numerous books and white papers Contributes online under her handle, " DBAKevlar ."  Award-winning optimization and security specialist having previously worked for Oracle and Microsoft L ong history as a mentor and advocate in the tech industry.

3. Words Unite or divide us Words unite us through: Shared understanding Empathy and compassion Collective identity Words divide us through: Miscommunication Exclusionary language Polarizing rhetoric

4. Terms We All Recognize Man Up Gentlemen's Agreement Old-boys Network Righthand Man Ballsy Poster Boy Manpower Wingman Guys/Dude Manning the booth

5. Feminine Words Viewed as Negative Girlie Panties in a bunch Grandma Sissy Wind up your skirt Drama queen Cat fight Diva Booth Babe

6. Gender Exclusive Terminology In professional settings, women often face gendered language May be referred to as "girls," "ladies," or "sweetheart” Can diminish professional identity. Studies suggest that such language is used more frequently than many realize, often subtly or unconsciously. 2017 study found that women in male-dominated industries, such as tech or finance, are more likely to be addressed with these types of gender-exclusive terms or have their contributions dismissed through such language 43% more often.

7. Here, There and Everywhere Starts even before most individuals are born – as soon as gender is known. Shaped by family, friends and then coworkers. Personal and professional interactions towards women are more blurred. Impacts both genders negatively. Work environment, HR and DEI policies are effected.

8. How Do We View Men and Women in a Majority of Interactions Common historical view is to take a man at his word, but culturally aren’t raised to give women the same respect. Women are held to unrealistic standards for behavior and expectations for personal and professional lives. This drives more conscientious care to a man’s title and respect than women culturally, outside of relationship status.

9. Public Spaces and Media Women are more often described using terms like Miss/Mrs/Ms, "female," "wife," or "mother“. Male counterparts are referred to by professional titles or achievements.

10. Online Online forums, social media, and gaming environments Women frequently experience gendered language, whether in casual discourse or as part of harassment. Gendered slurs and terms that emphasize a woman's gender identity rather than her role or ideas are common. Rarely listed are code of conduct expectations or accountability. Remote work and the amount of communication that is done online creates more incidents, as well as more documented evidence of it.

11. Subconscious Language Bias Linguistic habit research has shown that men are referred to in neutral terms a majority of the time, while women are more frequently referred to in terms of their gender. Difference in how we’re referred to happens dozens of times a day, even when unintended, reflecting deep-seated societal norms around gender. While there's no specific daily count across all contexts, it’s clear that gender-exclusive terms and biased language are pervasive, often used unconsciously, and can have cumulative effects on how women are perceived and treated, as well as the impact as they grow up to become adults.

12. Feisty

13. Bossy

14. Abrasive Abrasive sounds like something you’d prefer to avoid, so consider the source and the reason this term is used in regard to women in the industry. More inclusive terms include: Direct Unfiltered Honest Bold Open

15. Shrill No word is more exclusively used with a woman than “shrill“. I’ve never heard of this used to describe a man during my career. The term is defined as “unpleasant and painful” to listen to. A more inclusive term might be: Vibrant Expressive Intense Energetic Vocal

16. Over-Emotional

17. Aggressive Women are often identified as aggressive when they don’t display an acceptable level of submissiveness, empathy or display too many strong leadership qualities. More accurate and inclusive descriptions are: Assertive Driven Proactive Decisive Bold

18. Intimidating

19. For Attendees – Contribution Time! Any terms that were missed that you’ve seen exclude women in tech or other industries? Put them in the chat and we’ll continue to discuss them during this session.

20. Excusing Terms as Jokes Problematic for several reasons: Minimizes Harm Perpetuates a Toxic Environment Reinforces Stereotypes Erodes Trust and Inclusivity Discourages Accountability Legal and Ethical Risks

21. Competence Based on Gender

22. Why the “Cool Girl” Scenario Hurts in the Long Run The “cool girl” refers to a woman who fits into a male-dominated environment by aligning with stereotypically masculine behavior, often minimizing her femininity or dismissing gender equality issues to appear more accepted or "one of the guys." It may provide short-term social benefits for the individual, it presents several problems for broader gender inclusion in tech. Here's why it's problematic and how it excludes many women: Undermines efforts for gender equality. Perpetuates stereotypes Limits authentic representation Pressure to conform

23. The problem with Promoting Competitive Environments

24. Consider Inclusivity when Creating New Products and Terms

25. Repercussions of Poorly named products or features Poor view of company in public eye Lost revenue Loss of customer base Detrimental to organization morale

26. Women Aren’t Considered “Men are judged on their potential; women are evaluated on their past performance.” Test it out: Ask about a highly coveted title or role in your organization, then ask who has the potential to fill this role in the next month, year or five years. Was there a recommendation for a woman as a candidate without prompting? Ask about ally and sponsorship initiatives in the company to assist women (and people of color) to achieve promotions and opportunities inside the organization.

27. What are the Benefits of Inclusive Language? Organizations were 25% more likely to be profitable if embracing a DEI initiative. 40% less estimated inclusive employee turnover. 30% more inclusive talent available to the organization who would not consider them without an inclusive initiative. Happier employees over all – Surveys about employee satisfaction increased with 25% of employees feeling more motivated.

28. Words Matter

29. References https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-01/words-you-should-avoid-using-about-women-in-the-workplace/7467848 https://www.cbc.ca/life/culture/terms-you-may-be-using-that-offend-women-at-work-1.5043947 https://www.localizationlab.org/blog/2020/8/19/it-starts-with-words-unconscious-bias-in-gender-race-and-class-in-tech-terminology https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinamilanesi/2023/04/20/the-business-impact-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion/ https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/highlighting-the-business-opportunity-of-dei-initiatives https://dei360.org/diversity-as-a-revenue-engine-what-16-studies-reveal/ https://medium.com/women-in-product/genderwords-b0be0cc8251f