When online misogyny comes to the office

Women, who make up half of all workplace managers, are significantly more likely than men to experience microaggressions that undermine their competence

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Red-pill ideology is back under a more mainstream microscope again following the recent Netflix $NFLX documentary release “Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere.”

The manosphere is a network of online influencers — and their many millions of followers (primarily young men, ages 16–30) — that peddle “alpha masculinity,” in the form of video content and online courses for sale, to purportedly help men make money, get fit, and win the affection of women and the respect of other men. The message to men: The deck (particularly as it pertains to institutions and women) is stacked against them, and to reclaim and achieve status, they should adopt a more dominant, self-focused version of masculinity that revolves around money and leverage in relationships.

Critics say these influencers reframe real struggles around loneliness and economic pressures into narratives that blame women for men’s problems, normalizing distrust of, and disrespect toward, women.

The documentary doesn’t explore workplace impact, but culture doesn’t stay online. It infiltrates relationships, families, and work life.

According to a global study of Gen Z men (born between 1997 and 2012) by Ipsos and King’s Business School in London, 31% of these men say that a wife should obey her husband, and 33% say when husbands and wives disagree on important decisions, husbands should have the final say.

Women, who make up half of all workplace managers today, are significantly more likely than men to experience microaggressions that undermine their competence — such as having their judgment questioned or being mistaken for more junior employees, according to McKinsey and LeanIn’s 2024 Women in the Workplace report. These experiences have measurable consequences: Women who face frequent microaggressions are 2.7 times more likely to consider leaving their jobs and 4.2 times more likely to almost always feel burned out.

Sexism predates the manosphere, of course, so there’s no way to know what percentage of these work conditions stem from modern-day influencers.

“What you allow, you........

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