Why being called ‘detail‑oriented’ can stall a woman’s career |
Since women began entering the modern workforce in large numbers, support roles — or those who help someone else do their work, like administrative assistants and paralegals — have been predominantly occupied by women. The people in the higher ranking positions these roles support, such as executives, lawyers and surgeons, have been predominantly men.
Women still face barriers to reaching senior positions with decision-making authority in organizations. Only 21 per cent of Canada’s top publicly traded companies are led by female CEOs. By contrast, 92 per cent of executive assistants are women.
Even within the same job role, research consistently shows women are less likely to be assigned promotable tasks — high-visibility decisions that get noticed and rewarded — than men. They are more likely to be assigned administrative tasks or “office housework”: the kind of labour that keeps an organization running but rarely leads to a raise or a promotion.
A stereotype hiding in plain sight
My recent study, co-authored with Rachael D. Goodwin, Cheryl J. Wakslak, Kristina A. Diekmann and Jesse Graham, examined gendered expectations about how men and women think. We tested these expectations across six experiments.
When we examined the segregation of men into high-power roles and women into lower-power ones, we noticed an interesting pattern.
Support roles often involve developing efficient processes and paying close attention to detail.........