Women, Interrupted
Men in the gallery are shown interrupting the female speaker at a women’s rights meeting in the 1850s. Drawing from Harpers Weekly, June 11, 1859.
Men typically speak more than women in meetings. As the dominant speakers, it is their opinions that are disproportionately heard. There are cultural reasons for this. Organizational psychologist Adam Grant writes, “People expect men to be assertive and ambitious but women to be caring and other-oriented. A man who runs his mouth and holds court is a confident expert. A woman who talks is aggressive or pushy.”
Yet even though women spend less time talking, they are more frequently interrupted—and it is usually men who do the interrupting. “In a meta-analysis of 43 studies, men were more likely than women to talk over others—especially in intrusive ways that silenced the rest of the room and demonstrated their dominance,” Grant writes.
Women are in a double-bind in that if they speak up they are often viewed unfavorably, whether they are asserting their ideas or objecting to being “manterrupted.” Yet men speaking in that same way are seen as authoritative rather than aggressive. Yale researcher Victoria Brescoll found that “powerful women are in fact correct in assuming that they will incur backlash as a result of talking more than others—an effect that is observed among both male and female perceivers.” That is, both men and women take a dim view of women who speak more than others, even as they tolerate “manologues.”
Some women speak less owing to this negative perception. Others speak less because of the interruptions. Whatever the cause, the potential contributions of women to the workplace are lost or diminished. Women might also feel alienated or discouraged, experiences that can reduce their job satisfaction and productivity.
Making a more equitable workplace requires the participation of all genders. Journalist Jessica Bennet has the following suggestions:
Institute a no-interruption meeting policy. If this is a heavy lift at your organization, suggest trying it for a week, or even for just one meeting, and then assess the impact.
Advocate for those who are interrupted and enlist allies to do the same. Say, “Wait, I want to hear [name] finish her thought,” or elbow the interrupter. Choose your own approach, but do something.
Support women who speak up at meetings with positive comments that credit them for their ideas.
Women should speak with confidence, avoiding undermining phrases like, “I’m not sure if this is right, but….” As Bennet says, “Don’t apologize before you speak.”
Ask each employee to spend ten minutes taking an Implicit Association Test to learn what biases they have in associating gender with career and family. Without understanding our unconscious biases, it is difficult to correct for them.
Grant suggests that overconfident men could also stand to change. “In studies of over 100,000 leaders, although men were more confident in their leadership skills, women were rated more competent leaders by others.”
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Sources:
Jessica Bennet, “How Not to be ‘Manterrupted’ in Meetings,” Time, January 20, 2015.
Victoria L. Brescoll, “Who Takes the Floor and Why: Gender, Power, and Volubility in Organizations,” Administrative Science Quarterly, December 2011.
Adam Grant, “Who won’t shut up in meetings? Men say it’s women. It’s not.” Washington Post, February 18, 2021.