Saying “no” is one of the hardest things we all struggle with, and as I’ve come to learn, especially women.
Last week, commenting on the HBR post/article “How to Say No to Busywork and Supercharge Your Career” got me thinking about women’s disadvantages in the workplace.
I realized that I wanted to learn more. How can I be an advocate?
Rachel’s article points out that women are disproportionately given busywork tasks. I see this often as I recently heard a client describe – “We’ll have Natalie take the meeting notes again since she’s so good at that.” As Natalie inwardly cringed – she was not only an executive but also the only woman in the meeting.
It’s easy for me to say, “you have to set boundaries and say no to busywork tasks.” But women must go an extra step and overcome the subtle yet systemic discrimination.
It’s not right to expect women to overcome these obstacles.
Real change starts with shining light on the issue. As a male, the more you know about how the opposite sex experiences challenges in the workplace, the more you can stop unconsciously supporting discriminatory actions.
What if, instead of challenging women to say no, we challenge the men to become advocates? To lean into the uncomfortable conversations to learn and grow.