Tightrope Bias: Another Balancing Act for Women
The most prevalent bias found in the architectural profession is tightrope bias, an AIA/The Center for WorkLife Law investigation found. Tightrope bias describes the balancing act women and minorities must play owing to societal expectations about dominance and assertiveness. “Women need to behave in masculine ways in order to be seen as competent—but women are expected to be feminine. So women find themselves walking a tightrope between being seen as too feminine to be competent, and too masculine to be likable,” Joan C. Williams, an expert on social inequality, writes in the Harvard Business Review.
Drawing by August Macke, c. 1914 (via Wikimedia)
This means that office politics are far more complex for women and minorities. In order to succeed, these groups need to expend more mental and emotional energy than white men. “White men just need to act competent and commanding, while members of other groups need to convey competence and leadership without triggering backlash fueled by the sense that they are behaving inappropriately—even when they do something that is readily accepted in white men,” the investigation’s authors write.
For example, stereotypical gendered expectations can lead to women being considered aggressive where the same behavior would be called assertive in men; women might receive pushback for expressing anger (“being emotional”) that might be acceptable in males; and women might be expected to fill “helpmeet” or “worker bee” roles rather than leadership positions, the investigation’s authors write. Women might also feel compelled to self-edit in terms of their appearance as well as their behavior.
In addition to prescriptive stereotypes, tightrope bias is also informed by perceived status, with white men in the dominant group receiving acceptance where members of other groups might be expected to behave with deference, according to the investigation’s authors.
Tightrope bias can leave women with lower job satisfaction and feeling like they don’t belong. It also makes them believe that performance reviews and promotion decisions are unfair. Any of these conditions can lead to women leaving to find better opportunities at other firms.
To help make workplaces more equitable, the American Institute of Architects and the Women’s Leadership Edge have developed resources to interrupt biases. To start, they recommend the following:
Complete an evidence-based assessment to diagnose the problem at your firm
Develop objective metrics and goals to assess the problem and measure progress
Implement bias interrupters, measure, reassess, and repeat as needed.
For more, visit Bias Interrupter Solutions.
Please subscribe to The Architectress.