How To Stop Gender Discrimination In The Workplace - Real Women Real Success

Summary

In this video, the speaker addresses gender discrimination, particularly in the workplace, and shares her experiences with microaggressions. She emphasizes the importance of women taking leadership roles, citing statistics on the underrepresentation of women in top positions. The speaker suggests leveraging female strengths, such as giving and leveraging, to build relationships with key influencers. She encourages women to apply for promotions even if they don't meet 100% of the qualifications, advocating for a proactive approach to combat discrimination and pave the way for future generations.

Takeaways

• 🚫 Gender discrimination is a critical issue that affects women in the workplace, impacting their opportunities for advancement, promotion, and equal pay.
• 🗣️ Many instances of discrimination are unintentional, with people often unaware that their actions or words constitute microaggressions.
• 👥 The speaker has experienced microaggressions from friends who have helped her professionally, highlighting the complexity of addressing discrimination.
• 💡 To combat discrimination, it's important to create 'opening moments' that allow people to see women in leadership roles, challenging traditional norms.
• 📈 Women are underrepresented in top leadership positions, with only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 14% of government executives being female.
• 💰 Despite being underrepresented, women-owned businesses have proven to be profitable, with examples like Kevin O'Leary's investment success.
• 🙅‍♀️ Women often hold themselves back from opportunities, applying for jobs only when they feel they have 100% of the qualifications, unlike men who may apply with 60%.
• 💪 The speaker advocates for women to leverage their strengths, such as giving and leveraging, to advance in the workplace and build relationships with key influencers.
• 🔗 Building relationships with key influencers can be challenging, but by identifying connections and working through them, women can gain support for career advancement.
• 🌟 The speaker encourages women to take action, influence their career paths, and pave the way for more women in leadership, benefiting future generations and the world at large.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video script?

The main issue discussed in the video script is gender discrimination, particularly focusing on how women can overcome and stop gender discrimination in the workplace.

What is the significance of microaggressions mentioned in the script?

Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional, discriminatory actions or comments that can contribute to a hostile environment for women. The script highlights that sometimes people are unaware that they are discriminating through such microaggressions.

Can you provide an example of a microaggression shared in the script?

An example of a microaggression mentioned in the script is when the speaker's friend made a comment about women controlling money and making decisions in a marriage, assuming the speaker's role as CEO and treasurer in their corporation was due to her gender rather than her qualifications.

What is the speaker's perspective on intentionality in gender discrimination?

The speaker suggests that not all discrimination is intentional. She encourages creating opportunities for people to see women in different, leadership roles to change perceptions and norms.

What statistics does the speaker provide about women in leadership positions?

The speaker mentions that only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, only 14% of government executives are women, and women receive only 0.7% of venture capital.

How does the speaker suggest women can advance in the workplace?

The speaker suggests that women should leverage their strengths, such as giving and leveraging, to build relationships with key influencers who can help them advance. She also encourages women not to wait until they have 100% of the qualifications to apply for promotions.

What is the 'seven degrees of Kevin Bacon' theory mentioned in the script?

The 'seven degrees of Kevin Bacon' theory is an analogy used to suggest that everyone is connected to someone influential in some way. The speaker advises women to find connections to key influencers who can help advance their careers.

Why is it important for women to be in top leadership positions according to the script?

The script emphasizes that having women in top leadership positions is not just about diversity or skill sets, but also about profit and fulfilling a need in the world for women's perspectives and problem-solving abilities.

What is the speaker's call to action for women?

The speaker's call to action is for women to take initiative, influence their way to higher levels, and change the dynamic of gender discrimination. She also encourages women to do this not just for themselves but for future generations, including their daughters.

How does the speaker propose to change the perception of women as leaders?

The speaker proposes to change the perception of women as leaders by having more women in top positions, making it more commonplace and accepted, and by women using their strengths to build relationships with key influencers.

Outlines

00:00

🚺 Overcoming Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

The speaker addresses the importance of discussing gender discrimination, particularly in the context of the workplace. She shares her personal experiences, including instances of microaggressions from friends who unintentionally discriminated. She emphasizes the need to create opportunities for people to see women in leadership roles, challenging the traditional norm where men are predominantly seen as leaders. The speaker also discusses the disparity in representation, pointing out that only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and women receive a mere 0.7% of venture capital. She counters the argument that women are not in top positions due to a lack of ability, citing evidence that women-owned businesses are successful. The speaker encourages women to leverage their strengths, such as the ability to give and leverage relationships, to advance in their careers. She suggests that women should not wait until they feel they have 100% of the qualifications to apply for jobs or promotions, but instead use their inherent problem-solving abilities to take on challenges.

05:01

🔗 Building Relationships with Key Influencers

In this paragraph, the speaker focuses on the strategy of building relationships with key influencers to advance in one's career. She suggests making a list of top influencers who can help in achieving career goals and emphasizes the importance of starting to build relationships with them, even if they seem untouchable. The speaker uses the concept of the 'seven degrees of Kevin Bacon' to illustrate how everyone is connected and how to leverage these connections to reach influential people. She discusses the idea of a long-term strategy and the importance of taking action to influence one's way to higher levels. The speaker also stresses the broader impact of women in leadership, not just for individual fulfillment but also for future generations, including daughters and fellow women. She concludes by encouraging women to take this approach to change the dynamics of gender discrimination and to contribute their skill sets to solving the world's complex problems.

Keywords

💡Gender Discrimination

Gender discrimination refers to unfair treatment or prejudice based on a person's gender. In the video, the speaker discusses the importance of addressing this issue, particularly in the workplace, where women may face challenges in advancement, promotion, and equal pay. The video emphasizes the need for awareness and action to overcome such discrimination.

💡Microaggressions

Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional, discriminatory actions or comments that communicate hostile or negative messages to members of a marginalized group. The speaker gives an example of a microaggression where a man made an offhand comment about women controlling money in a business context, which was demeaning and discriminatory without him realizing it.

💡Leadership

Leadership in this context refers to the ability to guide, influence, and direct others towards achieving a common goal. The video argues for the need to see women as leaders, challenging the traditional norm where leadership roles have been predominantly associated with men. The speaker encourages women to take up leadership positions to change this perception.

💡Fortune 500 CEOs

Fortune 500 CEOs are the chief executive officers of the 500 largest publicly traded corporations in the United States. The video points out that only 5% of these CEOs are women, highlighting the gender disparity at the top levels of corporate leadership and the need for more female representation.

💡Venture Capital

Venture capital refers to the financial investments made in startups and small businesses that are perceived to have long-term growth potential. The video mentions that women receive only 0.7% of venture capital, indicating a significant gender gap in access to funding, which can hinder the growth of women-led businesses.

💡Fulfillment

Fulfillment in the video is used to describe the personal satisfaction and sense of achievement that comes from reaching one's potential and contributing meaningfully to society. The speaker argues that women should pursue leadership roles not only for personal fulfillment but also to inspire and pave the way for future generations.

💡Qualifications

Qualifications in this context refer to the skills, education, and experience required for a job or role. The video discusses how women often wait until they feel they have 100% of the qualifications before applying for a job, unlike men who might apply with only 60%, suggesting that women may be holding themselves back from opportunities.

💡Key Influencers

Key influencers are individuals who have the power to affect decisions, trends, or public opinion. The video suggests that women should identify and build relationships with key influencers in their industry who can help advance their careers and advocate for their promotion.

💡Female Strengths

Female strengths, as mentioned in the video, refer to the unique capabilities and attributes that women can leverage to succeed. The speaker specifically mentions 'giving' and 'leveraging' as strengths that women should use to develop relationships and advance in the workplace.

💡Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon

The 'Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon' is a trivia game that illustrates the concept of 'six degrees of separation' in social networks, suggesting that any two people in the world are six or fewer connections apart. The video uses this as a metaphor for building connections with key influencers, even those who may seem unapproachable.

💡Daughters

The term 'daughters' in the video is used to represent the next generation of women who will benefit from the efforts of current women to break gender barriers. The speaker emphasizes the importance of women taking action not just for themselves but also for the future opportunities and perceptions of their daughters.

Highlights

Gender discrimination is a critical issue that needs to be addressed, especially in the workplace.

Microaggressions can be a form of unintentional discrimination.

Friends and colleagues may unknowingly discriminate through comments.

An example of microaggression in a professional setting when deciding corporate roles.

The importance of recognizing and addressing microaggressions to promote equality.

The need for women to be seen as leaders in traditionally male-dominated roles.

Only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, indicating a significant gender gap in leadership.

Women are underrepresented in government and receive a small fraction of venture capital.

Despite the gender gap, data shows that women-owned companies can be highly profitable.

Women should not wait until they feel they have all the qualifications to apply for leadership roles.

Female strengths such as giving and leveraging can be powerful tools for career advancement.

Women have an innate ability to figure things out, which is a strength to be utilized.

Building relationships with key influencers can lead to career advancement opportunities.

Making a list of key influencers and building relationships with them is a strategic approach to career growth.

Even seemingly untouchable individuals can be connected through networking.

Long-term strategies like building relationships with influencers can lead to more women in top positions.

Increasing women's representation in leadership roles can change societal norms and expectations.

Women's skill sets are essential for solving complex problems and driving profit and job creation.

Encouraging all women to take action can lead to a collective rise in gender equality.

Transcripts

gender discrimination it's a really

important issue for us as women to be

talking about and there's a lot of talk

about the unfortunate situations that

women find themselves in in the

workplace and when it comes to advancing

and promoting and just being treated

equally and being paid equally I wrote

an article for my blog this week that I

hope that you'll read but I wanted to

get on video real quick and just share a

few thoughts I have about how to

overcome and how to stop gender

discrimination one of the things that

really stands out in my mind is how

sometimes people don't know that they're

that they're putting out

microaggressions that they are actually

discriminating I actually have friends

that have helped me succeed that have

helped me promote that have helped me

elevate to higher levels of sphere of

influence who have had microaggressions

against me without really realizing it

and I'll give you an example when my

husband and I were starting my

corporation you go through a process at

least here in California where you have

to decide who is going to be the

officers of the corporation CEO

secretary and treasurer so I told this

person that I was going to be the

president of sorry the CEO and the

treasurer and that my husband was going

to be the secretary and this was a man

and he said oh just like all marriages

the woman controls the money and makes

all the decisions and the guy gets left

hold in the bag or something like that

and I thought it was a really weird

comment because my husband's career is

has been a firefighter and my career has

been as a CEO so the answer is no it's

not that I need to control everything is

that I've been a CEO for 20 years so it

kind of makes sense right

so I don't want us to believe as a

gender that when there's discrimination

it's always intentional I like to think

about it in terms of creating i opening

moments for people so that they get to

see us in a different light so that they

get to see us in a way that they're not

used to seeing us that really is what it

boils down to isn't it is that is that

we can start to you have the world see

us as leaders in a world where we used

to see only men as leaders we have to

change that norm and the only way to do

it is for more of us to be in the top

position only 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are

women only 14% of government executives

we only get to point seven percent of

venture capital and yet people like

Kevin O'Leary famous from shark tank

the billionaire will say that 95% of his

prophet in his investing companies comes

from women-owned companies so there's

proof out there that were needed at the

top it's not just a matter of diversity

it's not just a matter of our skill sets

and our strengths it's a matter of

profit but for us as women it's also a

matter of fulfillment I'm not gonna say

that the only reason that we're not

there is discrimination sometimes we

hold ourselves back it's a

well-researched fact that men will apply

for a job when they feel they have 60

percent of the qualifications and women

wait till they feel like they have a

hundred percent and so we're not going

for it as often as men are but when it

comes to discrimination if we can't get

past it by having a heartfelt

conversation with someone who's a friend

because they don't realize they've just

issued a microaggression against us

there's other ways to handle it and

that's what my article is about I'll

give you a brief synopsis of what I'm

talking about my article and the brief

synopsis is this we have female

strengths the female strengths of giving

and leveraging are absolutely tools we

should be using to advance in the

workplace I'm not suggesting you use

that only and not have the skill sets my

guess is you probably have more Skills

skill sets then you realize so don't

wait till it's a hundred percent because

you as a woman have the ability to

figure it out we all know that

women have the ability to figure it out

that is one of our strengths we can

deliver okay it doesn't matter what

realm of life we're talking about

whether it's raising kids in the

marriage dealing with family whatever it

is women have the innate ability to

figure it out so go for it and use your

female strengths of giving and

leveraging to find a to develop

relationships with key influencers key

influencers that if they were to wave a

magic wand you could get promoted that

if they picked up the phone and said hey

hire Lacey that someone would do it who

are the people that influence the ones

that you need to be on your side that's

what I go over in this article and how

can you build those relationships

particularly how can you build those

relationships when someone seems

untouchable in my article I suggest that

you make a list of key influencers and

pick out the top five that can really

help you get where you want to go and

start building a relationship with them

and when you do that it's really likely

that one of them is gonna be seem

untouchable you've probably heard the

seven degrees of Kevin Bacon everybody's

connected to somebody in some way that's

sort of the theory here is that if you

have someone who is untouchable you

start looking and researching who is

connected to them that you could reach

into their lives in some way and build a

relationship with them so think of it as

a cheer we think of it this way in

fundraising you get someone in at this

level and then you get at this level and

then you get at this level so is this a

long-term strategy yes but if we get

people on our side that can influence

those those promotion decisions we can

find more of ourselves at the top this

is how I have done it for about half of

my career the other half I struggled to

figure out how do I get past this and

get to the top so I cover this in detail

in my article but I really want you to

think about how important it is that you

take action and you start influencing

your way to higher levels when more

people start to see women at the top it

will become more commonplace it will

become more accepted people will start

seeing us as the leaders we are but we

have to start first and we can't just do

it for us we have to do it for our

daughters we have to do it for our

fellow sisters out there who

are trying to offer more to the world

the world is waiting for our skill sets

our skill sets are needed to solve the

world's most complex problems to create

profit and organizations to create jobs

I mean let's do this and if all women

took this approach then all ships rise

and we start to change the dynamic of

gender discrimination I'm Lacey Shan

wherever you are in the world scroll

down and leave me a comment and go out

there and kill it this week

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