https://create.twu.ca/layla11/2018/06/23/unit-8-learning-activity-8-2-2/

I loved your willingness to be open about the gender differences in your workplace. I especially liked how you referenced Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and her TED talk on why we have too few female leaders. I was just doing an interview today with a female administrator in my school district who also referenced Sheryl Sandberg and her catch  phrase “lean in” (she wrote a book about this and is the founder of the group Lean In). The link for the organization Lean In can be found here.

Time Magazine

Sheryl Sandberg in her book and in her TED talk encourages women to step outside their comfort zones and be willing to sit at the conference table, to ask for more money, to participate in the traditional male activities such as golf tournaments so that women can “lean in” and have more of a presence in a male dominated environment.

I think that if we were to take a poll, even from our small class group, we would most likely find that the majority of women feel like gender gaps definitely exist in our workplaces.  I don’t believe that all of these gaps are intentional by any means, rather the formulas for how things are done have been ingrained over the years and women who break into leadership roles, are too afraid to speak up about these practices for fear of having their progress stalled or finding themselves suddenly demoted.  So instead, women are choosing to go along with it and consciously settle for what they can get, rather than risk losing out on leadership opportunities.

I loved how you commented that,”once we can understand the perspective held by another gender, we could be more supportive and welcome”. I honestly think that most men would be shocked to discover how women feel as they genuinely aren’t consciously aware of the existence of these dynamics or the challenges that women feel they face.  I agree with you that communication is definitely key to being able to see things from both male and female perspectives so that both genders can learn from each other and recognize that both bring strengths to the table and that together they are stronger as a result.