Break with sexist stereotypes in the business world

Break with sexist stereotypes in the business world

Caixabank launches a guide to promote non-sexist inclusive behavior in the world of work

  The phenomenon 'Me too', the sentence of the case of La Manada or the mobilizations of 8-M in Spain have placed the role of women at the center of the debate in Spanish society. Also in the business world, where clichés, cliches and stereotypes are still crawling. An example. A professional knocks at her boss's door. «Sorry, when it suits you I would like to talk to you about a professional issue that will affect my schedules for the next few months ...».

  «You're expecting a child!» Replies the boss. "No, I would like to study a master's degree," she corrects. The example is part of the guide of equal communication, published by the CaixaBank group internally among its staff to break stereotypes and promote equal and non-discriminatory behavior in the professional field.

The CEO of CaixaBank, Gonzalo Gortázar, said on Tuesday, in the presentation of the document to some 300 directors of the group, that the issue of diversity and equal communication is not about fashion. "We want diversity because we want the price of the share to rise," he said. "It's a competitive advantage for the bank, it's here to stay," he said. The management team of the Catalan financial entity is composed of around 40% women and currently 54% of the total workforce are women. Gortázar showed his commitment to diversity and gender equality, but also to generational diversity and sexual orientation, and announced that the group will propose adopting the "business standard" commitment of the United Nations for LGBTI collectives. CaixaBank has also launched the 'Wengage' program

The guide presented is part of its commitment to a change in interpersonal relationships and part of the premise that if the professionals of an entity have their partners in mind, their language will change automatically. It goes beyond the changes made in certain linguistic forms, such as the use of doublets or invariable forms or the abandonment of the generic masculine. That is to say, it is not enough to say «comrades and companions». It is a question, according to the guide, that professionals, in their daily communication, consider women, try to address them and understand how they communicate, leaving aside commonplaces. "No one is immune to stereotypes," according to the guide, but an "organization whose members operate on topics can not be innovative," he says. The author of the work is Estrella Montolío Durán, Professor of Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Barcelona. "We must inaugurate new ways of communicating" in the business world, said Montolío yesterday.


  «Beyond the good, he said, we must optimize female talent». "We have to break stereotypes," he said, overcoming topics such as women should always be "charming". "The public voice of the woman is silenced very often," he complained. And he gave as an example of this situation that the female presence in media as an expert voice is reduced to 12-15%. "The public voice of the woman is silenced very often," he complained. And he gave as an example of this situation that the female presence in media as an expert voice is reduced to 12-15%. "The public voice of the woman is silenced very often," he complained. And he gave as an example of this situation that the female presence in media as an expert voice is reduced to 12-15%.

Some of the stereotypes that the guide speaks of say that men are socially expected to express themselves firmly and surely, while women who are communicatively friendly and who do not compete with ambition, who do not stand out. Dismantling these clichés, according to the guide, leads to adopt the best of the communicative styles of both genders: a rigorous, courteous and clear communication that favors a work environment that allows the confident expression of the talent potential of all. Another cliché: for them, work comes first, that is why they have less absenteeism, while it is still believed that women give more importance to personal life. According to the Montolío Durán document, the statistics demonstrate in an "incontestable" manner that women do not show greater absenteeism. It is also believed,

The guide reflects and provides solutions to the fact that men and women behave differently in the public sphere, and also to the female tendency to self-rehearsal in public. Often, the document points out, in the professional field the voice of women is not heard in an equal situation with that of their colleagues. The consequence is that women who know a lot about a subject tend to act according to "convenient discretion". The phenomenon of pirate ideas is also addressed. The following sequence is a real case. A professional presents a proposal in public. The shutdown is not heard or received by response. Later someone (a male) poses the same suggestion, reformulating it slightly. The proposal, now of man, is echoed and valued. Result: the owner of the winning idea is the ' thief 'of it. And the guide also raises how to avoid 'mansplaining', which is to explain something to someone, usually a man to a woman, in a way considered patronizing or patronizing.


    And without taking into account that the one who is listening can know more than what counts. It is based on a macho cliché that he is more cultured and knows more. Do we listen to a woman in the same way as a man? reflects the guide. Do we grant him the same relevance and authority? "None of us is free from the bias of stereotypes," Montolío Durán concluded. And without taking into account that the one who is listening can know more than what counts. It is based on a macho cliché that he is more cultured and knows more.

  Do we listen to a woman in the same way as a man? reflects the guide. Do we grant him the same relevance and authority? "None of us is free from the bias of stereotypes," Montolío Durán concluded. And without taking into account that the one who is listening can know more than what counts. It is based on a macho cliché that he is more cultured and knows more. Do we listen to a woman in the same way as a man? reflects the guide. Do we grant him the same relevance and authority? "None of us is free from the bias of stereotypes," Montolío Durán concluded.