![]() ![]() We do see sex differences in various settings, including the workplace-but those differences are not rooted in fixed gender traits. There is wide variation among women and among men, and meta-analyses show that, on average, the sexes are far more similar in their inclinations, attitudes, and skills than popular opinion would have us believe. The reason is simple: Science, by and large, does not actually support these claims. We will not level the playing field so long as the bedrock on which it rests is our conviction about how the sexes are different. But whether framed as a barrier or a benefit, these beliefs hold women back. Simultaneously, other assumed differences-that women are more caring, cooperative, or mission-driven-are used as a rationale for companies to invest in women’s success. One set of assumed differences is marshaled to explain women’s failure to achieve parity with men: Women negotiate poorly, lack confidence, are too risk-averse, or don’t put in the requisite hours at work because they value family more than their careers. (Think headlines that tout “Why women do X at the office” or “Working women don’t Y.”) Instead, the rhetoric focuses on the idea that women are inherently unlike men in terms of disposition, attitudes, and behaviors. But those are not the differences people are usually talking about. Of course, there are biological differences. The discussions, and many of the initiatives companies have undertaken, too often reflect a faulty belief: that men and women are fundamentally different, by virtue of their genes or their upbringing or both. That’s all well and good, but there’s an important catch. The conversation about the treatment of women in the workplace has reached a crescendo of late, and senior leaders-men as well as women-are increasingly vocal about a commitment to gender parity.
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