Page 28 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_January2025

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Assertive women perceived negatively

in business

By Carol Kinsey Goman | This commentary was supplied by Troy Media

As a speaker at business conferences, I’ve addressed
organizations around the world, and I’ve seen the genuine
commitment that many companies have made to develop
the leadership abilities of female employees and to create
workplace environments with family-friendly policies and
flexible work arrangements – all in hopes of attracting, retaining
and grooming women for top management roles.
But despite this effort and this progress, far too many talented
females still bump their heads on a glass ceiling.
In my book, The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of
Body Language at Work, I talk about the power of silent signals
in the workplace. So I was fascinated to come across research
that helps explain why even the best-intentioned efforts at
developing women leaders are failing.

The research deals with emergent leadership in groups of
equal status. And the findings have everything to do with body Three key points:
language. 1. This was a study of leadership behaviours in peer groups.
Research from the University of Delaware compared the There is no evidence suggesting that women in formal
nonverbal affect responses to male and female leaders and leadership roles generate any greater negative (or less
found that intellectual assertiveness by women in mixed-sex positive) emotional cues than their male counterparts.
discussions elicits visible nonverbal cues of negative affect.
Females taking a leadership role in the group received fewer 2. This was not about men discounting the contribution of
pleased responses and more displeased responses from fellow women. The groups in the study had an equal mix of male
group members than male leaders who spoke up and offered and female members.
the same input. 3. The power of nonverbal communication lies in its
From earlier research, we know that displeased expressions by unconscious nature – and bringing the covert into
fellow group members cause a leader’s contribution to be rated awareness can help nullify its effect. (So, circulate this
less valuable than the identical contribution when embedded article!)
with cues of approval. So you can see how women’s ideas can
be devalued simply by receiving less positive and more negative So, if you want to groom women for top positions in your
responses than men’s contributions of the same objective organization, keep doing those things that have proven helpful:
quality. Offer females the coaching, mentors, and career opportunities
Here’s what can happen in a team meeting: A woman states her that develop leadership potential.
opinion. In response, negative nonverbal affect cues – frowns, But, in addition, pay attention to your own body language.
head shakes, eye contact avoidance, etc. – are displayed, Employees look for and emulate the nonverbal signals they
processed, and often mimicked by the entire group to produce get from their bosses. Current leaders can help create a level
a negative consensus about the value of her contribution. And playing field for emergent leaders by providing the same cues of
all of this occurs without individuals on the team being aware positive affect (eye contact, smiling, nodding, leaning forward,
of what’s happening. etc.) when listening to women as they do when listening to men.
At a time when conscious responses (direct answers on Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman is an expert in nonverbal communication, body
questionnaires, etc.) are becoming increasingly egalitarian, language, and leadership presence. She is a speaker, author, and executive
covert, unconscious responses still reflect discrimination coach who works with business leaders and organizations to improve their
against women taking a leadership role. Since hiring, salary, communication and leadership skills.
and promotion (especially to top leadership positions) often
depend on being recognized as an emergent leader, this puts
females at a distinct disadvantage.

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