Further to last week's post when we congratulated the 12 women members in the next LegCo, we have been following news reports that Regina Ip has apparently snubbed invitations to be the next LegCo President saying that handling procedural matters is not the kind of job she is interested in and she would rather focus on policy agendas. While some are speculating that her position is also motivated by her intention to run for Chief Executive, whatever the reason, we are heartened by the example of a powerful woman drawing a line in the sand for women everywhere who tend to be the ones who end up doing the “office housework”.
Even today, women are disproportionately given the administrative tasks, menial jobs and undervalued assignments - they are expected to order food, take notes in meetings and join thankless committees at far greater rates than their male peers. This holds women back by undercutting their authority and devouring time they could spend on more valued projects.
Whether it’s Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant’s essay in the New York Times on “Madam CEO, Get Me A Coffee” or “Taking Notes Isn’t ‘Women’s Work’: What To Do When You’re The Default Admin” by Rikki Rogers in Forbes or Joan C. Williams on “Sticking Women with the Office Housework” in The Washington Post, it's clear we have to get women out of office housework and onto more projects that really matter, both to them and to their companies, if we want more women to be successful in reaching positions of influence.
As Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant observe: the sad reality in workplaces around the world is that “women help more but benefit less from doing so. In keeping with deeply held gender stereotypes, we expect men to be ambitious and results-oriented, and women to be nurturing and communal. When a man offers to help, we shower him with praise and rewards. But when a woman helps, we feel less indebted... The reverse is also true. When a woman declines to help a colleague, people like her less and her career suffers. But when a man says no, he faces no backlash. A man who doesn’t help is ‘busy’; a woman is ‘selfish.’”
Companies can avoid the office housework gender bias by assigning communal tasks evenly to ensure that support work is shared, noticed and valued instead of relying on volunteers for tasks like note taking. At the same time, women need to feel comfortable just saying no - like Regina Ip - or they can consider the four strategies suggested by Simmons College professor Deborah Kolb and leadership and gender consultant Jessica Porter. To avoid being cast as the grunt and instead turn the situation to their advantage, they suggest women calculate the opportunity cost to their careers, demonstrate the value of their help and use this data to negotiate for a promotion or pay rise, or worst case - build in reciprocity for the future. Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant also encourage men to speak up to help solve the gender gap and workplace bias issues: “Men can use their voices to draw attention to women’s contribution. Men can also step up by doing their share of support work and mentoring.”
As always, we would love to hear your views on this topic. Please write to me at su-mei.thompson@twfhk.org.
