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If These Heels Could Talk


Feb 17, 2021

On February 4th, 2021, the head of the Olympic Organizing Committee, Yoshiro Mori, was in the news for making derogatory comments about how women interact in professional meetings. Some of the quotes:

 

“Women have an annoying tendency to make meetings run unnecessarily long.”

“board of directors meetings with many women take a lot more time.”

“When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, this is annoying.”

“Women are competitive.”

“When one person raises a hand, others think they need to speak up as well, that’s why everyone speaks.”

 

Dr. Deborah Tannen, professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University, has authored several books on inter-gender communication and found that in women’s personal lives and around other women, they talk more than men.  They do not talk more in meetings or professional settings.

 

So where does this common assertion come from? And, more importantly, how can women hold their space in professional settings if others consider them over-sharing, annoying, and/or shrill (common complaints). Listen in as Michelle and JoyGenea discuss what seems like an ever-present burden on women to constantly temper their thoughts for the comfort of their colleagues. And, more importantly, how it’s changing.