Nataliey BitatureEmpowering Africa's Next Generation: Leadership, Innovation, and Impact with Dr Nataliey.

Indicators of Gender Bias in the Workplace

9 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:01

In this monologue, the speaker highlights everyday gender bias and microaggressions that women face in professional settings, such as being asked to fetch tea or being subjected to jokes about appearance and personal circumstances. She argues that it is unfair to place the burden of adjusting communication solely on women and calls for men to self‑monitor their behavior, asking whether they would treat a male colleague the same way. The speaker notes that increased female representation on hiring and promotion panels now creates tangible consequences for men who exhibit harassing or unprofessional conduct, linking accountability to promotion outcomes. She concludes that women are motivated by a desire to be taken seriously and respected, while men should also seek respect through professional conduct and leadership, emphasizing mutual responsibility for a bias‑free workplace.

Chapters

When people see a woman, they'll be like, "Oh, let me send her to get me tea." That's the stuff that annoys me, and I think those are the situations that put women in inappropriate positions. But to put the burden on us to now adjust our communication because of how others are treating us, it's a bit unfair. We do have to do it for now, but I think also men need to be more aware of familiarity. Would you say that same thing to a male colleague? Would you ask him the same thing? Would you joke about his outfit? Would you roll your eyes when he says his child is sick and he has to go home? There are small things you need to check yourself on as a man to say, am I being professional? Because also those women won't respect you. And the good thing these days, women are now also in positions of power. So if there are 3 women who are in the hiring committee and it's time for your promotion, ah, that guy, I'm not giving him that promotion. He always does this. He harasses the junior staff. He rolls his eyes at this. He says this. He touched that one. You won't get the promotion. It's that simple. So the good thing is now there's consequences for men as well. So women, we are motivated because we want to be taken seriously. We want to be respected. And for men, they should also be motivated to be respected as a man in the organization, as a leader.