This year’s theme for International Women’s Day was “break the bias”. However, what does this mean? And how can we actually break such a thing?
Bias, and its existence, is simply a part of the human experience. We all have bias, even if we’re not aware of it. So, in the pursuit of gender equality, or even gender equity, how do we break something we don’t even know is there?
This inability to recognise or understand our own biases can make it difficult to articulate the ways in which gender inequality can act within our society. However, whilst uncomfortable to self-reflect and admit our own mistakes, learning from personal experience can be the best form of education regarding these issues.
So, this article will be a journey of exposing myself and my own experience with bias to show how there is always time to learn and evolve, especially in the pursuit of gender equality.
Prior to joining the ADF, I was unaware of the complexities of society’s gender lens and how it affects my life, positively and negatively, as a woman. However, I soon learnt that the preconceived idea of my identity and the world, which I thought was accurate and impartial, was tainted by deep-seated gendered stereotypes. Starting with my fear of the feminine.
In my first year at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), I was riddled with self-doubt. I feared that others would perceive my ‘softer’ more feminine-like personality traits as weak and maligned to the characteristics needed to be a military leader. I never outwardly expressed this doubt, instead, I harboured it inside me and used my future job role of a Personnel Capability Officer as a justification, or excuse, for why I was ‘allowed’ to be more feminine, caring and ‘soft’.
My fitness and sporting ability became my selling point where the currency of my worth was how fast I could run or how many push-ups I could do, not whether I was being my honest self. The desire to impress others by proving to them that I was ‘tough’ or ‘strong’ became so entangled in my self-identity and how I measured success that I became blind to its cause.
I realised this thinking stemmed from a complementary relationship of two societal factors: the ‘Default Male’ and its by-product effect of viewing femininity as inferior. The concept of the ‘Default Male’ is deeply embedded in the patriarchy. This is because society has been constructed on the concept that ‘men’ and ‘man’ are universal and default/primary beings. This is embodied in that many factors of life; evolution, history, and language, have been constructed on a male-unless-otherwise-indicated approach. For example, mobile phones and keyboards are too large for females as they are designed for larger male hands. The standard office temperature is perfect for men but on average five degrees too cold for women, due to our lower metabolic rate. Women are 71 percent more likely to be injured in a car crash as car safety is designed around the figure of a man. The first artificial heart was made too big and was thus unusable for women, and 48 percent of female-prevalent diseases are studied exclusively on male animals.
A United States study explored how the ‘Default Male’ effects women in the workplace. It found that women are more likely to be described using communal language such as nurturing, kind, or supportive, and less active language, such as self-confident, ambitious, and determined compared to men. Ironically, however, when women do forgo these communal characteristics and adopt active language traits, they face harsh criticism and suffer socially. For example, if a woman goes against their gender norm, the positive male attributes of ‘strong-willed’ and ‘determined’ melt away and are replaced with the title of ‘bossy’ or ‘stubborn.’
What this accumulates to is an influx of societal beliefs suggesting that men are strong and natural leaders, whilst women are not. The series of consequences that ricochet from this blind thinking inherently affects the ADF and its members. Through various talks with women in our workforce, the term Imposter Syndrome is more than frequently thrown around. Imposter Syndrome is the feeling of insecurity or self-doubt where people feel they do not deserve the success they are being granted. Ironically, I am experiencing this right now as I write this article. I can’t help but ask myself “Who am I to be writing this? What makes me think that I deserve having my voice heard or that what I write will be good enough.”
Whilst this affects both genders, I cannot help but think that the women feeling this doubt are subconsciously being affected by an outdated belief that makes them incapable of shamelessly accepting that their individual effort alone led to their success .
When these biases go unchecked they can dangerously lead to the acceptance of defaming femininity. This brings rise to women, often uncritically, internalising misogynistic beliefs. For example, in the phenomenon of ‘Pick Me Girls’ women seek and gain attention by proving that they’re ‘not like other girls’ through dismissing typically feminine behaviour and the women who portray such behaviour. I suffered from this while growing up where I hated the Twilight movies and Justin Bieber, as doing so made me ‘cool’ (in the eyes of 13 year old boys) as I was not like other girls. Even though I loved both privately.
In a more corporate context, this bias is seen through the Queen Bee syndrome where women who do manage to reach a powerful position are threatened by other women, so they are reluctant to help others and seek to only reinforce glass ceilings. Having been in the military for 2.5 years, I can only speak for my own environment at ADFA. That is, here everyone is fit, smart and capable making it incredibly easy to fall into a trap of competition. However, in the fight for equality this behaviour helps no one.
The 2018-19 Women in Defence Report found that surveyed members saw a lack of women role models as a significant or moderate obstacle to their career advancement. This reaffirms the need for people to be open to learning about their biases and how they might influence interactions or actions with others in the workplace.
In achieving this, mentoring and sponsorship can be a valuable way to learn what biases one is holding. For example, I have a male leadership mentor who helps me better understand the complexities of gender and provides guidance so I can be a better leader. Although not a woman, he is a valuable role model providing social proof that regardless of who you are we can all be active members in achieving gender equality.
I am sure I am not alone, nor am I isolated in my feelings. As I move forth in my ADF career I want to feel confident that together we can educate ourselves and others on systemic societal issues that affect our everyday work life. Never again do I want to feel fearful that my ‘softer’ feminine characteristics make me weak as a military member. Instead, I want to assure myself and others that our individual differences, having feminine or masculine characteristics, should not be a weakness but a strength that ensures we have a diverse, capable, and committed workforce. .
I am part of the upcoming generation of ADF leaders and I want to ensure that current and future subordinates, peers, and superiors are cultivating an environment conducive to inclusiveness, education, equality, and empowerment.
We can achieve this through honest self-reflection, striking conversation on these issues to educate each other and being an advocate for gender equality.
About the author: Holly Ryan is a third year Australian Defence Force Academy trainee and future Personnel Capability Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. She is passionate about educating herself and others on gender equality and the strength of femininity, and aims to be an active and meaningful contributor in the creation of a better world for all.