If there’s one thing I’ve observed over the years (mainly in professional environments) is that the whole “sausage fest” environment tends towards dick-wagging contests and other less that healthy macho group behaviours.
That said, one of the most toxic machist environments I’ve ever been in was a workplace were women were present, due to quotas, and management seemed to have chosen them on looks rather than competence.
I suspect that a healthy environment requires both genders present and without any perceived distinction in importance depending on gender. Specifically from my experience, women de jure or de facto present as a different kind of group member (such as being basically “eye candy”) isn’t going to do much to suppress unhealthy behaviours (it might hide some of the spoken stuff due to fear of legal/HR consequences but it won’t change people’s thinking and decisions anchored on that thinking).
I suspect the very same thing applies when genders are swapped - there seem to also be disfunctional group behaviours in all-women environments, just different from the male ones (less macho dickwagging, more intrigue and social cliques).
Couldn’t agree more.
If there’s one thing I’ve observed over the years (mainly in professional environments) is that the whole “sausage fest” environment tends towards dick-wagging contests and other less that healthy macho group behaviours.
That said, one of the most toxic machist environments I’ve ever been in was a workplace were women were present, due to quotas, and management seemed to have chosen them on looks rather than competence.
I suspect that a healthy environment requires both genders present and without any perceived distinction in importance depending on gender. Specifically from my experience, women de jure or de facto present as a different kind of group member (such as being basically “eye candy”) isn’t going to do much to suppress unhealthy behaviours (it might hide some of the spoken stuff due to fear of legal/HR consequences but it won’t change people’s thinking and decisions anchored on that thinking).
I suspect the very same thing applies when genders are swapped - there seem to also be disfunctional group behaviours in all-women environments, just different from the male ones (less macho dickwagging, more intrigue and social cliques).