Fierce

Fierce is a word used to describe strong women, however it also infers that a woman isn’t acting as we expect her to. Fierce is a particularly problematic sexist term, as it is often reserved for women of colour and reinforces the ‘angry black woman’ stereotype.

Instead of calling her fierce, he called her strong, as that was exactly what she was.

by Sexism Education March 06, 2022

Emotional

Emotional describes someone who has shown a valid human response to a situation. This word is often misused to describe emotionally intelligent women in the workplace. There is a well-documented history of women being labelled as ‘emotional’ and ‘hysterical’ and therefore not equipped to lead.

Even presidential candidates fear being judged as emotional:
“It’s a really delicate balancing act—to be yourself, to express yourself, to let your feelings show, but not in a way that triggers all of the negative stereotypes.” –Hillary Clinton

After a difficult client meeting, Jane became emotional. One of her male colleagues rolled his eyes and the other went over to see if she was okay.

by Sexism Education March 06, 2022

Difficult

When applied to a woman, difficult relates to the idea that women are impractical for having high expectations for themselves and others. When we call a woman difficult, we could be saying: “She’s asking me to challenge myself and I’m not comfortable with a woman doing that”. Words like decisive or determined are more positive ways to describe female colleagues.

He noticed that his female colleague didn’t live to please others. Instead of labelling her a ‘difficult woman’, he respected her ability to say no.

by Sexism Education March 06, 2022