If you have not read this article on the climate at Harvard Business School, you really should. I don’t find it all surprising. Women, when knocking on the doors of power and politics, are routinely still asked to make choices. Will you be cute? Will you be smart? Will be you be the bitch? Will you be docile and shy? Will you be aggressive and a lone wolf? Will you be normatively acceptable?
I wonder if men are making the same choices? Just based on the informal survey of students in the classes I teach, I say no. The guys are themselves, coming in with baseball hats, ratty Ts, and unshaven. They raise their hands, say what they think. The women have make-up, a lot of pink (and yes, I dig the color pink too), and seem to be much more self-conscious of speaking up in class. In fact, I have one class where not a single woman has raised her hand yet to volunteer anything. 15 women – all mute – so far.
I am starting to think the bigger question is not what is – or is not – happening in Harvard’s class-driven MBA world. I am thinking about where the roots of girls/women losing their interest in being smart, in favor of being attractive and non-threatening to males. Fifth grade?
I don’t know. Maybe it’s unreasonable to think we can have it all? Maybe we need to chose a side of the street, and own it. Not sure. Something to be thinking about this semester as I teach.
Namaste.
