Disrespect to Women In Meetings

It may be taking a leap to label it as disrespect, but the behavior I see from some men during meetings can certainly be interpreted as that. I recently attended a technical meeting where it was 3 men and myself. Usually I don’t even notice that I am the only woman, but in this meeting, one of the men would talk to the other two men, and never acknowledge my presence.

Perhaps he is the more “traditional” male that feels women don’t belong in the workplace, or perhaps he has a deep insecurity. I really don’t mind his personal opinion, but the behavior was unacceptable.

Problem is … what to do about it.

In this case I was careful to speak up simply for the sake of getting air time and just to get myself noticed. That would likely be seen as posturing and perhaps send a message of insecurity.  I contributed when I thought it was valuable, and remained attentive the remainder of the time. I tried to set aside the non-verbal message he was sending that I was invisible.

Challenges like this test our self-confidence and often lead us to burying our natural communication tendencies. Listen to your self-talk when this happens. Ask yourself whether it is truly the reality you are seeing or rather are interpreting something with a twist. Consider how you want to sound and be true to your personality and feminine voice.