When Women Compete

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By Harvard Business Review. Discovered by Player FM and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Player FM, and audio is streamed directly from their servers. Hit the Subscribe button to track updates in Player FM, or paste the feed URL into other podcast apps.

Why is it that competing with a man to get a promotion, lead a project, or influence a decision can feel so satisfying, while competing with a woman can feel so uncomfortable? And why is normal, healthy conflict between women often seen as a catfight?

First up, a listener revisits an experience from early in her career when she felt pitted against the only other woman on her team, who she had hoped would be a mentor, not a rival. Then, Leah Sheppard draws on her research to explain how stereotyping and gender inequity can shape the way women think about and approach competition at work.

Our HBR reading list:

HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict, by Amy Gallo

Women Experience More Incivility at Work — Especially from Other Women,” by Allison S. Gabriel, Marcus M. Butts, and Michael T. Sliter

The Pros and Cons of Competition Among Employees,” by Anna Steinhage, Dan Cable, and Duncan Wardley

How Masculinity Contests Undermine Organizations, and What to Do About It,” by Jennifer L. Berdahl, Peter Glick, and Marianne Cooper

Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org

Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.

57 episodes