How male leaders should address sexist remarks before it costs their organization, according to UBC Sauder study

What’s the best way for men who lead teams to deal with a male employee who says something sexist?

According to new research by UBC Sauder School of Business assistant professor Dr. Jonathan Evans and PhD student Brad Huang, it benefits the organization for leaders to confront this behaviour in public.

In this Q&A, Dr. Evans discusses this study and what male leaders need to do to ensure team cohesion.  

How did you go about conducting the research?

We first asked male leaders, “If you saw someone make a sexist remark in a meeting, how would you respond?” Most said they would privately confront the person. We also found relatively few said they would validate the person affected.

From there, we ran experiments where female participants experienced a sexist remark during a group task. We compared public versus private confrontation and validation, and examined how both targets and perpetrators responded.

What did you find?

When male leaders publicly confront the perpetrator for using sexist language, it sends a salient signal that behaviour is not appropriate. Women in the study preferred public confrontation because it signals gender equality is part of the group’s norms, making them more comfortable to contribute their ideas.

However, a perpetrator’s sense of belonging and willingness to contribute is reduced when he is confronted in public. That highlights a major question for leaders: if you see a sexist remark, are you thinking about the preferences of the perpetrator or the person who has been harmed?

Tell us about the specific wording that leaders can use in a confrontation.

It’s important to indicate that sexist remarks aren’t appropriate, and aren’t aligned with the group’s values. For example, leaders should say, “I find that to be inappropriate” and highlight how it’s harmful.

In terms of validation, the women in the study appreciated the offer to discuss when an inappropriate comment was made. They didn’t like it when the male leader apologized for the perpetrator’s behaviour, or when they said they understood what the victim was feeling.

Some phrases that worked well include: “I would like to ask how you are doing” and “Would you like a moment to discuss what happened or take a break?” As a leader, it’s important to respect that she may be feeling any number of things—anger, upset, embarrassment, indifference—and then give options.

How should leaders handle the perpetrator after the public confrontation?

We definitely want to prioritize the experiences and preferences of the harmed individual. We also can’t completely ignore the perpetrator if our ultimate objective is the reduction of this behaviour and a well-functioning workplace.

A leader might approach the perpetrator and say something to lower the perpetrator’s defenses and make them feel less attacked. For example, privately explaining the intent behind the confrontation. If we want them to change, we have to do something to help them feel comfortable enough to be willing to change.

What’s the best way for leaders to provide the support that will help women thrive in the workplace?

Male leaders should recognize that they probably don’t know as much as they think they do. They should spend time asking more women about their preferences, their experiences and their ideas to better understand how others are thinking.

What I’m suggesting is to stop thinking about yourself, and to think about what other people like and don’t like. When people do more of that, they’re better able to act in ways that do good for others.

How common is it for men to confront sexist remarks and validate victims?

While many men say they would confront sexist remarks, public confrontation is quite rare. Validation is also not very common–of those who say they will validate, most say they do it privately.

The limited research indicates that confronting the behaviour has the potential to reduce future engagement in that behaviour. We do have to be careful about the potential for backlash, so male leaders who do the confronting need to consider the tone and the language they use.

This research was supported by the Montalbano Centre for Responsible Leadership Development and the Academy of Management Human Resources Division.