Women, Behaviour and Networking in Workplaces

It is because how we behave influences work culture, work satisfaction and ultimately our productivity at work, as well as the general wellbeing of individuals. Behaviour is not just about human behaviour in a sociological and psychological sense (e.g., studying human behaviour in groups, personalities, cognitive processes, etc.); a lot of times behaviour is gendered but this is not always considered. In sociology, we study human behaviour in groups, including in offices and organisations, and some of us also look at habitus, a concept introduced by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu who spoke of a particular set of behaviours linked to our early socialisation and how these early experiences condition our behaviour later in the society, which also includes organisational work. In studies on women, I have been conducting since 2018, what appeared is that early socialisation and interactions in peer groups during childhood largely match leadership styles and work experiences later in life. Therefore, women who played with boys when they were growing up ended up embracing what is commonly known as masculine leadership styles and those who socialised with girls embraced what is commonly known as feminine leadership styles. What also appeared in my data, and this is confirmed in all other research on this topic, is that those women who embrace masculine behaviour in organisations tend to do better in their careers and earn promotions because they become ‘one of the boys’ or blokeish whilst others stay behind. This is the case across industries, both those that are seen as traditionally feminine (e.g., communications) and those that are seen as masculine (e.g., construction, manufacturing). This presents a particular problem for organisations because it enables groupthink and only certain perspectives get heard whilst others remain unheard; having certain perspectives unheard stifles innovation, and creative thinking and affects staff morale and employee retention. 

So how do we recognise these behavioural styles? Traditionally masculine behaviour would include characteristics such as the lack of empathy and emotion, directness in communication, ‘giving it as good as one gets’, embracing a work-first attitude, assertiveness, domination in conversations, etc. These are some of the characteristics that take one ahead, and what this also creates is the situation in which women who go ahead become so bloke-ified that other women no longer see them as role models. What is more, women on top, because there are so few of them, frequently report, that they feel pressure to be a superwoman and they also complain that they have to be very tough to succeed but then end up criticised by other employees who often say they would rather work for a man. This creates a catch-22 for women because if they are soft, they are not seen as manager material but if they are tough, which they have to be to go ahead, then other employees dislike them, and women do not see them as role models for a kind of woman they might want to become in the future. 

In the #WECAN (Women Empowered Through Coaching and Networking) project, I designed and led a study on networking because this appeared as a point of grief in lots of my research where interviewed women said networking is often stressful because it is at antisocial hours and because women frequently face unwanted sexual advances. In a large study, analysing four decades of research on practitioners, one of the main findings is that boy’s clubs are still extremely powerful and pervasive and even when women form networks, they often lack influence and power. However, women forming networks in the way men do, hierarchical and attempting to influence structures of power from the bottom-up approach through networking, is wrong and does not work. What women can do is form their own networks using a horizontal rather than vertical approach and simply form networks where they can bond and foster collaborations because, ultimately, there are laws against discrimination and if women start collaborating and developing outstanding CVs, this will sooner or later have to confront meaningless networking based on gender and those highly qualified will have to go ahead. In the #WECAN project, I formed a book club in the school, which in only a few months created astonishing results. In an informal setting, we bonded, became work friends and developed several collaborations that will result in publications and improved CVs. I have now also formed a #WECAN project book club to provide a networking space for women to bond, create friendships and maybe collaborate in the future. If you would like to know more about #WECAN, you can do so, as well as sign up to participate in the project and join the book club (or other networks), here.

Dr Martina Topić is a Reader at Leeds Business School. Martina is a behavioural sociologist and communications scholar mainly studying issues of social inequity. In her research conducted over the past six years, she looked at women’s behaviour and communications in organisations using communications industries as case studies (journalism, advertising, public relations) and most recently she started to look at the experiences of working-class people in England more extensively. She has consistently argued that equal societies are better for everyone, but one will not be achieved unless we empower the working classes. Martina is a research lead and the lead academic on the #WECAN project and she also leads the EUPRERA network on Women in Public Relations. More about her work can be found here.

Open-access publications from WECAN on Women, Organisational Culture and Networking

Topić, M., Round, G., Carbery, C., Hunter, T., Young, M., Carr, R., Cockett, S., Eagles, S., Shaw, K., Fowler, M., Wajahat, A., Malone, S., Jekhine, D., Griggs, A. (2022). Women and Organisational Culture in SMEs. WECAN Report. Leeds Beckett University, Leeds. https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/8658/1/WomenAndOrganisationalCultureInSmesPV-TOPIC.pdf 

Topić, M. Round, G., Edmondson, C., Kyriazi, F., Dolan, J. C., Primakov, M., Magarry, K., Corbett, R., Washington, R., Gaynor, J., Brannigan, P., & Pickering, O. (2022). Women and Succession Planning in SMEs. #WECAN report. https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/8592/ 

Topić, M., Konstantopoulou, A., Leung, M., Trem, K., Carbery, C., Ogbemudia, J., Clayton, T., Heron, E., Reynolds, M., Mahtab, T. (2021). Women in SMEs: A Systematic
Literature Review (2000-2021). #WECAN report. Leeds: Leeds Beckett University. https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/8238/1/WomenInSMEsASystematicLiteratureReview20002021PV-TOPIC.pdf?fbclid=IwAR22tzFvIXd1oU7Wmo8nIy2GApncpnpK3YI5XQNAej6w1pcuv0bPNGKc04Q 

Topić, M., Carbery, C., Arrigoni, A., Clayton, T., Kyriakidou, N., Gatewood, C., Shafique, S., & Halliday, S. (2021). Women and Networking: A Systematic Literature Review (1985-2021). #WECAN report. Leeds: Leeds Beckett University. https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/7951/1/WomenAndNetworkingLiteratureReviewAM-TOPIC.pdf