“There’s no need to fix women”: Researchers point to systematic issues for the causes of gender inequality

“Women are the problem” – this tacit story has been circulating in the world of work for decades. Countless initiatives and programs are designed to “fit” women into their careers. But what happens when the problem isn’t a woman, not a system?

With this in mind, Professor Anja Danner-Schröder calls for a change of established structures and rooted habits instead. To this end, she analyzed “The Fix,” a podcast that addresses gender inequality in the workplace. Together with two research colleagues, she looked into the episodes from the perspective of practice theory and published her findings in a journal organizational study.

For 20 years, the issue of gender (in)equality has attracted attention both in academic and public initiatives. “In many cases, attempts are made to make women “appropriate” in the professional world,” explains Danner-Schröder, head of the administrative research department at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau.

“They are encouraged to become more confident, get better towards the market and plan births strategically to meet the demands of the labour market. But that’s exactly where the problem lies. These initiatives assume that women need to “fix” instead of questioning the system. ”

Gender inequality is not an inevitable reality, but a pattern of behavior maintained through collective, repeated actions. You need to start here. “We must ultimately break and change the daily actions that perpetuate inequality. It takes work and courage from everyone involved,” explains the scientist.

Dismantle the established story

The podcast The Fix, hosted by Michelle Penelope King and analyzed in research, goes a step further. In conversations with researchers, politicians, actresses, founders and executives, King challenges the story of how gender inequality can be solved by “fixing” women. Instead, she shifts her focus to how the system needs to be changed to achieve true equality.

Through more than 200 episodes, this revision shows how deeply rooted structures and everyday practices contribute to the breeding of inequality. For example, in the aviation industry, the proportion of female pilots is only 5%. This is because inflexible work schedules slow down women who are responsible for caregiving. In businesses, women feel that despite their best efforts, they must “be one of the guys.”

Another example of systematic inequality is that women and marginalized groups often adapt their behavior to avoid stereotypes. They try to do things like “everyone feels better about their success” or “not make others feel anxious with their authority.” These tweaks accumulate in stressful everyday life.

“Studies call this “death from a million cuts,” says Danner Schroeder.

The podcast also shows how things work. The example of Iceland where parental leave is standard shows how parenting is considered a transgender task and systematic change looks like. Another example of the podcast shows that alliances with male colleagues may be important. In addition to confronting women when faced with discrimination at work, male colleagues can already achieve more by taking small actions, such as dealing with problematic comments.

The path to success is carried out through the system

In other words, gender equality cannot be the sole responsibility of women. It requires involvement of all actors who shape and decide the workplace system. “We argue that understanding of what gender inequality is necessary is a change. It is equally important to have a deeper understanding of what gender inequality does and how it works. A practice-based perspective focusing on everyday behavior is needed.”

In her view, this system modification process requires not only questioning and changing one’s actions, but also standing up and raising awareness by questioning visible and hidden practices, establishing and further developing new practices. Ultimately, it is a systematic approach that will lead to sustainable success. Those who have the courage to challenge established patterns not only open themselves up to new opportunities, but also create an environment in which all participants can achieve long-term success.