"You should focus on your family rather than work."
"How can a woman run such a large firm?"
"Women CEOs care too much."

Gendered speech differences have been a long-standing concern and a vast body of literature has been dedicated to comparing the speeches of both men and women. The term mansplaining was coined in the mid-2000s after several women started the conversation around men unnecessarily explaining things to women that they already know. Hence, catchphrases like manterrupting, bropropriating, and mansplaining became a part of the broader conversation around gender equality and the experiences of women in male-dominated spaces.

Women working professionals could be unaware of these terms but such instances create a significant impact on their careers and professional development. Such experiences can undermine their intelligence and expertise, further perpetuating gender stereotypes and biases in the workplace.

On the occasion of International Women's Day, People Matters asked women leaders to share their experiences of facing manterrupting, bropropriating, and mansplaining in their career journey. Here's a snippet of what some leaders had to say: 

How can we bring more attention to these microaggressions women face at work? Can we encourage men to become allies in the fight for gender equality? How can HR leaders tackle Manterrupting, Bropropriating and Mansplaining at work? 

In our upcoming People Matters’ Big Questions series on 7th March, 2023, we discuss these questions and call to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces. Listen as Amruta Choudhury, Head - Inclusion & Diversity, Flipkart; Smriti Handa, Chief Human Resources Officer, BharatPe; and Rajesh Rai, Vice President - People & India, GlobalLogic India share their thoughts. Click here to watch the LinkedIn Live