Are invisible workplace barriers holding you back?
by Stephanie Eckelkamp
Tell us if this sounds familiar: You’ve been at your job for a year or more. Your work is beyond solid—just as good, if not better, than your peers. And you’re constantly getting saddled with more responsibilities. But that promotion you were hoping for didn’t pan out. Your boss gives you some painfully vague feedback about fine tuning a few of your skills—even though you’ve been taking on extra work, reading books, watching YouTube videos, and attending online seminars for months to grow and prove your commitment.
So you get pissed (mostly at yourself) and you default to working even harder. After all, that must be the answer. Why else would you be stagnating as, one by one, your male colleagues surpass you in salary and status?
Turns out: It might not be you at all. Deeply ingrained workplace biases and barriers—many of which your superiors may not even notice—could be holding you back.
These “invisible barriers” have existed as long as women have been in the workplace, according to Michelle King, PhD, former Director of Inclusion at Netflix. Understanding what these barriers are, and how they manifest in your organization, is the first step in recognizing your worth—and whether your workplace is even worthy of your talents.
“Once you are aware of the broken culture that exists in your organization, you will be prepared to see the invisible barriers for what they are: inequality,” King writes in her new book The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work. “This knowledge will help you preserve your mental and emotional energy and go from wondering how to fix yourself to recognizing that the problem is not you, it’s your workplace.”
So what are some of these invisible barriers?
Even if you don’t feel like you’re actively being discriminated against, it’s still important to familiarize yourself with common “invisible barriers” women face at work. After all, they’ve existed so long that the way they manifest in your workplace may not be immediately obvious.
In a recent conversation with Harvard Business Review’s HBR IdeaCast podcast, King spelled out what a few of these barriers look like.
The pay gap—right from the start. Men and women are essentially equally experienced when first entering the workforce after college, but still, women’s starting salaries are on average less, according to research conducted by Accenture. And if you think things will even out by asking for a raise, think again: “Research finds that men and women ask for pay raises at similar rates,” King explains. “Women are just 25% less likely to get one because when women speak up they’re seen as difficult, or they’re seen as aggressive.”
The ideal employee “prototype”—that you don’t fit. One of King’s most interesting points on the podcast was that many workplaces are set up in such a way that supports an ideal type of worker, or a “prototype”—and that anyone who doesn’t fit this prototype, will inevitably face more barriers as they try to advance their career.
“This [prototype] tends to be somebody...that’s male, but not only that, but they tend to have sort of masculine attributes,” she says. “So, white, middle class, heterosexual, sort of able-bodied male. The problem with prototypes is people who tend to succeed in organizations are people who best fit the prototype.”
The mentoring gap. King points out that while men and women are mentored at similar rates, women don’t benefit nearly as much. In her book, she also notes that men are more likely to be accepted into the “inner circle” and be mentored by senior executives who use their power to help advance their careers. Women, particularly women of color, can’t easily penetrate this circle—especially if few leadership positions at a company are held by women—because they don’t fit the prototype.
Over time, these barriers can take a serious toll on women’s self confidence, which, of course, only widens the professional achievement gap. According to a study of more than 1,000 men and women conducted by Bain & Company, women with two or less years of professional work experience led men in ambition, but for women with 2+ years experience, their aspiration and confidence levels dropped a staggering 60% and 50%, respectively.
King believes this drop is due in large part to the fact that women are struggling with the idea that they just don’t fit in.
So, what can you even do about barriers that seem out of your control?
First, it’s important to understand that the onus is not on you to eliminate these barriers or single handedly try to change your workplace. According to King, leaders need to solve the problems they create.
So, what can you do if you feel like you’re lagging behind, or lacking support? Ask yourself some serious questions about your work, your company, and your career goals.
Are you kicking ass and taking names, but still not advancing? It’s easy to go into “I suck” mode and come up with every excuse in the book for why you’re not getting that raise or promotion, but try to pause and look at your situation with an introspective and objective mindset. If there’s no logical reason for your lack of advancement (i.e. you do great work, often surpassing expectations, but still can’t get clear or good explanations for why you aren’t ready for the next level), trust that it’s not you—it’s them.
Are these problems systemic in my organization? Is your situation unique, or do other women, people of color, or anyone who doesn’t fit “the prototype” have similar stories to share? If they do, then there’s likely a culture of bias in your workplace that could hold you back.
Is my company actively making strides toward equality that aren’t just for show? According to Accenture, there are 40 factors that influence advancement and characterize a culture of equality, which you can read on page 31 of their Getting to Equal 2020 report. If your workplace is making strides in these areas, great! But if HR is simply hosting meetings about diversity and inclusion with no subsequent change from the top, it means nothing, and advancing your career there could be an uphill battle.
Is it really worth it to stay? We get it, this may have been your dream job at your dream company, and the idea of letting that go is stressful. But ask yourself: Can I do what I love anywhere else? The answer is almost always yes.
Bottom line: Your talents, hard work, and ambition deserves to be rewarded, regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, or skin color. Some companies get that and are actively taking steps to break down invisible barriers. If yours doesn’t, it may be time to reevaluate! Above all, make a concerted effort to keep believing in yourself and not internalize perceived “failures” that are actually a result of invisible barriers. Losing your aspiration and confidence will have a much more negative impact on your career than not advancing as you hoped at any given organization.