Manager Admits She’s ‘Biased’ Against Hiring Workers Who Attended Women-Only Colleges
She believes that they need to be "coddled" and are intolerant to working with men.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A | Shutterstock A female manager admitted that one of her biases against certain employees could pose a real issue in the workplace.
The manager says that she holds an unfavorable view of applicants who attended women-only colleges to obtain their degrees. She worries that their education and college environment may hinder their abilities to be a part of a team that includes men.
However, not everyone agrees with her stance.
The manager said that she is ‘biased’ against hiring candidates who attended women-only colleges since she believes it doesn’t prepare them for the real world.
Sharing her confession in the advice column “Ask A Manager,” the woman wrote, “I am a woman, and I dislike the idea of women’s colleges.” Adding, “I feel things people cannot help like age, race, disability, or sexual orientation are not the same as a college choice. People pick where they go to college.”
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock
She elaborated on her opinions and what led her to feel like she does about those who graduated from women’s only colleges.
“I think women self-selecting to only have an education with each other is a bit precious. There is no avoiding men; they make up half the population,” the manager wrote. “Deliberately selecting to learn only with other women illustrates, to me, intolerance and inflexibility.”
She believes that there is a double standard against men in modern-day society that she does not want to support in any way.
“Men’s only colleges would be banned, but women’s only are still acceptable. I think, as women, the best way to combat sexism and misogyny is to insist that things are equal,” she shared.
“It’s really not fair to say, ‘I want the same things as a man, except when I go to school, I don’t want them around.’”
Lastly, the manager believes that the endowments that go toward women-only colleges could go toward other women’s empowerment movements.
“I know it sounds backward, but because I want to be taken seriously as a woman, I do not support institutions that exclude men,” the woman clarified.
“In addition to this, when I meet a woman who attended a women’s college, I assume she will expect a more than average amount of coddling. I expect entitlement and privilege. I expect her to have difficulty working with the men on our team.”
fizkes | Shutterstock
Up until recently, the manager never realized how obvious her bias against potential job candidates who attended women-only colleges was — until her boss pulled her aside after her hiring committee selected a woman who attended one to join the team.
“My boss pulled me aside and said that he knew I had an ‘immediate dislike’ to this new hire, but she was a sound applicant, and I needed to respect their decision,” the woman wrote. “I did not realize I was so obvious with my dislike until he said this.”
The manager wrote that she has tried to make a conscious effort to dismiss her unfair bias but just couldn't seem shake her feelings.
One manager offered advice on how the woman could combat her unfair biases by sharing some crucial information about women-only colleges.
“Not only is this a bias, it’s an irrational bias,” the manager pointed out. “It’s not like having a bias against people who, I don’t know, spit on their clients or cheated to get through college. Those are biases that would be rooted in a true-to-life fact about the person.”
The manager noted that students who choose to attend women’s colleges do not go there to be coddled or because they do not want to deal with men. Instead, many students are impressed by the academic programs the school offers as opposed to a public college.
Additionally, women lack equitable access to STEM fields. Women’s colleges are ideal for those who want to pursue a career in the field since they are known to push their students toward the industry.
According to Hello College, students are 1.5 times more likely to major in STEM fields at women’s colleges than women at co-ed schools.
While women certainly have more opportunities than they used to when it comes to education and careers, they are still at a disadvantage compared to their male peers.
“On average, we still don’t earn equal pay for equal work, we account for a far smaller portion of leadership positions than men do (despite making up more of the workforce than they do), and we’re drastically under-represented in government, and on corporate boards,” the manager wrote.
"Sexism is still here and still a problem. In that context, why shouldn’t some women choose to seek out institutions that prioritize women’s leadership and accomplishments and where no one is going to second-guess their abilities simply on the basis of their gender?”
In order to overcome her bias, the manager suggested that the woman conduct research and look into the data collected at women’s colleges to understand just how successful their graduates can be in the workforce.
“If these women were emerging from college inflexible and needing to be coddled, you’d presumably see that reflected in their achievement levels. Take a look — you won’t find it,” she wrote.
insta_photos | Shutterstock
She also encouraged the woman to spend more time with her employees who attended women-only colleges to obtain a different perspective.
“Spend more time with people who are different from you, be specific in your intent to change the way you’re doing things, and seek out advice on specific practices you can put in place to guard against internal biases.”
Instead of immediately judging someone based on where they obtained their degree, a manager’s job is to evaluate them based on their work ethic and their performance.
Assuming that women who attend women-only colleges are unequipped for the workforce only perpetuates harmful stereotypes and robs them of showing the world what they are truly capable of.
A survey reported on by the Women’s College Coalition found that 81% of women’s college graduates felt that their education was very or extremely effective in preparing them for the workforce, compared to 65% of public university graduates.
All they need is the opportunity to show those who have an unfavorable view of them just how much they can take on to be successful in their careers!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.