Ambition is what drives us to push harder to achieve our goals. Whether you are in it for self-validation, to improve your financial standing, or to pursue your passion, you feel motivated to excel in your career. For decades, we’ve been witnessing our society proudly call women with ambition, ‘career women’. We too have held up our heads and felt proud of being called that. We see ‘career women’ with admiration for having achieved success despite the glass ceiling that aims to inhibit our growth.
While the intent is not wrong, using the term ‘career woman’ only conforms to and further asserts the factors that impede women. Here is why we must get rid of the term.
1) It promotes linguistic sexism
For centuries now, language has played a major role in promoting sexism. Back in the 1520s, ‘hussy’ meant a housewife. A century later, it got generalised to mean just any woman. But today, if you do a quick Google search, it is used derogatorily to call a woman immoral. How many words are there to describe a man, specifically to be immoral or inappropriate?
The professional world isn’t devoid of linguistic sexism either. Gitanjali Singh, head of strategy and client success, Visionet BFSI, explains, “Even simple terms like 'manpower' and 'man hours' denote that women somehow don't contribute as much to the workforce. A term like 'two-man job' also signifies that certain jobs can be done only by men.”
The corporate world is male-dominated with women underrepresented in the workforce—this is a well-known fact, substantiated by innumerable surveys and studies. Women are always expected to take up jobs that require us to be creative while maintaining our roles as caregivers. And language usually reaffirms these stereotypical role assignments. “Masculine language is more prevalent in male-dominated fields. In the Tech/BFSI sectors, there does exist a gender imbalance and gendered language can be an issue, but sensitisation drives can help. Making people aware of their conscious and subconscious biases is the first step,” Singh adds.
2) It sets the default gender of top professionals as male
Gender marking in job titles is widespread, and how. When we use words such as ‘fireman’ and ‘postman’ we imply that these jobs are to be performed by men only. Why is the default word to describe the authority job position called ‘chairman’? Each time, a woman occupies these positions, an exception is made to the gendered word. So, when a man is successful, it is not gender marked. But when a woman is at the top of her field, she is called a career woman, with her gender clearly defined, as if she is making an exception and not the rule.
“The stereotype that women should not be bossy, is not likeable, and turn into divas or drama queens if they are in positions of authority, or are trying to mimic men and losing sight of their feminine essence, are all clichés that have been sprinkled around for generations and are still popular,” Singh points out.
3) It normalises labelling women
Society likes to tell women what they can and cannot do. We are stereotyped based on our appearance, age, our status, and our choices. The tag of career woman often implies that the individual has to either choose between having a successful career or a family life (the default expectation society has from women).
“Gendered language reflects biases in our society. They are a manifestation of the inequality that exists around us. In many instances, a woman cannot fill a form without specifying whether she identifies herself as Miss, Mrs, or Ms Her marital status somehow attracts more interest than her educational qualifications. Even today, questions about balancing family, parenting, and work are addressed to women, be they tennis champions or CEOs, and not to men,” Singh says.
“Careers are considered to be the main preoccupation of men, but for women, work is considered to be less important than playing traditional roles of caregivers and nurturers,” she adds.
4) It negatively impacts female representation in the workforce
The term ‘career woman’ adds gender, even to work and aspirations. How does this affect female representation in the workforce? Linguistic sexism is supported by the traditional roles assigned to women in forcing many of us to drop out of the workforce or miss out on opportunities. “The onus of female representation in a workforce is not just upon the companies in question or their work environment, but also upon society and even on how women are raised within family units. Equal opportunity is a notion that must begin unfolding at home, especially in societies where sons are still preferred to daughters,” Singh pointed out.
With the glass-ceiling, sexism, and societal expectations clawing at our wings, Singh believes women should be given the necessary support to soar high in their careers. She companies can help break gender-based stereotypes by offering certain provisions such as a flexible, hybrid work model, leave to primary caregivers, maternity and paternity leaves, upskilling opportunities, and incentives to stay in the professional stream, companies today can help ensure that women can overcome these stereotypes with more ease than before. Eliminating gendered language, including and especially the term ‘career woman’, can also help a lot.
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