You Should Smile More: How to Dismantle Gender Bias in the Workplace

“In the business world, barriers to inclusion are barriers to success,” states a line from the book’s Introduction. “Diversity breeds better solutions faster if people feel comfortable in their environment.” But from small indignities to unconscious slights, women experience situations at work every day that may seem small or unimportant but that effectively differentiate and exclude them. These are not #MeToo moments – they are micro-offenses; the small, awkward, or uncomfortable moments that slow-build until the unwelcome environment takes hold and women disengage.

Situations the authors address range from things like use of the term “girl” versus “woman,” watching male colleagues leave work for a social event where women colleagues were left off the invite list or hearing that a qualified woman shouldn’t be offered an assignment because she has small children at home. You Should Smile More shows witnesses, allies, supervisors, and women at every level in their careers how to dismantle everyday gender bias, based upon the latest research, personal accounts, and interviews with dozens of professionals, both women and men.

Widely known as a meme, the title itself is now a call-to-action against the very advice women so frequently hear from male colleagues or bosses. The authors spotlight these all-too-familiar moments, offering realistic strategies every witness can use to confront and productively address them. The information within the book finally advances women in the corporate workplace as equals and advances organizations on the path to creating cultures of true inclusion.

The authors call themselves “The Band of Sisters” and have collectively seen it all, from the bottom rung to the boardroom. They know firsthand how hard it is to navigate these gendered situations in the moment.  Now they share their experience with a forward-looking eye — often with humor, and in a way that recognizes the realities of the workplace.

With this book as a guide, The Band of Sisters are ready to:

+      Help anyone to recognize and effectively respond to these micro-moments rooted in gender bias.

+      Pave the way for their ultimate elimination, through shared participation.

+      Allow organizations to build high-performance cultures that truly value and include diverse perspectives and experiences. 

Gender bias has been part of our workplaces for too long. We are at the point now where all of us who are in the workplace, around conference tables, water coolers and in Zoom meetings, must make the next push for real change.