But whether stated in such a benevolent form, or in a more hostile form, sexism—or beliefs around the fundamental nature of women and men, and the roles they should play in society—is always present in our daily lives.
Sexism impacts on the lives of those targeted, particularly women, by confining them to society's gender-based stereotypical expectations of education, career, and family role. In 2024, 34% of Europeans still believed that women should prioritize their family responsibilities over their careers.
Although awareness of gender inequality and sex-based violence has increased, thanks to social networks, the problem remains unresolved. Sometimes unconscious, sexism is the fruit of complex processes. A simple awareness of the cognitive biases that lead us to categorize, classify and judge people on the basis of gender or any other discriminatory factor is an essential first step.
The backlash: women are "too emotional" to be good leaders
Some would like to think that younger generations are more sensitive to these societal issues, but on the contrary, we are witnessing a virulent backlash. Numerous surveys around the world warn of the rise of outright misogyny based on masculinist theories widely relayed on social networks. For example, 25% of young European men aged 15 to 24 believe that women are too emotional to make good leaders.
Sexism is at one extreme of the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) spectrum, expressing the domination of one gender over the other and laying the foundations for other forms of violence: sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape.
Data available in Europe, Canada, and the United States, for example, show the extent to which students are exposed to sexist and sexual violence over the course of their studies at university. In Canada, 15% of female students reported being sexually assaulted since the start of their studies. Meanwhile, in France 3% of female students reported that they had been victims of rape at their institution, the majority during their first year.
These figures are likely to underestimate the reality of the situation, as it is difficult for victims to label such behavior as sexual violence.
These horrible statistics call for concrete action to raise awareness and train students on these issues so that they know how to identify, listen, and act. This is especially important as violence does not stop with graduation—SGBV in the professional world is unfortunately all too common. Research puts the proportion of US women who experience sexual harassment at work during their career at a shocking 50%*.
Training future managers to think differently
As business schools that train future managers, we have a key role to play in tackling these issues. We need to help students understand the underlying mechanisms that lead to gender-based violence in all spheres of our society. Business schools must develop their individual and collective capacity to stand up against hostile behavior.
At ESSCA School of Management, thanks to the support of the Pedagogical Initiatives Fund of the Institute of Advanced Pedagogy, we are running workshops for the heads of student associations on the Bordeaux campus as part of the school’s commitment to try and help overturn some of these overtly negative assumptions and behaviors.
Training is offered in two parts. In the first, male and female students are trained to recognize all forms of gender-based and sexual violence: sexism, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. In the workshops, co-facilitated by myself and a clinical psychologist who is an expert on these issues, we look at the physical, physiological and psychological reactions of victims during and after assaults, to understand their experience and move away from judgement.
Using quizzes, debates and exercises with students, we look at why this behavior exists and what we can do to combat it.
Research shows that the gap between what people anticipate they'll do when faced with a problematic situation, particularly in terms of sexism and sexual harassment, and what they do is wide. The majority anticipate reacting by confronting the person, expressing their disagreement or even leaving the situation (during an interview, for example). Unfortunately, studies show that in real-life situations, victims do not react; they ignore problematic comments or remarks. In anticipation of these situations, people state anger as the dominant feeling, whereas in real-life situations, it is fear that takes over. This is the basis for the second part of the training where students take part in realistic role-playing exercises of sexual violence with trained actors. It is an exercise that really brings home the damage that sexism and sexual harassment can do.
The devastating effects of such behavior on physical and mental health (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress etc) are very serious and we need to do everything possible to combat all forms of sexist and sexual violence. That means educating everyone about these issues, from kindergarten, through secondary education and university.
Business schools as the route for many future leaders of the corporate world have a critical role to play in educating young people and dispelling misogynist beliefs.
Marnie Coupaud is an associate professor in the Economics, Law, and Society Department at ESSCA School of Management’s Bordeaux Campus.
*Fitzgerald, L. F., & Cortina, L. M. (2018). Sexual harassment in work organizations: A view from the 21st century.
