Stereotype Threat
Aha!
April 26, 2015
Stereotype Threat
This week for our cultural blog, we were asked to do research and write about stereotype threat. Stereotype Threat is a "threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype. Call it subconscious self-handicapping"(The Stereotype Threat to Workplace Diversity: Dr. Claude Steele Mesmerizes Audience)
First of all, whoa, thank you Dev Bootcamp for teaching us about this subject - I hadn't heard of the term before, but all of a sudden I had a million epiphanies about my life and myself. I will warn readers that this is going to get a little personal, and maybe uncomfortable for some, but honesty is best, right? Anyway, before I dive into my personal experiences, here's a bit about stereotype threat.
The gist
Many social studies are uncovering that those of minority groups, when confronted with or threatened with the negative stereotyps of their group, perform poorly across a multitude of tasks, in both educational instituations and in the work place. An example stated here discusses African Americans and White students being asked to take assessments in two different settings. In one assessment, the students were told that they would be tested for their "underlying intellectual abilities" whereas in the other assessment, they were told that the test was just a problem solving exercise. In the first assessment, African American students performed poorly whereas in the second assessment, both African American and White students performed equally.
Similar studies have been done about women and the stereotype that they perform poorly in math, though the author of that particular paper stresses that stereotype threat is situational, and can be experienced by anyone who find themselves in a situation where they could be judged by a certain stereotype, i.e. "generation ‘X,’ the elderly, white males, etc." I would argue, there are certain minority groups in which the cards are more heavily stacked against them, in comparison to other groups, in both the academic and professional realm, namely racial minority groups and women in the US.
My stereotype threat
This subject is one that hits home, and one that is giving me deep insight into my personal life both as a child and as an adult. In fact I have always talked about stereotype threat, without really knowing there was a term out there for it. I have experienced both: a) situations in which stereotype threat did exist, leading to negative experiences, and b) situations in which stereotype threat did not exist and I excelled.
Gradeschool
I have a very unique background in that my parents come from different countries. My father is Japanese, and my mother is from the Phillipines. Though I grew up in Japan, and I look very Japanese, I was considered a "foreigner," because my mother was a foreigner and we spoke English at home. I remember being teased in 1st and 2nd grade, and though I don't recall my grades suffering particularly, I recall having a symptom of nervousness, where I felt like I had to ask the teacher to use the restroom 3 or 4 times in an hour - the doctors couldn't find anything physically wrong with me, and said it was nervousness. Subtle as this may be, I consider this a symptom of stereotype threat where "foreigners" were considered weird. I was the weird kid in school.
Highschool and college
I excelled academically in high school. My parents moved me over to an "International School," where all classes were taught in English, with curriculum accredited in the US. I was attending an American school in Japan, with kids who had a similarly diverse background as myself. I think it helped that culturally, I was among peers, with more of a respect and love for cultural differences, if anything, and it was an incredibly positive environment to learn in. I was always in the honors program. I think this is an example of the lack of stereotype threat and it's positive effects.
I ended up attending university in Hawaii, and it was a similar experience for me. Hawaii, being a cultural melting pot, I never felt particularly threatened by my minority group stereotype, but more so celebrated for it's differences. I was driven to apply for leadership roles in extracurricular activities and school projects.
The minority groups I belong to as an adult
Then I moved to the State of Utah, where according to US Census, the White to minority ratio is 9 to 1 in 2013, and having chosen to no longer affiliate myself with the dominant religion in the State of Utah, I found myself both an ethnic and religious minority. I also landed a job in tech, as a QA Engineer, and I was the only female on my team, almost the entire time I was employed at one company. Also, Utah is a State full of married people with families, so I found myself a minority as a single adult as well.
How being a woman has set me back
This is where it gets a little ugly and personal. The stereotype threat that I suffered from, in my early professional years, had to do with being a woman, particularly being an Asian woman. This was also exaggerated by my previous religious upbringing, where women were meant to "follow the lead" of men. The stereotype is one of being subservient, quiet and cooperative, one who does not rock the boat. I reported once to a director, who supposedly failed to work my raise into his budget, though all of my male peers got their raises. He suggested that I write a quarterly report to merit a bonus, to make up for the raise - which I did for 3 quarters, needing to remind him of our agreement everytime, until HR discovered the matter and got me the raise I deserved. I didn't talk to HR about it though, I'm not sure how they found out, but basically, I didn't want to rock the boat so I was willing to go along with the bullshit arrangement.
Another example of failing to move forward in my career because of stereotype threat was when I was (time and time again) asked to justify my salary, putting together reports, that no one else on the team was required to do. A direct report once pulled me into a conference room and said that the VP of my department was wondering what I did on the team, and wondered if I was just a "pretty face" in the back of the office. In retrospect none of this was acceptable, and I should have reported the matter and/or quit for a better environment, but I guess I didn't think I deserved better. So once again, in order to not rock the boat, I just wrote my reports and showed that I was a valuable contributor to the team.
I also found it extremely difficult to speak up. This is an issue that has had some coverage over the years, but I really had trouble speaking my opinion in a room when I found myself to be the only female. At times I found that I couldn't project my voice loud enough to command attention of the room - I am not one to shout. I also found that my peers would interrupt me, before I had the chance to finish my sentence or thought, or speak over me, anytime I tried to get a word in. Once again, going back to the "subservient, good-mannered, don't-rock-the-boat" thing, I really struggled till I learned to speak louder eventually. The article linked has described this phenomenon in a really accurate way:
"While men said their female colleagues weren’t loud enough, allowed others to interrupt them, apologized often, and failed to back up their opinions with evidence, women reported they felt outnumbered and have difficulty reading the room, were uncomfortable with conflict, and any trouble articulating their views was due to timing rather than emotions. For example, some women expressed reluctance to voice an alternate opinion because they felt the decision had effectively been made."
Being single in the workplace
One less obvious stereotype threat that I might also add is the stereotype of being single. I was once told from a peer that if he were in charge of hiring, he would be less likely to hire singles because they weren't as 'responsible' as married people who had children and didn't have opportunities to go out and get drunk or stay out late and jeopardize their work performance the next day. Living in a State full of married folks with children, I often find myself wondering if people are judging me for being the 'party girl' - the part that this stereotype threat affects me negatively is that I often don't manage to schedule vacations or time off, and burn myself out, in contrast to those who have an excuse to leave work early or work from home because of chidren. Burning myself out because I'm worried of the perception others have on "single" workers is certainly not an ideal situation.
At DBC
I will also admit that I am probably suffering from the 'women can't do math or code well' stereotype threat that isn't true at all, but nonetheless a mental battle I find myself often fighting with (to add to the stress of figuring out how to code). In guided pair programming sessions or pair sessions, I do find myself performing poorly because I feel that I might not be as good or haven't had as much time preparing for those sessions, when in reality, when I sit down to work on a coding challenge alone, I find myself perfectly capable of solving them. There are concepts that I find myself confused about that I find my peers often finding clear, which might be affecting me negatively. I definitely need to be cognizant of these thoughts, I certainly don't want to be performing poorly because of perceived judgment that doesn't exist.
Conclusion
This got a little long, but stereotype threat is a real thing. I've experienced it myself - I don't know that I articulated my experiences very well, but it's a real thing. I think the key is to be aware of it, and be aware that it could affect you or those around you. I believe that, certainly, reminding yourself that you are just as capable as those around you - positive self-talk - is key in battling stereotype threat from within, but I also think it is important to be conizant of the way we view and interact with others. Are we speaking over those who are quiet, because we assume they have little to contriubte to the conversation? Do we assume people are irresponsible because they've chosen not to settle down or have children immediately? Do we assume a woman is a 'secretary' because she is sitting at lunch with 3 other men in business suits? Do we assume young people are not capable because they have so little listed on their resume? Lots of things to consider, when discussing stereotype threat.