Concert festivals usually remind me, yet again, that there are different expectations for women and men, not only at music festivals like Coachella, but also in the professional world.
“A new study has shown women are consistently judged as having less leadership potential than their male counterparts, making them 14% less likely to be promoted each year.” (BBC). Further studies have shown that it is the ” valued leadership potential (rather) than leadership performance” that is the most important when it comes to promoting an individual, and men are easily seen has having more potential (Research Article). Long story short: women are held to a higher standard, having to have a proven track record of performance, whereas men are seen for what they MAYBE capable of, regardless of their track record.
What does this have to do with Coachella? Well, there is a stark difference in the performances of female and male headliners. Headliners like Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G and Beyonce have gone all out for their performances! Not only are their vocals great, but their dances, set design and all other minor details are taken into consideration and the result is a high production experience. There is never a dull moment on the stage!
Contrast to the male headliners who usually have a very simple and straight forward production design. Justin Bieber had lights, a table, a chair and a computer for his set. I find it fascinating this profound contrast in performances. Unfortunately the answer is simple: women need to go all out to even be taken seriously. They do not have the luxury of doing a simple set design for their performances. Do you really think that ALL female performers want to go over the top for their performances? I am sure some of them do, but to think that ALL women entertainers are the same is not logical. If the roles were reversed and Sabrina Carpenter had the same set up as Justin Bieber’s performance, there would be a lot of criticism. Women artists are held to a higher standard in the performances that they give.
I have seen the difference in standards through my work experience. In my last job, which was a highly toxic workplace, I and other women were constantly criticized while our male colleagues were protected from any criticism. The women were held to very high standards and responsibilities kept getting piled on even after calls for support and clear priority deadlines. No solutions or real offers of help were given. Contrast that with my male colleagues- leadership constantly protected them from being assigned multiple projects at once all the while making excuses for them as to why they were not doing their job, even when there was documented evidence, they were not doing their job. The result of this unequal treatment was a toxic work environment that affected ALL of staff negatively.
Everywhere you look women are being judged and measured more than their male counterparts. This unequal treatment hurts more people than it benefits. It is a bad business practice overall and needs to change. So what can you do?
- The first thing is educate yourself- get up to speed on studies and people’s experiences of unequal treatment.
- Next you need to reflect on your actions. Are you consciously or unconsciously reinforcing higher standards for some and not others?
- Beware of what is happening around you. Do you see people being treated differently at your place of work? Start to notice patterns and then learn how to properly and professionally speak up.
So, what step are you on? What are you doing to help bring about change?
Caroline Evans 
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