Why is it that when we go to a restaurant, the check is almost always handed to men instead of women? In this episode, we read an excerpt from BEYOND LEANING IN exploring the concept of “metal auto-completes,'' and discuss it with two early readers, Veronica and Steven Lafamina: How can we change our mindset regarding gender? What does it mean to be a leader? Are we passing on these ideas to our kids? Join our hosts, Melanie and Carla, to reflect on the real-life experiences that inspired the situations in the book and why we must stop perpetuating them. 

Welcome to BEYOND LEANING IN, a podcast designed to inspire candid discussion about gender gaps in the workplace. All too often, the “real talk” about the challenges that professional women face happens behind closed doors. Author Melanie Ho is on a mission to change that through her new book, BEYOND LEANING IN. She is joined in this podcast by co-host Carla Hickman as the two longtime friends discuss the ideas and research that inform Melanie’s book. You will also be invited to listen and join the conversation with early readers, women and men across generations and a wide range of professions, as they reflect, discuss and debate the ideas in the book. 

Jump straight into:

(01:49) - Excerpt 1: Who pays the check? - “Quite simply, the autocomplete in his brain had told him that it must be a sir who paid the bill.”

(05:42) - Excerpt 2: Mental autocomplete in the workplace - “The female paragraphs were more likely to include basic job descriptions. The paragraphs for men were more likely to have phrases like leader and trailblazer.”

(08:26) - Veronica and Steven’s experience with gender bias - “We all have implicit associations, we automatically connect fire engines with red in our brain. That's true also when it comes to gender dynamics, race dynamics, and kind of who we think of when we hear these certain terms.”

(18:22) - What it means to be a leader - “If you are a woman who has succeeded in the business environment either you're like, ‘I did it, they can too’ or you're like, ‘I survived that and I want to make sure it's better for others’.”

(25:47) - The real-life experiences that inspired the book - “In the scene we just heard where Deborah looks at the promotion memo that she just sent out where Michael is recognized for his revenues and Mara is recognized for her baking skills, that was one that actually came up a lot.”

Resources

Get the book Beyond Leaning In by Melanie Ho

See and share Melanie’s Comics on Mental Auto-Completes

Learn more about NaNoWriMo Writing Month

Follow Melanie Ho on Instagram or Twitter

Follow Carla Hickman on Instagram or Twitter

Thanks for joining us today! Don’t forget to visit our website for more information, and feel free to reach out to contribute to these important discussions. This show has been produced by StudioPod, for more information, check out their website.