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Gender Bias in the Workplace: Its Impact on Team Dynamics
Innovative teamwork is crucial for progress, yet a recent study sheds light on how sexist behavior disrupts collaboration, affecting both individuals and team cohesion.
The research indicates that exposure to sexist remarks can significantly influence women’s emotional interactions within teams, diminishing a vital factor for effective collaboration: emotional synchrony. This term refers to the synchronized emotional expressions shared among team members, which is essential for building trust, enhancing coordination, and boosting overall performance.
However, findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveal that in environments where sexism is present, this synchrony shifts from enhancing performance to merely promoting social bonding, possibly as a coping mechanism. Prof. Ilanit Gordon, a key author of the study from Bar-Ilan University, emphasized, “Sexism doesn’t just harm individuals—it actively rewires how teams function.” She observed that the alignment typically geared towards boosting performance becomes ineffective under the threat of sexist comments.
Gordon collaborated with Ph.D. candidate Alon Burns from Bar-Ilan University, along with colleagues Prof. Sharon Toker from Tel Aviv University and Prof. Yair Berson from McMaster University.
The study analyzed 177 all-female pairs engaged in a collaborative task using video conferencing. Participants were divided into a control group and a condition where they encountered subtle sexist remarks from an actor impersonating the experimenter. Advanced facial recognition technology monitored participants’ emotional expressions throughout the task.
The outcomes were compelling: while emotional synchrony generally predicted enhanced team performance in the control scenario, it failed to benefit teams exposed to sexist comments. Interestingly, the synchrony increased in the sexist environment, indicating stronger social bonding, yet this did not lead to improved outcomes.
Gordon remarked, “Our findings suggest that emotional synchrony under the threat of sexism becomes heightened but is redirected towards social coping rather than effective collaboration. This alteration may complicate teams’ focus on collective objectives.”
The study underscores a crucial message: fostering safe environments for women is imperative, both ethically and strategically. The researchers advocate for strict anti-harassment policies to preserve the integrity and efficacy of team-based work.
More information: Berson, Yair, “Sexism in teams: Exposure to sexist comments increases emotional synchrony but eliminates its benefits for team performance,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2409708122.
Citation: Sexism can undermine teams by disrupting emotional synchrony’s role in performance (2025, April 28) retrieved April 28, 2025 from phys.org/news.
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