Busted

Sexual harassment is often portrayed as an issue that only concerns women, where women are victims of harassment because they were “asking for it” through their behaviours or dress. This portrayal puts the onus on women to stop harassment by simply changing their actions. . Yet, sexual harassment is not a “women’s issue” in the sense that victims can be of any gender and perpetrators tend to be men. This perception also ignores the reality that sexual harassment is often about having power and control over someone else. We bust this common myth to show that it is imperative that the social norms that drive harassment and toxic work cultures are addressed instead of blaming the actions of women.

Featured Guests:

Dr. NiCole Buchanan, Michigan State University

Dr. Rachel Ruttan, University of Toronto

Hosted by Alyson Colón and Carmina Ravanera

Popular discourse tends to depict women as less likely than men to take risks. Christine LaGarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, famously implied that women make less risky financial decisions when she stated that the financial crisis of 2008 would not have occurred “if it had been Lehman Sisters rather than Lehman Brothers”. But are women really more risk-averse than men? Research has in fact shown that men and women are more similar in their risk preferences than commonly believed. We bust this myth with leading experts to show that women may act more risk- averse only because of gender norms that place expectations on them to do so.

Featured Guests:

Dr. Thekla Morgenroth, previously of University of Exeter and now at Purdue University 

Dr. Julie Nelson, University of Massachusetts Boston

Research Mentioned:

1. Booth, A.L. and Nelson, P. (2012). Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour: Does Nurture Matter? The Economic Journal 122(558), F56-F78.
2. Botelho, T. and Abraham, M. (2017). Pursuing Quality: How Search Costs and Uncertainty Magnify Gender-based Double Standards in a Multistage Evaluation Process. Administrative Science Quarterly 62(4), 698-730.
3. Kaplan, S. and Walley, N. (2016). The Risky Rhetoric of Female Risk Aversion. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_risky_rhetoric_of_female_risk_aversion
4. Liu, E.M. and Zuo, S.X. (2019). Measuring the impact of interaction between children of a matrilineal and a patriarchal culture on gender differences in risk aversion. PNAS 116(14), 6713- 6719.
5. Morgenroth, T., Fine, C., Ryan, M.K. and Genat, A.E. (2017). Sex, Drugs, and Reckless Driving: Are Measures Biased Toward Identifying Risk-Taking in Men? Social Psychological and Personality Science 9(6), 744-753.
6. Nelson, J.A. (2015). Are Women Really More Risk-Averse Than Men? A Reanalysis of the Literature Using Expanded Methods. Journal of Economic Surveys 29(3), 566-585.

There is a common belief that women are underrepresented in fields dominated by men, such as in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) sectors, because there are just not enough women in the pipeline. Some have argued that women choose not to enter these careers because they simply have different preferences or aspirations. In turn, this implies that companies and firms do not have responsibility for a lack of gender diversity. However, this is a myth. A substantial number of women are qualified to work in fields dominated by men. For instance, in 2015 in Canada, women accounted for 43% of university graduates from STEM programs. Yet, women with STEM degrees are less likely than men with the same degrees to work in science and technology occupations. We bust this myth with leading experts to show that companies and firms need to take more action to make  STEM fields more equitable and less gender segregated.

Featured Guests:

Dr. Sharla Alegria, University of Toronto

Dr. Jackie Bouvier Copeland, Former COO of AnitaB.org

Hosted by Alyson Colón and Carmina Ravanera

The issue of whether to implement gender quotas for leadership positions, boards, political parties, and other groups is hotly debated. Some have argued that quotas are necessary to push gender equality forward and create a more level playing field. Others believe that implementing quotas gives an unfair advantage to women who do not deserve these positions: if they did deserve them, they would achieve them on their own merit. In other words, they perceive that gender quotas thwart meritocracy. We bust this myth with leading experts to show how quotas can actually be more beneficial than harmful.

Featured Guests:

Dr. Rainbow Murray, Queen Mary University of London

Dr. Daehyun Kim, University of Toronto

Hosted by Alyson Colón and Carmina Ravanera

Conversations around gender equality tend to focus on the significant barriers to resources and opportunities that women face. As a result of this focus, there is a pervasive myth that gender equality will only benefit women. Yet, contrary to this myth, gender equality benefits everyone. All people grapple with gender roles and stereotypes. We bust this myth with leading experts to show how, faster child development, greater peace, and economic prosperity are related to gender equality!

Featured Guests:

Paulette Senior, Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Michael Flood, Queensland University of Technology 

Jake Stika, Next Gen Men

Hosted by Alyson Colón and Carmina Ravanera