Lunchtime Must-Read: Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant: Why Women Stay Quiet at Work

…Glen Mazzara noticed that two young female writers were quiet during story meetings. He pulled them aside and encouraged them to speak up more. Watch what happens when we do, they replied. Almost every time they started to speak, they were interrupted or shot down before finishing their pitch. When one had a good idea, a male writer would jump in and run with it before she could complete her thought…. We’ve both seen it happen again and again. When a woman speaks in a professional setting, she walks a tightrope. Either she’s barely heard or she’s judged as too aggressive. When a man says virtually the same thing, heads nod in appreciation for his fine idea. As a result, women often decide that saying less is more…. This speaking-up double bind harms organizations by depriving them of valuable ideas…. The long-term solution to the double bind of speaking while female is to increase the number of women in leadership roles…. When President Obama held his last news conference of 2014, he called on eight reporters — all women. It made headlines worldwide. Had a politician given only men a chance to ask questions, it would not have been news; it would have been a regular day. As 2015 starts, we wonder what would happen if we all held Obama-style meetings…. Doing this for even a day or two might be a powerful bias interrupter…. We’re going to try it to see what we learn…