Jefferson Fisher

But women still gaslight women, right?

I was reading some research here that says multiple studies on emotional abuse in heterosexual relationships show women report higher rates of gaslighting and coercive control than men.

Men do report gaslighting too, but less frequently and usually in different forms.

And as it relates to workplace data, surveys from management and organizational psychology show women are more likely to have their competence questioned, their memory doubted, or their experience dismissed.

women in male-dominated fields report the highest rates of gaslighting and women of colour report even higher rates of being told their perception is wrong or that they're misinterpreting things.

Sounds like that tracks.

And also in medical settings, women are less likely to be believed about their symptoms.

Women's pain is underestimated.

Women get later diagnoses for multiple conditions like heart disease and autoimmune disorders, ADHD and autism.

And the list goes on and on and on.

Do you know what?

I've hired thousands of people over the last decade, and I have to say, sometimes it's difficult to understand the plight of someone else when you haven't lived their experience, like you haven't been a woman or whatever.

It's very difficult.

So you kind of just have to take them for their word sometimes if you've not lived it yourself.

Or you can look at data or whatever else.

And I do have to say that I have experienced –

male executives who were extremely dismissive of their female peers in a way that was 100% inconsistent as it relates to genders.

What I mean by that is I can think of several male executives over the years who I observed were

dismissing or diminishing or not giving the woman in the room the same credit really for no other reason than she was a woman.

And so it's a very real thing.