Women’s Psychosocial and Physiological Experience of Speaking in Work Teams

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

On average, women are less likely than men to express their ideas, emerge as leaders, and spend time talking in work teams. This can harm women’s career advancement, pay, and contribution to the workforce. To address this issue and facilitate women’s success in the workforce, it is necessary to understand why and when women speak up in work teams. This project explores potential barriers to women speaking up in work teams including social and psychological consequences, as well the key role social anxiety may play in exacerbating these negative experiences. This project directly and positively impacts participants, their organizations, and the overall workforce by creating clear suggestions on how to facilitate women’s participation in work teams, and ultimately increase their career success. This project fosters an understanding of why women are less likely to speak up and emerge as leaders in work teams by testing potential mechanisms across two studies. Study 1 is a two-week field study of approximately 150 employed adults using experience sampling methodology, capturing daily anticipated and actual experiences with speaking in work teams as well as their psychosocial consequences. Study 2 takes a more granular focus, using an observational laboratory study in which approximately 125 teams come together for one-time meetings. During these meetings, audio and video recordings of interactions and individual heartrate variability, galvanic skin response, and respiration rate are recorded. By studying the momentary physiological changes leading up to, and following speaking in a team, this study teases apart stress processes, cognitive processing, and their resolutions. Overall, this research project evaluates the how the experience of speaking up in work teams differentially unfolds over moments and days for men versus women, and the role social anxiety plays in this process. The project addresses critical theoretical and practical questions about women’s participation in workforce leadership. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.