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Bubbly is used to describe a woman who is outgoing, friendly and funny. Rather than using those words (as you would for a man), saying âbubblyâ is a way to subtly demean these admirable qualities in a woman.
Bubbly is best used to describe a bottle of champagne rather than a female colleagueâs personality. Gendered language can affect womenâs confidence and ability to be themselves in the workplace.
He stopped using the word bubbly to describe his female colleagues, when he learned it was a consolation-prize compliment.
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Cute is a demeaning way to describe a woman who is approachable and endearing. Unlike small children, fluffy toys and puppies, professional women rarely appreciate being called cute. Cute implies that someone is adorable and sweetâqualities that people associate with women due to societyâs ingrained expectation of how women should look and act.
Her male colleague called her âso cuteâ and she reflected on how he would react if she had called him that.
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Feisty is a condescending way to describe a woman who has an opinion and is determined to achieve her goals.
Itâs uncommon for CIS men to be described as âfeistyâ due to societyâs unconscious bias towards how men and women should act. In their guide to improving the media coverage of females, the Womenâs Media Centre lists âfeistyâ as one of the words that should be avoided, describing it as ânormally reserved for individuals that are not inherently powerfulâ.
He realised feisty is a sexist term and praised his female colleague for being driven instead.
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Bossy is a patronising way to describe a woman who takes up space and speaks her mind. Women in leadership are always at risk of being branded âbossyâ and the use of this word can deter women from seeking positions of authority.
Beyoncé explained, âIâm not bossy. Iâm the bossâ, as part of the 2014 Ban Bossy campaign which addressed the confidence gap between young girls and boys and aimed to encourage girls to lead.
He realised that the bossy young girl displayed the same qualities as the little boy being praised as a natural leader.
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Cold is used to describe a woman who isnât acting in a traditionally âfeminineâ way. Some women are caring, warm and expressive and others arenât. Women in leadership are faced with the mismatched expectation of having both leadership qualities and stereotypical feminine qualities. Itâs often accepted that a male leader can be the âsilent typeâ, but when a woman acts in the same way (because she knows masculine qualities are more respected), sheâs an âice queenâ.
The female CEO was described as âcoldâ because she wasnât happy, smiling and chatty all day long.
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Dramatic is used to describe a woman who expresses passion or enthusiasm for a subject or situation. It plays into the stereotype that women are oversensitive and dramatise situations due to their inability to think rationally.
In the Nike âDream Crazierâ campaign Serena Williams expressed, âWhen we show emotion, weâre dramaticâ calling out how women competing at a high level canât show their dedication to their sport in the same way that men can.
At first, he thought she was being dramatic, but then he realised she just had a lot of enthusiasm for the job.
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When applied to a woman, difficult relates to the idea that women are impractical for having high expectations for themselves and others. When we call a woman difficult, we could be saying: âSheâs asking me to challenge myself and Iâm not comfortable with a woman doing thatâ. Words like decisive or determined are more positive ways to describe female colleagues.
He noticed that his female colleague didnât live to please others. Instead of labelling her a âdifficult womanâ, he respected her ability to say no.
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