I just see something that is part of who I am, a part of how I navigate in this world.” Others, however, like Jill, a mid-level Black manager I talked with, find it extremely difficult to code-switch and maintain a sense of authenticity. According to Keeles, “It’s one of those things where I don’t see it as a burden anymore. Keeles, assistant director for diversity, equity and inclusion at Northwestern University, do not believe that code-switching is inconsistent with authenticity. There is, however, no uniformity of opinion on this issue. Because of this “forced conformity” with white cultural expectations, the code-switching that is frequently necessary to fit into their workplaces is often thought to be inconsistent with a person of color’s ability to maintain a sense of her or his personal authenticity. Because most of our workplaces are strongly defined by white norms, values and expectations, people of color are often thought to effectively be forced to code-switch to conform to white cultural practices if they want to achieve career success. Impression management, thus, is simply presenting yourself so that you are seen by the people with whom you are dealing as fitting in comfortably, and your talents, capacities and potential are recognized and acknowledged.Ĭode-switching is an instance of impression management that is often criticized as putting a person’s authenticity at risk. Code-switching is the changes that people make to their language, appearance, and behavior as they move back and forth between, for example, white and other cultural environments. One way of thinking about impression management is the conscious presentation of yourself in such a way that you are seen as belonging in a given context-someone who is welcomed there and expected to perform effectively. Indeed, research shows that women who use impression management in this way have more career success than other women and all men. Used in this way, impression management allows women to present themselves so others see them as being both likable and suited for leadership roles. To escape this double bind, women can use impression management to judiciously combine different aspects of their character so that they display both stereotypically female behaviors and stereotypically male behaviors. On the other hand, when women flout female stereotypes by behaving in a forceful, assertive and decisive manner-in other words, in conformity with traditional male stereotypes-they are frequently judged to be too unpleasant, “aggressive” and unlikable to be effective leaders. Thus, when women are seen as conforming to traditional female stereotypes-by being helpful, caring, modest and deferential-they are generally well liked but often not considered to be capable of performing challenging leadership roles. For example, women often face the Goldilocks Dilemma that is, the double bind they find themselves in because of gender stereotypes and the expectations that flow from them.
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