Breathe
By Melissa Moreno Cabrera
Sexism in the workplace is not a minor problem or a matter of perception. It is a system that wears us down, silences us and, in many cases, makes us sick. It does not always manifest itself in explicit harassment or derogatory comments; it often operates through more insidious mechanisms: exclusion from key meetings, the infantilization of our ideas or the appropriation of our work without recognition.
As Pierre Bourdieu explains in Male Domination, symbolic violence masks itself in social structures, becoming the norm. In the corporate world, this violence pushes us to exhaustion, anxiety and, in the worst cases, forced resignation.
This is not a whim or an exaggeration. We women live under constant pressure to prove our worth in spaces designed by and for men. If a leader is firm, she is labeled authoritarian; if she is conciliatory, she is weak. If she expresses emotions, she is overly sensitive; if she does not, she is cold and indifferent. If she works long hours, she neglects her personal life; if she prioritizes her family, she is not committed enough. Sheryl Sandberg, in Lean In, exposes this contradiction that many of us have experienced.
In meetings, the same thing happens: a woman proposes an idea and receives silence; a man repeats it and gets validation. It is not anecdotal, it is systematic. Deborah Tannen explains how female socialization conditions us to yield the floor, to avoid appearing "too aggressive," which in the corporate world makes us invisible.
Another recurring tactic is to pit us against each other. Instead of fostering sisterhood, workplaces put us in competition for the few opportunities in high positions. They turn us into pick me, forcing us to prove that we are "different" and deserve recognition in a system that rewards complacency and punishes solidarity. Joan Acker points out that the world of work reinforces this segregation, promoting the idea that women must be "the exception" in male-dominated spaces, which intensifies rivalry and emotional exhaustion.
The picture in many companies is even more misleading. They boast workplaces with a majority of women, where there are even several in supervisory positions. However, on closer inspection, the real decision making is still in the hands of men. Women occupy coordination positions, are area heads, managers, editors, but few reach the top of the corporate hierarchy. This glass ceiling disguised as progress maintains control in the same sectors of power, while using women's presence as a façade of equity. Economist Claudia Goldin has documented throughout her career how inequality persists even when women represent a high percentage of the workforce, because access to key positions remains limited.
My own journey is marked by these experiences. I have seen my proposals go unnoticed until a man backs them up. I have felt the anxiety grow as I have endured stares, tolerated inappropriate comments and off-hand innuendos, as well as "corrections" that my male colleagues don't get. Mental health is not immune to structural inequality.
The figures bear this out. According to the WHO, work-related stress is one of the main causes of psychological disorders in professional women. In Mexico, 75% of workers suffer from fatigue due to work-related stress, and more than 40% of office workers feel exhausted. But instead of tackling the problem, many companies opt for cosmetic solutions: wellness talks, mindfulness workshops, "emotional care" days. As Silvia Federici warns, the emotional exploitation of women at work is just an extension of the historically imposed caring role. Lucy Nichol reinforces this idea: work anxiety is not an individual fragility, but the result of an environment that perpetuates inequality.
Subscribe to read the full column ...
