Many major newspapers called Mark Zuckerberg’s statement about the lack of masculine energy in businesses “wrong”, “ridiculous” and “confusing”.
Many major newspapers called Mark Zuckerberg’s statement about the lack of masculine energy in businesses “wrong”, “ridiculous” and “confusing”.
Mark Zuckerberg says corporate culture is lacking masculine energy.
Mark Zuckerberg says corporate culture is lacking masculine energy.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, recently appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to lament the lack of “masculine energy” in the corporate world.
“I think a lot of businesses in this world are pretty culturally neutral,” Zuckerberg said during a nearly three-hour conversation with Rogan.
“Masculine energy is good, and obviously society has a lot of that energy, but I think corporate culture is really trying to move away from it. I think having a culture that celebrates a little bit more aggression has its own advantages that are really positive,” Zuckerberg continued.
There’s nothing wrong with embracing masculinity, Zuckerberg said. But gender and economic experts warn that Zuckerberg’s rhetoric could push women and minority voices out of the workforce by reinforcing outdated gender roles and stereotypes.
Juliet A. Williams, a professor of gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said the tech billionaire’s talk of “neutered” is a “gender-neutral siren call” and perpetuates patriarchy, gender traditionalism, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
Zuckerberg’s statement has caused a stir on social networks and become the headline of many major newspapers in recent days.
In her article Mark Zuckerberg Has a Funny Idea of What It Is to Be a Man in The New York Times , Jamelle Bouie writes: “It’s not clear what Zuckerberg means by that. Men already dominate most of the high-paying, high-status sectors. The vast majority of the company’s senior executives, from vice presidents and senior vice presidents to CEOs and CFOs, are men.”
The author points out that in the world of Silicon Valley—that is, Zuckerberg’s world—women are still in the minority. About 25% of tech jobs are held by women, and according to a 2021 report, only 4.7% of Silicon Valley 500 companies have female CEOs, compared to about 6% of companies in the S&P 500.
Masculine energy became a controversial topic after Zuckerberg’s statement.
USA Today also pointed out the absurdity of Zuckerberg’s statement given the fact that women make up only 35% of the tech workforce and hold just 11% of executive roles. The industry has long been a textbook example of a gender gap in the workforce.
Writing in the Independent , Emma Clarke questioned whether Zuckerberg had ever set foot in a corporate office to be able to make such a claim. “With only 10 FTSE 100 CEOs being women, more CEOs named Simon or Andrew than female CEOs, and men having held around 90% of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies for more than a decade, the reality for ordinary workers couldn’t be more different,” she wrote.
The industry leader’s statement speaks volumes about the changes at Meta and other major tech companies right now.
A slew of billionaire-led tech companies, from Amazon to Meta, have announced they’re scrapping programs designed to create fairer workplaces for everyone.
A new statement from Meta explains that the company will “no longer have a DEI focus group,” will end related training programs, and will no longer ensure diverse candidates are included in hiring. The internet has even coined a new nickname for the acronym: “Didn’t Earn It” — implying that any advancement by women and minorities is solely due to their demographics.
Zuckerberg’s recent statements have many thinking about the anti-woke views advocated by people like Elon Musk. The changes at Meta also have many similarities to what happened at X (formerly Twitter).
Zuckerberg’s statement has many thinking about the anti-woke views advocated by people like Elon Musk.
Zuckerberg’s statement has many thinking about the anti-woke views advocated by people like Elon Musk.
Since taking over X, Musk has been known to support “free speech,” with the process of fact-checking and reporting abusive or illegal content largely being community-driven rather than a robust internal system. Now, Meta has pledged to follow a similar path, soon removing third-party fact-checking on its platforms and loosening its content moderation — something experts say normalizes online hate and allows potentially harmful misinformation to thrive.
Given that women and minorities are the most likely to experience online abuse, violence and harassment, with more than half of women saying they have witnessed misogynistic behaviour online, this is worrying – as are Zuckerberg’s comments focusing on the need for a more masculine world of work.
Zuckerberg’s comments reflect a growing backlash against DEI initiatives. These retreats can have a “silencing effect” on women in the professional workplace, according to Susan L. Averett, an economics professor at Lafayette College.
“Women and men have distinct communication styles. The shift to a more traditionally masculine workplace culture risks diminishing women’s voices,” she explains.
These environments can become so unwelcoming to women that they are driven away from male-dominated fields like economics and STEM, she said. Pushing away or silencing women’s voices can have detrimental effects on gender equality in the workforce.
In Meta’s 2022 diversity report, the company touted its progress on gender equality, noting that from 2019 to 2022, it doubled the number of women in its global workforce.
“It’s disappointing to see Zuckerberg now turn around and say, ‘Oh, the consequence of this is that we have a neutral culture’ as opposed to an inclusive culture,” said Professor Williams.
