# data[].attributes.body
The Office is a mockumentary series about a group of office workers at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and it has quite the following. The show originally aired between 2005 and 2013 on NBC and has had continued success through re-airing on other channels and through the streaming service Netflix. With so much success the show has millions of fans and has reached people all over the globe, but is this comedy actually representative of the modern workplace when it comes to gender inequality? Let’s find out.

Inequality in society based on gender is the result of social hierarchy (Oliha & Collier, 2010). In societies that function in a patriarchal model women are often at a disadvantage, especially in the workplace. This disadvantage becomes evident when we look into how people communicate. The standpoint theory, muted group theory, and genderlect reflect this situation and help to break down why and how it happens.

# data[].attributes.headline
Standpoint theory: "It's a guy thing, Pam."

# data[].attributes.subject
Standpoint theory: "It's a guy thing, Pam."

# data[].attributes.body
The Office pokes fun at trying to navigate gender stereotypes and differences throughout the series. This clip highlights many of the experiences women on the show face. While these instances are dramatized for comedy, they reflect real stereotypes that women endure everyday in real workplaces.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pressures of gender pressures- a short Office montage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I don't own The Office, obviously. Uploaded only for the sake of completing a final project in Sociology of Gender. I'm not making a profit off of this, and Fair Use states that any copyrighted work may be used for nonprofit educational purposes.

# data[].attributes.body
Standpoint theory was developed by Sandra Harding, a feminist philosopher and theorist. The premise behind standpoint theory is that people's’ position in social hierarchy affects what they see (Oliha & Collier, 2010).

This is visible in the ways Pam recounts her experiences at the office. In the workplace women’s experiences are often much different from men’s. Common examples of disadvantages are: promotion barriers, work schedule flexibility, a lack of respect, and ageism (Watkins, Armstrong, Riemenschneider, & Reid, 2006).

These barriers are unique to women because of gender stereotypes that limit their ability to excel and feel comfortable in their field (Watkins, et. al., 2006). You can see this in the clip around 30 seconds in when Michael, in reference to Pam says “if you think she’s cute now, you should have seen her a couple of years ago.” This is a blatant example of ageism and a lack of respect.

The unfortunate limitation women experience is not only problematic for them, but it also limits the success of the businesses they’re employed by. When a workplace is seeking diversity it’s important to bridge the differences in standpoints in order to build a healthy organization (Oliha & Collier, 2010).

Standpoints come from all angles, not just gender differences, because standpoints are a culmination of individual experiences. Each standpoint in an organization comes in the form of a “voice” that represents a group that fits into a certain race, economic class, sex, and leadership position (Oliha & Collier, 2010). The experiences women have in the workplace culminate into a unique voice.

Organizations that want to be successful, especially during times where demographics and awareness of gender limitations are changing in society, need to be aware about the dominant views surrounding diversity in the areas they are trying to reach. Not only to create a better workplace environment for all employees, but in order to be more favorable to their target market as well (Oliha & Collier, 2010). Maybe if Dunder Mifflin dedicated more time and funding to gender awareness they wouldn’t have to face branch closures throughout the series.

Counteracting stereotypes and changing the experiences a group has is not an easy cycle to break. In Sandra Harding’s book, Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader, a chapter author Kathi Weeks explains how the elements of the standpoint of women in the workplace were created in the first place.

Weeks argues that “women’s labor” is culturally defined as work addressing caring for others, kin work, and bodily labor (Harding, 2004). The problem with this division is that gender-based labor division is based on cultural history, not real factors that would make on egener more fit for a specific work over another (Harding, 2004). So women are given less power and opportunity simply because it’s the way it has always been. In order to break free from these stereotypical divisions, Weeks explains that the role in “women’s labor” is encouraging disloyalty and disobedience to social norms so that alternatives to oppression and exploitation can emerge (Harding, 2004).

Later in the series Pam breaks the “women’s labor” stereotype by demanding a place in sales and moving from her job as secretary. Disobedience to the norms and limitations put on women are what can ultimately change practices, which can eventually change culture.

# data[].attributes.body
This clip from an episode of The Office demonstrates how male-dominant language and conversations can affect women in the workplace. In the clip a group of male colleges are discussing women when one makes an inappropriate comment about one of their female coworkers. This then spirals into Michael muting Phyllis by making inappropriate comments about her and making her uncomfortable.

# data[].attributes.body
The muted group theory is another feminist theory which explains the feeling a group has when they cannot say how or what they feel because of how they rank in society (Kramarae, 2006). This idea is highlighted in our communication.

In a 2017 study three researchers examined the marginalization of women in the workplace as a result of the silencing of their voices. They found that the women they talked to did not feel listened to and as if they were less valuable than men (Mahrukh, et. al., 2017); similarly to how Phyllis felt in the encounter she had in this scene of The Office.

Men in the same office commented that the women did not speak logically which caused them to not listen to what they had to say (Mahrukh, et. al., 2017). In that same study each group was asked how they felt leadership should be setup in their company, whether women or men should hold leadership positions.

The women responded by saying that gender should not play a role in the position an employee holds, it should be based more on their experiences and abilities to do the job (Mahrukh, et. al., 2017). Their male counterparts, however, said that their gender was more cut out for stressful jobs and men were more fit for higher up positions (Mahrukh, et. al., 2017).

These two angles show how muted the women in this workplace were. Women were literally not being heard by the men around them, and yet those same men felt that women could not hold positions above their own because they were incapable. This communication gap and muting correlate, how would the men in the office know how capable the women around them were if they did not even respect them enough to listen to what they had to say?

The concept of communication reaches beyond face-to-face and verbal encounters though. Even through written avenues such email women are subject to inequality.

Heather Kissack examined the effects of email on women in a 2010 analysis where she found and critically analyzed the use of male-dominant language use in organizational communication. Her results showed that language styles render one or more the communicators mute because individuals must accommodate the opposite gender by adopting their language style (Kissack, 2010).

In the average workplace where men are given the preferential treatment, male-dominant language is the norm. So women are automatically at a disadvantage because their female-preferential language receives much less attention (Kissack, 2010). Women have historically been at a disadvantage in the workplace. But the addition of more and more written communication and the rise of email has put them at an even bigger prejudice.

# data[].attributes.headline
Genderlect: "What is more important than quality, equality."

# data[].attributes.subject
Genderlect: "What is more important than quality, equality."

# data[].attributes.body
In another episode of The Office Michael intervenes in an equality meeting for women in his office. He attempts to come in and take over and in the process makes several sexist comments. After he’s forced to leave he continues to stand outside the door to listen to the conversation, making everyone involved uncomfortable and muting their conversation while at the same time attempting to take control of the situation. This shows a combination of muted group theory and genderlect.

# data[].attributes.body
The theory of genderlect was developed by Deborah Tannen and highlights the differences and tensions between the language used by people of different genders.

In her 1990 book You Just Don’t Understand: Women and men in Conversation, Tannen found that men and women communicate for different reasons. She states “most women use language to create a community and many men use it to manage contest” (Tannen, 1990, pp. 210).

In other words, women interrupt to add to the conversation while men interrupt in order to control the conversation. That interruption and control can have a profound impact on women’s power in situations and the workplace is no exception. We can see this when Michael interrupts the women in the workplace meeting and the ways he tries to takeover even after Jan asks him to leave.

Genderlect is the term used to describe communication differences between men and women (Levine, 1993). In the workplace office politics often drive which positions employees hold or are promoted into. A respondent to a study on genderlect by Suzanne Braun Levine said this about the issue: “office politics matter more in these things than I would have ever believed; you need to get in the ear of someone high up and you need to speak their language. In my shop most of those higher ups are men.”  This setup is likely a result of the way society is constructed which leads to strict gender-based characteristics (Shajan, 2018).

In 2018 Aiswaria Shajan analyzed concealed gender salutations in India. She found that women use more qualifying statements in conversation, giving an overall impression of uncertainty (Shajan, 2018). While men overlay women’s speech by stating ideas more directly and subsequently maintain a higher status in social order (Shajan, 2018). In other words, patriarchal societies have settled into a state of language that makes men appear more powerful than women. She concludes her work by stating that language is not just a combination of words but a way of conveying meaning, and genderlect in society plays a key role in the social hierarchy within society.

# data[].attributes.body
This snippet from The Office really shows how much communication can differ between men and women. Dwight is attempting to learn from his female coworkers and his behavior and the way he talks contrasts comically with the women in the room.

# data[].attributes.body
Whether you are a woman or not you have more than likely experienced some of these concepts in your own life. So the next time you see or experience a someone being muted, put down, or not given the same opportunity as someone else just because of their gender, step up and help to change the culture that causes such divisions. Change comes from individuals doing their part in every way that they can whether it’s big or small.

# data[].attributes.headline
Help make that change, and remember to always appreciate women in The Office.

# data[].attributes.subject
Help make that change, and remember to always appreciate women in The Office.

# data[].attributes.body
Kissack, H. (2010). Muted voices: A critical look at e-male in organizations. Journal of  European Industrial Training, 34(6), 539-551. doi: 10.1108/03090591011061211

Kramarae, C. (2006). Muted group theory and communication: Asking dangerous questions. Women and Language, 28(2), 55-61.

Levine, S. B. (1993). News-speak and ‘genderlect’ - (it’s only news if you can sell it). Media studies journal, 7(1-2), 116-123.

Mahrukh, S., Ahmad, A., & Iqbal, L. (2017). Silencing the silence: A study of women at the workplace. Global Social Sciences Review, 2(2), 162-176.

doi: 10.31703/gssr.2017(II-II).10

Oliha, H., & Collier, M. J. (2010). Bridging divergent diversity standpoints and ideologies: Organizational initiatives and trainings. The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities, and Nations, 10, 61-73.

Pitching to Women - The Office US. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt96focL_oc

Pressures of gender pressures- a short Office montage. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6z2DILleWg

Shajan, A. G. (2018). Emancipation towards marginalization: A study on concealed gender salutations. Language in India, 18(12), 24-28.

Tannen, D. (1990). You just don’t understand: Women and men in conversation. New York, NY: William Morrow and Company.

The Office: Boys and Girls. (2005). Clip screen recorded from Netflix.com 4/12/19.

The Office: Sexucal Harassment.(2005). Clip screen recorded from Netflix.com 4/12/19.

Watkins Allen, M., Armstrong, D. J., Riemenschneider, C. K.,  & Reid, M. F. (2006). Making sense of the barriers women face in the information technology workforce: Standpoint theory, self-disclosure, and causal maps. Sex Roles, 54, 831-844. doi: 10.1007/s11199-006-9049-4

Weeks, K. (2004). Labor, Standpoints, and Feminist Subjects. In S. Harding (Eds.), Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader (181-193). New York, NY: Routledge.