Why is this? There are probably two reasons. First, obviously, sex-related discussions make women worry that their male colleagues will see them as sex objects rather than as competent, productive workers. But I see another, more insidious force at work. When male colleagues bond by talking about their sex lives, it’s a form of friendship that women just can’t access. This makes women afraid that there’s a boys’ club, to which they can never gain admission, but which is crucial for getting ahead in their profession or organization.
Not being a human-resources expert, I don’t know exactly how to solve the problem of sex talk at work. But it seems clear that as a society, we’ve underestimated the costs that this sort of behavior imposes on female workers -- and, therefore, on workplace productivity. Corporations, academic departments and other organizations need to find ways to encourage men to save the sex talk for outside the office. Even then, that won’t solve the problem of insults and threats coming from anonymous online forums.
So there’s no easy solution to the sexism in technical fields. It’s a deep-rooted issue with multiple causes, and it won’t vanish overnight. But at least we have a better idea of where the problems lie. The best approach is to continue to apply gentle pressure, and encourage men to find less intimidating ways of getting along in the new, more gender-equal workplace.
Noah Smith is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, and he blogs at Noahpinion.