Power Dynamics in Meetings

Diagnosing the Communication Inequality

Historically, boardrooms have been spaces designed by and for male comfort.

In these forums, men assume, almost by default, that they have a legitimate place at the table, that they will be heard, and that they will receive credit for their contributions.

For women, the experience is often radically different: they face constant interruptions, their ideas are co-opted, and their presence is often dismissed.

Observational data indicates that men come to dominate up to 80% of the speaking time in mixed meetings, resulting in a massive loss of intellectual diversity for the company.

The inclusive leader must apply keen "situational awareness" to read the room.

He or she must observe who occupies the center seats and who is relegated to the physical and verbal periphery.

It is critical to notice subtle patterns: Are female colleagues actively invited to participate or are they left as passive spectators? Is the voice of all attendees equally validated?

If an organizational culture rewards only the loudest and fastest participants, traits typically socialized in the masculine, you will get "silent women" and an incomplete business strategy, lacking the wisdom and creativity they could bring.

Intervention and Moderation Tactics

To correct these imbalances, deliberate interventions are required. One effective technique is to direct specific questions to those who do not usually participate on their own initiative, not to expose them, but to assess them: "Engineer Ruiz has previous experience in this type of crisis, I would like to hear her analysis of financial risk."

In addition, the leader can exercise pre-meeting coaching, advising talented but introverted collaborators to intervene in the first few minutes of the session; statistics suggest that if the floor is not taken at the beginning ("the first five or ten minutes"), presence is diluted and difficult to regain.

The most common challenge is interruption. Women are interrupted twice as often as men. The ally has a duty to act as a "human traffic light."

When she detects that someone is cutting off a colleague, she should intervene physically and verbally: raise her hand in a stop sign and say firmly but not aggressively, "Just a moment, please.

I was really interested in the point the Architect was developing, let's allow her to finish her idea before changing