Becker's Hospital Review

27 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP Figs faces criticism for 'blatantly misogynistic' marketing video By Gabrielle Masson L os Angeles-based medical apparel company Figs came under fire in October for a website ad fea- turing a woman in pink scrubs and a DO name tag holding a Medical Terminology for Dummies book upside down, reported ABC News. Some members of the medical community have called the video, which has now been removed from the Figs web- site, misogynistic and disrespectful to female medical pro- fessionals. "We are outraged that in 2020, women physicians and doc- tors of osteopathic medicine are still attacked in thought- less and ignorant marketing campaigns," the American As- sociation of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine said in an Oct. 13 news release. "A company like Figs that asks us to spend money on its product should be ashamed for pro- moting these stereotypes. We demand the respect we've earned AND a public apology." The "blatantly misogynistic" ad is especially harmful to female physicians, who experience sexism and have to "constantly validate" themselves, Stephanie Markle, DO, an intensive care physician and surgeon at Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Ascension Borgess Hospital, told ABC News. "A lot of you guys have pointed out an insensitive video we had on our site — we are incredibly sorry for any hurt this has caused you, especially our female DOs (who are amazing!)," the company tweeted Oct. 13. "Figs is a fe- male-founded company whose only mission is to make you guys feel awesome." n 4 ways men can call out other men's sexist behavior By Molly Gamble T he authors of the book Good Guys out- lined several specific confrontation strategies in Harvard Business Review for men who witness transgressions and sex- ist behavior from men in their workplace. Good Guys is co-authored by David G. Smith, PhD, a professor of sociology in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I., and W. Brad Johnson, PhD, a professor of psychology in the Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and faculty associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hop- kins University in Baltimore. ey say it is critical for men to speak up for several reasons, including findings that ob- servers are more likely to be persuaded when a man confronts sexism and that women who call out poor male behavior are oen evalu- ated negatively and even rated as less compe- tent compared to men who do the same. Four of the intervention strategies they shared with HBR: 1. Don't freeze up. Say something imme- diately. Paralysis can easily set in seconds after another man makes a sexist remark or offensive joke, but it's important to re- act right away. The authors advise that if nothing else comes to mind, start with a straightforward "ouch!" "is buys you a few extra seconds to formu- late a clear statement about why the comment didn't land well with you. en, have some ready responses cued up in advance," note the authors. ree possibilities: at wasn't fun- ny. Did you really mean to say that? Actually, that's an outdated stereotype. 2. Say that the behavior isn't OK with you. Don't make the act of speaking up to be something done on behalf of the women in the room. "I didn't find that joke funny. I don't appreciate how it demeans women," is a much more powerful response than, "Come on, Bob, there are women in the room." e latter implies the behavior in question would be OK if women were absent. 3. Don't put him on the defensive. If a male colleague says something sexist, pull him aside. Let him know you see him as part of your team. In a direct conversation, let him know you are worried about him and use statements beginning with "I" that aren't ac- cusatory, but do make your feelings clear. "In clarifying the precise behavior of concern, be specific in the details, situation and people involved. You don't have to take the conversa- tion to 'DEFCON 5,' but you do have to make him understand how his behavior is hurting others, sabotaging his credibility and why you care," the authors write. 4. Ask questions to confront sexist dy- namics in groups. Research consistently finds women are interrupted more than men across a range of settings. In meetings, men sometimes co-opt the ideas women had al- ready raised or were in the process of shar- ing when interrupted. When this occurs, other men can ask questions like, "I'm con- fused. How is that any different from what Amber suggested a few minutes ago?" Ques- tions like this can also be quite effective to help a male colleague consider an alterna- tive perspective, such as, "I wonder if you've considered that women might experience this differently?" n Paralysis can easily set in seconds after another man makes a sexist remark or offensive joke, but it's important to react right away.

• Cover