Women, humor, men, inequalities?
There is one area where women have an advantage over men in the world of work: humor! Do not take this information lightly, humor matters much more than it seems and is a leadership quality.
A study carried out on the famous TED conferences shows that male speakers, and even more female speakers, who demonstrate humor have more impact on their audience. Far from diminishing you, humor makes you appear competent, friendly and endowed with the qualities of a leader.
It is the same when start-ups present themselves to juries or investors: unfunny pitches are less often accepted. But above all, pitches that use humor erase inequalities between women and men: the gender of the candidates is no longer discriminatory as long as humor is present!
What humor are we talking about? Not locker room humor but authentic wit, which is based on real-life experiences, on self-deprecation and which reflects the person’s style.
Finally, humor allows you to be perceived as both intelligent AND lovable, two qualities that gender stereotypes deem incompatible in a woman.
Paradoxically, you will be taken seriously if you use a form of personal humor!
To go further
«How women leaders benefit from using humour»
By Ella Miron-Spektor (Insead Knowledge, 2023).
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