Theories in Action: Role Congruity Theory

As a woman entering into a male dominated field such as finance, I expected to be met with some resistance, and I was. Within my first few days at Lincolnshire, which is an entirely male firm except for a few female secretarial employees, I was glared at, greeted with confused looks, and demeaningly called “honey.” I even overheard a conversation between two male employees who laughed about how I, the female intern, was working in finance, while a male intern was working in marketing. Further, I was given fewer tasks than the male interns, and was forced to speak up and ask for assignments. Although many may find the aforementioned to be trivial, I immediately knew that I was going to have to work harder than the other interns in order to prove myself during every hour of every day at this internship.

Since there are no female higher level executives at Lincolnshire, it’s difficult for me to tell whether or not a woman at this office would be able to climb the corporate ladder to the top. I believe that if given the correct opportunities, experience, and mentorship a woman could very well rise to the top, but getting there would be extremely difficult.

I’ve fallen victim to role congruity theory within my office. I’ve found myself trying to become more “masculine” by taking an interest in sports in order to make conversation with other men in the office. Whether its taking charge of meetings, asking questions with depth, or fighting to have my opinions heard, I’m finally being viewed as a competent and diligent intern, instead of just “the girl.”