Wednesday, Nov. 15, the College of William and Mary’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chapter of the Women’s Network hosted their first structured conversation as part of a new series called “Girl Talk.” Its topic, “Sexism in School and the Workplace,” fostered conversation among individuals who found shared experiences with sexism in their personal and professional development.
The talk featured associate professor of government and gender, sexuality and women’s studies Claire McKinney as a guest speaker, who joined via Zoom. McKinney is a feminist political theorist who specializes in abortion politics.
DEI vice president Rachel Oduntan ’25 presented the slideshow guiding the session’s conversation. She began with Stanford University’s definition of the widely-used term “sexism.”
“Sexism refers to discrimination or prejudice based on gender or sex, typically against women,” Oduntan read, citing the Stanford University Student Affairs website. “The term has origins in the feminist movement and refers to the incorrect belief that men are inherently more valuable than women or superior in some way.”
Oduntan asserted that sexism does not look the same in all situations. There are six common forms of sexism: hostile, benevolent, ambivalent, institutional, interpersonal and internalized.
Of these six forms, institutional and internalized sexism tied most directly to the talk’s leading topic.
“If you’ve ever heard of the debate in sociology and psychology called nature versus nurture, well this is nurtured,” Oduntan said. “This is an example of, you know, being socialized to believe these beliefs.
Oduntan described institutional sexism as the bias entrenched in a society’s policies, social norms and institutions.
“It’s important to note that this is widespread,” Oduntan said. “It can be hostile, benevolent or ambivalent, it can take many different forms. A clear indicator is the lack of gender diversity in political bodies, political leaders and even business executives. And the gender pay gap is another big indicator.”
Internalized sexism refers to the sexist beliefs that a person has about themselves. Oduntan described this form as an involuntary result of being regularly exposed to sexist behaviors.
“If you’ve ever heard of this debate in sociology and psychology called nature versus nurture, well this is nurtured,” Oduntan said. “This is an example of, you know, being socialized to believe these beliefs.
For individuals experiencing any form of sexism, feelings of incompetence, self-doubt, powerlessness and shame are often perpetuated.
Oduntan then proposed the first question about what common stereotypes exist for women, encouraging group discussion.
“So the whole idea of ‘Girl Talk’ is that I want general body members and execs to come here and feel comfortable talking about these things,” Oduntan said. “These things that affect, you know, our day-to-day goings of being non-male identifying individuals.”
The conversation quickly focused on the representation of women in male-dominated fields. McKinney shared her experience of studying multiple forms of male leadership, noting the lack of diverse roles for women in her studies. As McKinney observed through her work, women are only thought of as taking the role of a maternal figure.
“If you think back to Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, she emphasized being a mother and a grandmother, right, as part of how she was marketing herself as a leader,” McKinney said.
The group noted that female political leaders around the world are often falsely accused of scandalous behavior. Their male counterparts’ careers are generally less affected, if at all, by similar behaviors. McKinney used Boris Johnson and Donald Trump as a supporting example.
“[Johnson] and Donald Trump, to some regard, are both people who are insulated by the, kind of like, cavalier masculinity,” McKinney said. “That allows them to become leaders despite breaking the rules. That is not an option available to women in these roles.”
Afterwards, members questioned the motherhood penalty in professional development.
Though McKinney stated that recent studies show that women and men are received equally in the hiring process, studies suggest a woman’s career can become notably stunted if she decides to have children while working.
“There’s kind of this idea that women are less trustworthy as employees,” McKinney said.
“I think it takes a lot of courage and determination and having the right support in order to just change your mindset and realize you, as you are, are good enough,” Agossou said. “And that you don’t need to add on things or take away things in order to survive.”
McKinney believes this stigma is more than rethinking the balance between work and life in America. Addressing sex differences in the workplace and the economy is not a straightforward topic.
She underscored that sexism can make a non-male identifying individual’s world so much smaller than it could be.
Marielle Agossou ’26 shared a message of hope in the group discussion.
“I think it takes a lot of courage and determination and having the right support in order to just change your mindset and realize you, as you are, are good enough,” Agossou said. “And that you don’t need to add on things or take away things in order to survive.”
Through the Women’s Network, organizers aim to create a safe space for all non-male identifying individuals. President of the College’s chapter Catherine Bare ’25 further emphasized the Women Network’s and Girl Talk’s intent.
“Having table discussions like these where you are having multiple people speaking about their experiences,” Bare said. “Not only are you educated on the topic, but you know that you are not alone in that experience.”
The College chapter’s Trip Coordinator Ashleigh Williams ’25 shared a concluding anecdote on her growth from the Women’s Network.
“I know that being around, being in the Women’s Network, I’ve gained more of a voice and I know that I’ve gained confidence personally,” Williams said.
