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Original poster

To think Microsoft Teams is a sexist load of male wankery

218 replies

GetUpAgain · 04/05/2020 13:09

Maybe it's just my experience, I work in STEM, but I fucking detest Teams. And now Zoom has bad press I'm being pressured into more and more Teams wankery.

In a meeting, you only see the faces of the most talkative people. As men tend to dominate meetings this makes women (who are already less-heard) less visible.

The facility to share documents and collaborate in changing them just leads to 50 million wrong versions of the almost same thing. With, ime, men cocking up what is meant to be finished, because they want the last word.

'I will share my screen' = I didn't prepare properly and will now waste your time mansplaining shit you already know.

And then Microsoft sends me this emails telling me how smart I am working. It can get to fuck. That's not how you measure productivity.

Can someone please just hack it, let's have a scandal that means we don't have to use it anymore.

OP posts:
Sparklesocks · 04/05/2020 13:33

It does sound a bit like your meetings are perhaps not chaired in a way to encourage everyone to speak and rein in those who are dominating the meeting.

GoatyGoatyMingeMinge · 04/05/2020 13:34

Is this a parody?? Grin

Catabogus · 04/05/2020 13:34

I noticed about the faces too. Is there a way to change this? Can you ask it to display all the faces (smaller) like you can I never Zoom? I am just getting to grips with the technology but would be very interested in this.

LesleysChestnutBob · 04/05/2020 13:35

Well that's quite a big chip on your shoulder isn't it? Are you like this in real life?

Catabogus · 04/05/2020 13:35

Aarrgghh I meant “like you can in Zoom” sorry!

Catabogus · 04/05/2020 13:36

And is there really no equivalent of the “hand raise” in Teams? I am also about to have to start using it for teaching and as I’ve only just got used to Zoom, I’m not keen

4amWitchingHour · 04/05/2020 13:37

If you're on Zoom go to gallery view so you can see everyone, and it looks as though Teams are introducing that (or might have already).

As for the document versioning - that is shit, someone needs to implement rules around it. As everyone else has said, the software isn't the problem, it's the people.

Fuckoffyoufeckers · 04/05/2020 13:39

AGREE

witheringrowan · 04/05/2020 13:39

It just makes it very clear whether you have a good chair or not. If I'm running the meeting, I'm always very clear that people need to leave space for others not on the screen to contribute, and try to ask specific people to contribute so it's not dominated by the same people all the time. If you don't have a good chair, any virtual meeting with more than about 5 people, whether on Teams or Zoom or whatever turns into a shitshow.

beesthatbuzz · 04/05/2020 13:40

Sounds like you just work in a crap team tbh.

Mia1415 · 04/05/2020 13:42

*My goodness. That's the biggest load of tripe I've ever heard. Don't blame your shit colleagues on MS Teams.

And if you want to be more visble thrn speak up. Things like this make me embarrassed to be a woman.*

THIS!

KillerofMen · 04/05/2020 13:42

The software could actually be sexist. There have been studies which show that software has been programmed, usually by men due to their over-representation in that career, in such as way that it replicated humans gender bias.

rosiepony · 04/05/2020 13:45

I like it. And I LOVE not having to commute!

SweetPetrichor · 04/05/2020 13:45

This isn't a MS Teams issue. I also work in STEM, in a team where there are only two females, and I'm loving MS Teams. You can't blame the software for a human issue.

Poppi89 · 04/05/2020 13:45

You don’t have a Teams problem.

You have a team problem.

I've had the complete opposite. Where the females are the ones to not let anyone get a word in. So the males and some quieter females don't get a say.

The trouble is sometimes women have to be more dominating but then they over dominate other females too.

Carrie7469 · 04/05/2020 13:47

You’re being absolutely ridiculous

ScrewBalls99 · 04/05/2020 13:49

Agree with fascinated, it's your team, not a teams thing or male female thing.

oldwhyno · 04/05/2020 13:51

sounds like you have prejudice. let it go, it won't help

C8H10N4O2 · 04/05/2020 13:52

There have been studies which show that software has been programmed, usually by men due to their over-representation in that career, in such as way that it replicated humans gender bias

There is plenty of evidence that software reflects the diversity of experience of the production team. This is especially an issue when building systems which make decisions or claim to be intelligent.

So whilst the team itself is the problem its a problem worsened by software decision to keep all the attention on the loudest members rather than treat all the same. Audio calls tend to be less of a problem in this respect and I've been struck by the extent to which experienced remote workers (both client and my own org) don't bothere with video, finding it distracting.

fuckinghellthisshit · 04/05/2020 13:52

On the one hand, yes, you are right, I was discussing this with DB at the weekend. But the reason we were discussing it is that for the first time he has noticed the gender imbalance, specifically because of the way it highlights the speaker. So much so that he now mutes several men on his team for the majority of the meeting Grin

QuitMoaning · 04/05/2020 13:55

What would you like it to do? Ask you to enter your sex (or even gender) and then show 50% men and 50% women (or maybe thirds to enable non binary) so you don’t see the people who are speaking but at least a good representation. What about if there are 4 men and one woman? Does it implode with trying to work it all out?

Don’t moan about it unless you have an idea on how to improve it.

Ohtherewearethen · 04/05/2020 13:56

Maybe you're just in a bad mood but you're coming across as anti-men and aggressive. I'm not convinced Microsoft software has made you that way.

Pukkatea · 04/05/2020 13:58

To be honest there are plenty of meetings where I have nothing to say and would rather be able to get on with emails in the background rather than have my non-contribution broadcast to everyone.

In my work I don't find that men dominate, rather senior members of staff don't let juniors get a word in. In many areas that would mean the same thing as senior staff might be male dominated.

Collaborative documents isn't just a Teams thing either. I much prefer it to version control hell.

FirmlyRooted · 04/05/2020 13:58

I'm a woman and I like Teams, it's a great collaboration tool and much better than zoom as it allows document management and instant messaging.

If you're not being taken notice of in meetings it's got nothing to do with Teams!

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 04/05/2020 14:07

All computers - and any communication device with a keyboard - are institutionally misogynistic. You can type some appallingly sexist words and sentences and then send them as an email or instant message to an innocent woman.

In fact, so are all mouths and voice-boxes, as you can do the exact same auditory equivalent with them....

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