Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II. Rosie is used as a symbol of American feminism and economic freedom.
Several decades later, women still struggle for equal representation in the workplace. A report from McKinsey and Company in 2017 asserted that only 1 in 5 C-Suite leaders are women, and
entry level women are 18% less likely to be promoted than their male counterparts.
Studies show that women may be denying themselves opportunities to be viewed as credible in the workplace by using unconfident or hedging language. Forbes asserts that using words like “just” or “maybe”, apologizing when unneeded, or using phrases like “I’m no expert” or “I don’t know” all demean confidence.
This happens because girls are taught to take responsibility for how their behaviors affect others. Girls who are more assertive are typically viewed as abrasive or bossy by their peers. To overcompensate, girls learn to alter their language to include unnecessary apologetic or hedging qualifiers.
A pattern of hedging language in the workplace causes women to take less credit for their achievements, or damages their credibility when they have ideas or opinions on projects.
Rosie is a Chrome extension that detects undermining language and suggests more confident phrasing to help women represent themselves as the professionals they are. Competing extensions have existed for one email platform or another - Rosie can be used with several common business communication tools, including Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Slack. Download Rosie here!
Allison is a computer science major from Fargo, North Dakota, USA. When she's not coding, she loves knitting and playing cards, and whether or not she's coding she loves coffee.
Catherine is a software engineering major from Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. When she's not coding, she loves reading and dancing. Whether or not she's coding, she loves smashing the patriarchy.
Gauri is a computer science major from Omaha, Nebraska, USA. When she's not coding, she loves writing and playing the piano, and whether or not she's coding she loves coffee.