LinkedIn is a great professional space to build and grow connections that can help us in our careers. But some people misuse this platform and it turns out to be a nuisance, especially for women. Here are some of the things only women have to face on LinkedIn that men just don’t.
1. Unprofessional messages from strangers
It’s one thing to get messages from people you don’t know on LinkedIn, considering it’s the way to build connections there. But women don’t just receive messages for connection building, but also unnecessary, unprofessional messages as well. Even if it is related to work, the tone of messages that women receive is entirely different than men.
2. Flirtatious messages
You would have heard it before but you should hear it again, LinkedIn is NOT a dating app. But some people just don’t get so and that’s the reason their inbox is filled with random strangers sending flirtatious messages on a professional platform. How many men have you heard who receive such messages?
3. And the messages don’t stop even after explicitly asking to stop
When someone asks you to stop your unwanted advances and you still don’t, it’s not flirting, it’s harassment. Firstly, women shouldn’t have to ask men to behave, and secondly, if it’s coming to that then men should simply respect their no and not harass them further. And no, your ‘crush’ on someone is not a compliment for them.
4. The age-old misogyny and slut shaming
Remember the instance where a Boss slut shamed a woman for using a generic headshot of her in a grey t-shirt, just because she was “hot”? Read this thread if you haven’t heard of this instance.
The sad thing is, this is not a one-off incident. Women regularly have to look over their shoulders for misogynistic men on social media, even on a professional platform such as LinkedIn.
5. Finding someone on LinkedIn then going to their personal social media to “connect”
I wish the incidents of some random guy finding you through “also works at this company” and then rigorously searching for your personal social channels to “connect” was more uncommon than it is. But, sadly, it is not.
6. Random connections
That new connection that you got? They are not really in the pursuit of a professional connection but a more “personal” connection – a story women are very well familiar with. So much so, that this made an 18-year-old woman leave the platform altogether.
7. Missing out on opportunities
The sexual harassment women face on LinkedIn like the one mentioned previously, makes women miss out on opportunities. Such incidents make women hesitant to pursue a new connection and miss out on opportunities that come with connection building.
8. Misinterpretation of intentions
Generally, when men meet someone in a professional setting they connect with them on LinkedIn. But women have to think long and hard before sending someone a connection request or initiating a conversation just because they don’t know how their “forwardness” will be interpreted on the receiver’s end.
If you’re reading this and you have unknowingly done any of it, please stop. Let women have a safe professional space where they can connect with people and grow in their careers.
