RESEARCH_FILE
Joan C. Williams
UC Hastings College of the Law
Known for:Pioneer in research on workplace gender bias and invisible labor, coining the term 'office housework' for the administrative and emotional tasks disproportionately assigned to competent, agreeable contributors regardless of their workload
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I'm punished for being reliable”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I built my reputation by choosing what matters to me, not by accepting everything that arrives.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Draft a private email declining something that arrived unsigned, without sending it. Notice what story you tell yourself about what happens if you send it. That story is the trap.
Key findings
- 2014
With Rachel Dempsey, Williams documented that 'office housework' — note-taking, scheduling, onboarding, emotional caregiving — is systematically directed to employees perceived as competent and agreeable, creating a structural invisible labor tax that is unrewarded in formal performance metrics and compounds across a career. What Works for Women at Work ↗
- 2015
Williams documented that declining office housework requests carries disproportionate social penalties for those perceived as competent and cooperative — creating a double bind where accepting the work is taxing and declining it is career-damaging, with no neutral exit. The 3 Things Women (and Men) Should Know About Office Housework ↗