Women make up only 35% of the tech workforce and hold only 11% of executive roles. The industry has long been a prime example of the workforce’s gender gap, but according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “masculine energy” is being absorbed by the workforce and corporations need to bring back that “aggression.”
“I think a lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally sterilized,” Zuckerberg said in a Jan. 10 appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. “It’s one thing to say we want to be welcoming and create a good environment for everyone, and I think it’s another to basically say ‘masculinity is bad’.”
“I think having a culture that celebrates aggression a little bit more has its merits that are really positive,” he continued.
In Zuckerberg’s own words, there’s nothing wrong with embracing masculinity. But gender studies and economics experts warn that Zuckerberg’s rhetoric could push women and marginalized voices out of the workforce by upholding outdated gender roles and stereotypes.
“Neutered” is the “gender dog whistle” and perpetuates patriarchy, gender traditionalism and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, says Juliet A. Williams, a professor of gender studies at UCLA.
Zuckerberg’s comments fall in line with anti-DEI rhetoric
Zuckerberg’s remarks reflect the growing backlash against DEI’s initiatives.
According to Susan L. Averett, a professor of economics at Lafayette College, these setbacks can have a “silencing effect” on women in professional settings.
“Women and men have different communication styles,” she explains. “A shift towards a more traditionally masculine workplace culture risks marginalizing women’s voices.”
These environments can become so unwelcoming to women, she says, that women leave male-dominated fields like economics and STEM.
Calling out policies like putting tampons in men’s restrooms suggests that some leaders see the inclusion measures as a threat to a particular vision of masculinity, according to Justin Frake, assistant professor of strategy at the University of Michigan.
Suppressing or suppressing women’s voices can have detrimental impacts on gender equality in the workforce.
In Meta’s 2022 diversity report, the company showed its progress in gender equality, noting that from 2019 to 2022, it doubled the number of women in its global workforce.
“It’s especially disappointing to see (Zuckerberg) now turning around and saying, ‘Oh, the effect of this is that we have a sterilized culture, as opposed to an inclusive culture,'” Williams says. “We’re rolling back civil rights laws and anti-discrimination protections that took literally 200 years to pass … in just a few months.”
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Why is Zuckerberg talking about this now?
The Trump Bro became a vital player in the 2024 election. On Election Day, 49% of Gen Z males voted for Trump, while only 41% of males aged 18 to 29 voted for him in 2020.
During his campaign, Trump appeared on the Nelk Boys’ Full Send Podcast, the comedy podcast This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, and the long-running show The Joe Rogan Experience. He also spoke pro-wrestling on Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway and went live with video game influencer Adin Ross.
Trump’s appearances with these influencers also sent a clear message, according to Alex Bruesewitz, a 27-year-old adviser to the Trump campaign: that “it’s okay to be a guy.”
Zuckerberg may be trying to appeal to President-elect Donald Trump and this growing “bro culture,” Williams says. But in doing so, he is “reducing decades of feminist and LGBTQ+ activism to a culture war.”
“Mark Zuckerberg’s push for the return of masculine energy is a shameless act of contempt for another guy who is perceived as more powerful than him (Trump),” she says. “If a return to masculine energy means all these bros pay allegiance to the new bully on the block, it gives us new insight into what masculinity really means.”
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How can women, companies feel this change?
Zuckberg’s rhetoric is likely to make traditionally masculine men feel safer at work while marginalizing any employees who don’t fit a narrow definition of masculinity, which can lower morale and hinder collaboration, according to Frake.
“Corporate cultures that double down on ‘masculine’ norms risk slipping into ‘bro culture,'” warns Frake, “which has been linked to lower retention of women and gender-nonconforming employees.”
“Over time, hiring and retention may skew toward individuals who fit the ‘masculine’ mold, leaving fewer women and marginalized groups in the talent pipeline,” he says. “Ultimately, this will likely lead to exactly what Zuckerberg says he wants: a more ‘masculine’ culture on Meta.”
Contributed by: Charles Trepany
