The male default effects all aspects of daily life, including the work place. In a study done by the Columbia Business School, students were presented with a case study of a successful Silicon Valley venture capitalist. They told half of the class the entrepreneur's name was Heidi, and they told the other half it was Howard. How the students rated each entrepreneur may not surprise you, but it doesn’t change how disappointing it is. As women, we constantly face backlash for trying to break the glass ceiling. Women face judgement for exercising power and are immediately deemed ‘less likable’, while a successful man in charge is expected. Nobody bats an eye when your male manager is forceful in a meeting. But when a woman does it, gender norms tells you she’s ‘aggressive’ and ‘pushy’. And don’t get us started on how much we dislike when we’re called ‘overly emotional’. These negative labels have always been used to discredit women. This discourages women from going after leadership r...