Talking about masculine energy in corporate America

Catch up quick: On Joe Rogan's podcast last week, the company's founder Mark Zuckerberg said he thinks "a lot of the corporate world is pretty culturally neutered," and would benefit from having more "masculine energy."

• He didn't explicitly define the term, but seemed to be relying on the broad stereotype that men are more aggressive than women: "I think having a culture that, like, celebrates the aggression a bit more has its own merits that are really positive," he said.

Where it stands: Companies in the U.S. are dominated by men who would identify as masculine. Only 10% of Fortune 500 chief executives are women.

Zoom in: Zuckerberg seems to be keen on injecting masculine energy into Meta. The company just added three more men to its board, including Dana White, the CEO of UFC, who some would argue epitomizes the stereotype of masculine energy. Now the board has 10 men and three women.

Between the lines: During the #MeToo era, there was a lot of attention paid to the problems that masculine office culture caused, and some firms made efforts to address the issue.

• Women made gains. From holding fewer than 20% of C-suite positions in 2015, they hit nearly 30% in 2024, per data compiled by McKinsey and former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg's nonprofit LeanIn.Org.
• At the same time, many male leaders were fired for sexual harassment and worse behavior. There has certainly been backlash. Some men have felt alienated, even under attack, as women gained power.

Zoom out: Many researchers and writers over the years have examined how harmful stereotypes lay underneath the culture inside corporations. (Here's a paper about work as a masculinity contest.)

• For a long time, women have been perceived as lacking the ambition and stereotypical masculine attributes seen as necessary to succeed inside those companies.
• Yet at the same time, women have been penalized for exhibiting those "masculine" qualities, since they're not considered feminine.

Between the lines: One of the highest-profile women to bring attention to this double-bind was Sandberg, who as Facebook's chief operating officer was often described as the adult in the room to Zuckerberg's young CEO self.

• She's credited with launching the company's advertising business and turning it into the multibillion behemoth it is today.
• Sandberg's influence was seen in 2015 when Zuckerberg was lauded for taking paternity leave. The CEO was praised for moving past harmful stereotypes, like the idea that only women should take parental leave.
• Sandberg's nonprofit, named after her book, disseminates and conducts research on these issues. It declined to comment on Zuckerberg's remarks.