--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we get feedback on women, we ask…" description: "\"When we get feedback on women, we ask, \"Is that real or is that the gender bias at play?\" Everyone could start doing that today and I think we'd see re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/sheryl-sandberg-439_asks_when-we-get-feedback-on-women-we-ask-is_2868525.png" --- # When we get feedback on women, we ask, "Is that real or is… ![“When we get feedback on women, we ask, "Is that real or is that the gender bias at play?" Everyone could start doing that today and I think we'd see really big results.” quote by Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/sheryl-sandberg-439_asks_when-we-get-feedback-on-women-we-ask-is_2868525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/sheryl-sandberg-439_asks_when-we-get-feedback-on-women-we-ask-is_2868525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a1/sheryl-sandberg-439_asks_when-we-get-feedback-on-women-we-ask-is_2868525.png) > “When we get feedback on women, we ask, "Is that real or is that the gender bias at play?" Everyone could start doing that today and I think we'd see really big results.” [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She urges systematic questioning of gender bias in feedback to improve outcomes for women. **In simple terms:** Ask if feedback is biased before acting on it. Key Takeaway Implement bias checks in evaluations. Themes gender equality feedback loops workplace culture Mood inspirational pragmatic Type leadership organizational. When to use this quote - HR training - performance reviews - team meetings - policy development Key Concepts bias detection inclusive leadership data‑driven decisions Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations enforce unbiased feedback? - What metrics show bias reduction? A Different Perspective Bias checks can be resisted or ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Bias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bias/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Feedback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feedback/) [Feedback Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feedback-women-3911734/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Gender bias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-bias/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Think Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-really/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Today Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today-think/) [Women Ask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-ask-1909938/) ## Related quotes > [The feedback women are getting at work is amazingly ineffective or vague. You need to signal to your boss or senior colleagues that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ann-hewlett/the-feedback-women-are-getting-at-work-is-amazingly-ineffective-or/) [Sylvia Ann Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ann-hewlett/) > ["Natural" is a very dangerous word to use about sexuality ... Our society's notions of normality are completely fake and meta-trendy, since they rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-bright/natural-is-a-very-dangerous-word-to-use-about-sexuality-our-society-s/) [Susie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-bright/) > [Let me very proudly say that as a television actor, I never, ever saw any gender bias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smriti-irani/let-me-very-proudly-say-that-as-a-television-actor-i-never-ever-saw/) [Smriti Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smriti-irani/) > [Behind the cameras, there's a different problem, which I think is not unconscious gender bias. It's probably categorized more as conscious gender bias. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/behind-the-cameras-there-s-a-different-problem-which-i-think-is-not/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [If a man aspires for a political career, he can start at 18 and go on and on. This is not true about women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/if-a-man-aspires-for-a-political-career-he-can-start-at-18-and-go-on/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [My experiences with gender bias are probably the norm. What I found was that expectations of women were simply lower, and this resulted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-bresch/my-experiences-with-gender-bias-are-probably-the-norm-what-i-found/) [Heather Bresch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-bresch/) > [ Kurt \[Cobain \]was a feminist. A lot of the bashing against Courtney \[Love\] I think has to deal with gender bias and the media,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-morgen/kurt-cobain-was-a-feminist-a-lot-of-the-bashing-against-courtney-love/) [Brett Morgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-morgen/) > [I would say how important it is that we stop teaching kids, from the beginning, that boys are more important than girls. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/i-would-say-how-important-it-is-that-we-stop-teaching-kids-from-the/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [In politics, during my organisational roles, I have never seen gender bias within my organisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smriti-irani/in-politics-during-my-organisational-roles-i-have-never-seen-gender/) [Smriti Irani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smriti-irani/) > [I'm not telling women to be like men. I'm telling us to evaluate what men and women do in the workforce and at home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-m-not-telling-women-to-be-like-men-i-m-telling-us-to-evaluate-what/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“For a brief while, the women ask us questions: are we looking forward to our debuts? Did we enjoy this opera or that play?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/for-a-brief-while-the-women-ask-us-questions-are-we-looking-forward/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [If Congress refuse to listen to and grant what women ask, there is but one course left then to pursue. What is there left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-woodhull/if-congress-refuse-to-listen-to-and-grant-what-women-ask-there-is-but/) [Victoria Woodhull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-woodhull/) > [“Women report that it is often other women who ask them to stop breastfeeding or leave a café or other public place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/women-report-that-it-is-often-other-women-who-ask-them-to-stop/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [So when I say that I think we would have a different ethical level, particularly in corporate America, if there were more women involved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-donlan/so-when-i-say-that-i-think-we-would-have-a-different-ethical-level/) [Vicki Donlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-donlan/) > [We need to reevaluate that women who ask for a pay raise or ask for a promotion - it's actually an okay thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/we-need-to-reevaluate-that-women-who-ask-for-a-pay-raise-or-ask-for-a/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) ## More by Sheryl Sandberg > [“Still, my argument was that if she was going to work for the next 30 years, what difference does "going back" 4 years really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/still-my-argument-was-that-if-she-was-going-to-work-for-the-next-30/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [ “\[Eric Schmidt\] explained that only one criterion that mattered when picking a job- fat growth. 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And that leads directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/go-to-a-playground-little-girls-get-called-bossy-all-the-time-a-word/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“One of my favorite quotes comes from author Alice Walker, who observed, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/one-of-my-favorite-quotes-comes-from-author-alice-walker-who-observed/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“When I wrote Lean In, some people argued that I did not spend enough time writing about the difficulties women face when they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-wrote-lean-in-some-people-argued-that-i-did-not-spend-enough/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Survivor guilt is a thief of joy—yet another secondary loss from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/survivor-guilt-is-a-thief-of-joy-yet-another-secondary-loss-from-death/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I am a bigger-picture manager because I've lived through something that's a big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-am-a-bigger-picture-manager-because-i-ve-lived-through-something/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical, and performance-ori ented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/presenting-leadership-as-a-list-of-carefully-defined-qualities-like/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [So there's no such thing as work-life balance. There's work, and there's life, and there's no balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/so-there-s-no-such-thing-as-work-life-balance-there-s-work-and-there/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Men can comfortably claim credit for what they do as long as they don't veer into arrogance. For women, taking credit comes at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/men-can-comfortably-claim-credit-for-what-they-do-as-long-as-they-don/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“As Helen Keller put it, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/as-helen-keller-put-it-when-one-door-of-happiness-closes-another/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Forty percent of employed mothers lack sick days and vacation leave, and about 50 percent of employed mothers are unable to take time off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/forty-percent-of-employed-mothers-lack-sick-days-and-vacation-leave/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) [Explore all 557 Sheryl Sandberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. 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