Women don't ask (and don't get) and other gender biases at work
Would your work be valued the same if you were a woman instead of a man? What about the other way round? Are parts of your career shaped less by talent and more by gender? In this episode of CIENxCIEN, the Banco de España lifts the lid on the invisible prejudices at work, exploring how gender biases still drive opportunities, risks and appraisals. We need to change the score, not the orchestra, if we want to make the music sing.
09/03/2026
“On the numbers, things look good: over the past century, Spain and Europe have made real, measurable progress in labour‑market equality. But when organisations examine their own data, they see the cracks: beyond merely counting how many men and women are on staff or in leadership positions, who’s applying for openings? Who’s moving up? And who’s being moved on?"
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Does the music change when it’s played by a man rather than a woman?
What would happen if you did your job exactly as you do right now, but in a different body? Would your performance reviews be the same? Would the opportunities? And what about disciplinary actions? These are the simple, yet uncomfortable, questions posed in this episode of CIENxCIEN, the Banco de España’s podcast.
To mark International Women’s Day, we invite you to take a hard look at the evidence, the data and the real‑world examples that show how gender biases are still affecting our decisions and careers, even when we don’t realise it. The real question is this: do gender biases still exist in the workplace?
Ana Comellas sits down with Laura Hospido, a specialist in microeconometrics and gender economics at the Banco de España, to unpack why, despite the progress made in recent decades, men’s and women’s careers continue to look so different.
The headline numbers show major gains in closing the gender gap, but upon closer inspection, the picture changes: there is still work to do. And although motherhood is still a turning point in many women’s careers, it doesn’t fully explain the inequality. Other, less visible forces, known as supply‑side factors, still shape women’s careers.
Why do women negotiate less? Why do they avoid certain situations? Research shows that women face steeper consequences than men for making the same mistake, taking the same risk or negotiating the same way. And those uneven consequences lead them, as may be expected, to avoid behaviours that might harm their careers rather than advancing them. This isn’t a question of ambition or personality, but rather incentives.
Can we change behaviours without changing people?
The good news: yes – because we can change incentives, and when they change, behaviours follow. From more transparent performance reviews to more diverse management teams, organisations have tools to narrow these gaps and build cultures where asking questions, suggesting ideas or being a leader doesn’t depend on the gender of the person doing it. In short, it’s about creating processes that guarantee that the same behaviour leads to the same outcome.
This episode is an invitation to shine a light on the inequality that doesn’t show up at first glance in the data, but does show up in interactions, decisions and opportunities. An episode about how to rewrite the score – without changing the orchestra.
Artistic note
This episode was recorded next to Helena Almeida’s evocative piece Seduzir, from the Banco de España Collection.
