Silence does not have one fixed meaning. How people communicate—and how others interpret that communication—can be shaped by many factors. These can include cultural norms around directness, neurodivergence, language, previous experiences and the power dynamics in a room. For example, a junior colleague may be reluctant to challenge a senior colleague, someone communicating in a second language may need more time to formulate a response, and an autistic colleague may communicate or process a conversation differently from what others expect.

Gender can also influence how one communicates and how communication is interpreted. People may make different assumptions about who is expected to speak, be accommodating, be direct, or challenge an idea. These expectations do not affect everyone in the same way: they can be associated with seniority, race and ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and other aspects of identity.

The point is not to guess what someone’s silence means. It is to recognise that silence can have many different meanings, and to accomodate meetings and workplaces where people have different, safe, and accessible ways to contribute.

Links to: Knoll M, Götz M, Adriasola E, et al. International differences in employee silence motives: Scale validation, prevalence, and relationships with culture characteristics across 33 countries. J Organ Behav. 2021;42: 619–648. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2512 

Links to: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/about-autism/autism-and-communication

This poster reverses a question that is much more often directed at women. By placing men in the position usually reserved for women, it makes visible the gendered assumption that a woman—rather than either partner—will change her surname after marriage.

A name change may seem like a private matter, but it can have professional consequences—particularly in research. Many women in science have to consider whether changing their name after marriage could affect their career. This is not just a personal decision: it can influence how easily their publications, citations and other professional achievements are found and recognised. 

As Bala Chaudhary, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth, notes:

“Currently, there is no consistent way for a researcher to update their publication record to reflect a name change due to a marriage or divorce. This can be especially problematic when a researcher applies for grants or tenure, as a reviewer may conclude that the researcher has not done enough work in the field, when they may not have been evaluating the entire record.”

The question is therefore not about telling anyone what name they should use. It is about recognising that an expectation which is still gendered can create additional administrative work, professional uncertainty and potential disadvantages—especially for women in STEM.