Talking from 9 to 5

From the 1970s to the early ’90s, linguist Deborah Tannen conducted research with men and women in professional jobs. The office behaviors she tracks in her 2001 classic recur to this day, while her newer books bring her work into today’s society.

Members of the baby boomer generation – the first to confront consciousness-raising on this subject – now dominate the typical office’s highest echelons, particularly in conservative industries. As they retire, they open opportunities for generation X and millennial leaders who grew up with stay-at-home dads, doctors of both genders and commanding female role models, including CEOs and high-ranking politicians.