Your friends call you Chatty Cathy. But if you work with a lot of men, do you clam up? If so, a recent study shows why.

It turns out that when men make up the majority of a group during deliberation, women tend to speak less than their fair share—a surprising 75 percent less than men speak—according to a new study from Brigham Young and Princeton universities published in the journal American Political Science Review. 

“Women have something unique and important to add to the group, and that’s being lost at least under some circumstances,” explained Christopher Karpowitz, PhD, lead study author and political scientist at BYU.

The researchers examined 94 groups of 5 individuals each, with each group differing in its male-to-female ratio. Groups were instructed to discuss the best way to distribute the money they would earn together from a hypothetical work task, with each decision based on either unanimous or majority vote. 

Although women spoke less than men during group problem solving, especially under majority vote, things were quite different when a consensus was needed. When decision making was based on unanimity, women actually gained equal speaking time as men, thus empowering them to participate more. 

Previous studies indicate that these gender differences in participation are due to socialization. Female-dominated environments use an interaction style that emphasizes cooperation, intimacy and inclusion, while male-dominated settings emphasize assertiveness, agency and competition. When women are outnumbered, the decision-making setting caters to the male interaction style. A unanimous vote, however, encourages participation and ensures that women’s voices are heard. 

The findings of the study show a need to reassess methods of reaching important decisions in the workplace and community. “In school boards, governing boards of organizations and firms, and legislative committees, women are often a minority of members and the group uses majority rule to make its decisions,” said study co-author Tali Mendelberg, PhD, a political science professor at Princeton. As a result, women are less likely to be heard.

Does this happen at your workplace or other settings? (Tell us about it below.) If you feel overpowered by a majority presence of men in a meeting, push yourself to speak up and make your smarts count.