Blame sexism for freezing office temps

Amelia Havanec

Amelia Havanec Jul 1, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Blame sexism for freezing office temps</h1>
                <h2><p>Every summer, men and women alike stroll into the office in flip-flops and shorts, but it's the women who feel the thermostat's wrath as it maintains office air at 70 degrees, the New York Times reports. While men prefer the current office temp standards, research backs</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/amelia-havanec-crosscut-com/">Amelia Havanec</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Every summer, men and women alike stroll into the office in flip-flops and shorts, but it's the women who feel the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/science/chilly-at-work-a-decades-old-formula-may-be-to-blame.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&_r=1&ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">thermostat's wrath</a> as it maintains office air at 70 degrees, the New York Times reports. While men prefer the current office temp standards, <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2741.html?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">research</a> backs a woman's preference for temperatures up to five degrees warmer. How did we get to this point? Back in the 1960s, "thermal comfort models" advised office temperatures to conform to a man's ability to produce more body heat. But now that women make up half of America's work force, shouldn't the 9-5 snow globe originally built for men be adjusted a bit? The authors of the study believe that if we collectively raise office temps just a few degrees, less energy gets wasted that contributes to global warming.</p>
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Every summer, men and women alike stroll into the office in flip-flops and shorts, but it's the women who feel the thermostat's wrath as it maintains office air at 70 degrees, the New York Times reports. While men prefer the current office temp standards, research backs a woman's preference for temperatures up to five degrees warmer. How did we get to this point? Back in the 1960s, "thermal comfort models" advised office temperatures to conform to a man's ability to produce more body heat. But now that women make up half of America's work force, shouldn't the 9-5 snow globe originally built for men be adjusted a bit? The authors of the study believe that if we collectively raise office temps just a few degrees, less energy gets wasted that contributes to global warming.

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By Amelia Havanec

Amelia Havanec is Crosscut's Science and Tech Fellow. She came to Washington from her home state of Connecticut by way of New York, Florida, California and Michigan in pursuit of the perfect pint. Sh