Photo:
Solden, M.S., LMFT, S. (2016, October 24). The Happiness Project for Women with
ADHD [Audio blog post]. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from http://www.additudemag.com/
Sexism isn’t a thing anymore
right? Gender equality is present, especially in the workplace, is what we’re
told. Today, one of my employers was discussing an e-mail they received. Part
of our job is to be advocates for those who may not be able to advocate for
themselves. In that process, sometimes we wind up having to advocate for
ourselves as well.
In this particular case, a
male professor was upset with a response he was given by my supervisor, whom is
a female. Another party informed my supervisor that she should apologize to
this other professor because she was too “harsh”. I’ve read the e-mails and the
response from my supervisor was very matter of fact and to the point, however
was not in my opinion “harsh”. When discussing this with my supervisor, her
response was, “It’s because I’m a woman.” Luckily, her supervisor agrees that
there is no reason for an apology on her part based on her response.
We’re told as women to “be
nice”, “help others”, and generally to stay out of the way in the workplace
unless called upon and even then we must exceed expectations or we’re
considered failures. That last point alone could be another blog post on its
own. Misogyny is subtle, however the blatant disrespect based on one’s gender is
blaringly loud (Miner & Cortina, 2016). There are harmful effects to all in
the workplace who observe such misogyny (Miner & Cortina, 2016). I know
that I personally feel that I must be more cautious based on this interaction
or to be more aware that it’s a possibility to be targeted myself. It also
brings to question that my employer, whom I respect, has been disrespected and
asked to uphold a societal norm, that wasn’t even necessary in the given
situation.
I’d like to clarify that I’m
all about being nice and caring about others. There are situations though where
the facts are all that’s needed. As women and females are we expected to put a
glaze on everything in order to be perceived as fitting into a societal role
that we may not necessarily intend to fill? Is flowering a topic necessary for
job duties? Should we apologize for not upholding a societal standard? My
answer to all of these is no. I’d love to hear your opinion though!
Miner, K. N., & Cortina, L. M. (2016). Observed
workplace incivility toward women, perceptions of interpersonal injustice, and observer occupational
well-being: Differential effects for gender of the
observer. Frontiers In Psychology, 7
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