Women Who Work

Ladies, chicks, gals, women. This post might be misconstrued as a work of feminist propaganda, which it more than certainly could be. If you're uncomfortable with that, it's okay! But if you're a "working woman," this might be a good refresher on what you or someone you know may face in the workforce. I recently started reading a book called Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. A tidbit: "The cars we buy, the drugs we're prescribed, even the air conditioning at the office - it's all influenced by data, and that data is incomplete thanks to a long legacy of researchers overlooking women." And more from the author: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/17/704209639/caroline-criado-perez-on-data-bias-and-invisible-women.

Back to working women. The book opened my eyes to the way that working women face adversity in many facets of life, especially in the workplace. I asked some of my old coworkers about their stories, and there were many parallels I noticed.

Bosses verbally abusing these ladies. Outright shouting over them. Stark differences in the way that male counterparts are treated. Blatant disrespect in the form of, "Are you on your cycle?" questions when a woman acts "out of line."

What's more is that women are told from a very young age, "These things are part of being a woman," and "They're to be expected." This post is not meant to tell men to do better, or merely say that's unfair. It is, however, intended to shed light on an issue that many are quick to overlook. But you don't have to take it from me.

Here are some statistics from Invisible Women:

-"Several studies conducted over the past decade or so show that letters of recommendation are another seemingly gender-neutral part of a hiring process that is, in fact, anything but. One US study found that female candidates are described with more communal (warm; kind; nurturing) and less active (ambitious; self-confident) language than men. And having communal characteristics included in your letter of recommendation makes it less likely that you will get the job, particularly if you're a woman: while 'team-player' is taken as a leadership quality in men, for women the term 'can make a woman seem like a follower.'"

-On the topic of work expenses: "The expenses that a company will allow its employees to claim back will generally correspond to what that country's government has decided counts as a work expense. And this in turn generally corresponds to the kinds of things men will need to claim. Uniforms and tools are in; emergency daycare is out."

-And my "favorite": "Less effective male professors routinely receive higher student evaluations than more effective female teachers. Students believe that male professors hand marking back more quickly--even when that is impossible because it's an online course delivered by a single lecturer, but where half the students are led to believe that the professor is male and half female."

And the truth is that, regardless of if we know it or not, we contribute to this problem as well. I have given a (seemingly justified) bad evaluation to a female professor for not being what I expected--caring, particularly kind, "sweet." Catch yourself!

Ladies, merely looking at the statistics, you need to hear it: You are brilliant.

Because according to these studies, you begin to believe you're not as smart as boys as early as the age of 5 years old: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/02/14/its-2017-and-girls-still-dont-think-they-are-as-smart-as-boys-research-shows/.

This post will not solve sexism; maybe the topic itself will get pushed to the back of your mind once you're done reading this. But notice it. People who get annoyed by this "feminist propaganda" are likely perpetuating it, or don't care to notice it. Ladies, if you've ever noticed how you get really cold in your place of work, find out why that might be: https://time.com/5592353/office-temperature-study/. Your office is likely set to optimal productivity temperatures for men.

And dudes, this again isn't to make you feel bad for being a dude. But it is so that you know what goes on behind closed doors--or even right in the open. Awareness is the first step to a more equal workplace, which you should want, too. Even if you don't consider yourself a feminist, start to take notice of the ladies around you (and not in the creepy, stalker way). But in the I-want-to-better-understand-you way. Sexism exists everywhere, and yes it happens to men too!

I received five separate messages from people recounting their sexist experiences at work on Instagram--and when polled, 11 out of the 13 people who said "Yes" they experienced sexism in the workplace were women (and one of those was a man on behalf of a woman). Nine of the 11 who said "No" were men. That data doesn't lie. Notice it. Understand it. Call it out.