All right. I'm just going to say it, there IS gender discrimination in the workplace. Most men I know like to think they are just so much more enlightened than men of earlier generations; they would NEVER discriminate based on the fact that someone is a woman. Baloney! Men are just too stupid to realize they are doing it! When they welcome a man into the "club" over a woman, it's not because she's a woman, no, it's simply because the man is "more qualified" to be in that club. Right.
I'll tell you why men don't realize they are discriminating. Because it's so subtle, even they don't recognize they are doing it. Men are more comfortable with men in the workplace. It's just that simple. It's great to have a few women around to liven up the place a bit (and to handle the nitty-gritty work), but not for being part of the club, the management team.
This article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday really got my blood boiling. And no, I didn't support Hillary in the primaries (actually came very close, though, just changing my vote the night before voting day). It's perfectly ok not to support Hillary, and it doesn't mean you are a sexist pig. There are plenty of reasons not to vote for her other than the fact that she's a woman (her vote helping to involve us in the Iraq war for one). But it's the WAY that men don't support her that offends me. Witness these examples in the WSJ article:
-First, by the telling of one woman's experience driving with a Hillary bumper sticker on her car. "A man pulled up alongside and rolled down his window. 'You can be for Hillary all you want', he shouted, 'but there is no way that thing is going to become president'." Wow.
-Or the other woman who, at lunch with "a group of male chief executives 'started talking about what an awful b---- Hillary was and how they'd never vote for her.' She says she kept quiet. 'I didn't want to jeopardize my relationship with them,' she says. 'But their remarks were a clear reminder that although I could sit there eating and drinking with them, and work with them, instinctively their reaction to me isn't positive'."
-And apparently, among the 50 anti-Hillary sites on Facebook, one of them, called "Hillary Clinton Stop Running for President and Make me a Sandwich," has more than 38,000 members. "What if one of these 38,000 guys is someone you, as a woman, have to go to and negotiate a raise?" Yeah, you've really evolved.
-Another woman who recently helped a male colleague with a work-related issue began discussing politics with him. "When talk turned to politics, she says, he denounced Sen. Clinton as a "lesbian" and used several slurs." While she didn't make her feelings known, "she thought to herself, 'That's the last time I do you a favor'."
-I do agree with this woman's thoughts: "No one can say that the male vote is all gender based . . .But it reinforces among women of my generation the feeling that every day we walk in the door (at work), we are walking into an environment that is still biased."
The article's concluding thoughts pointed out that many women don't feel comfortable being called "feminists." There is a feeling by many women that identifying yourself as a feminist puts you in the "militant" camp, and makes you equally subject to the same venom Hillary has subjected herself to.
Better to play nice and just say that you agree, there's no workplace discrimination and everything is just hunky-dory with you. No militant bitch sitting at this desk, thank you very much.
I'm actually afraid to comment on this post. ;-\
Posted by: Steve Austin | March 31, 2008 at 08:06 AM
Smart Man!
Posted by: Retired Syd | March 31, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Regarding the website: Hillary stop running for President and make a sandwich, etc.
Why is it that women are required to make career compromises but men aren't? When Barak was behind in the polls no one asked him to stop running. As a candidate you go the distance no matter what.
Posted by: feminist | March 31, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Check out the disgusting daily attacks on Hillary's Wikki page if you really want to get riled up. They're not even close to politically charged. It's all heinous personal attacks.
Posted by: Tim | April 02, 2008 at 10:19 AM
hey hey,
Besides being well said and very interesting, you struck a notion with me.
Those people that sit back, do/say nothing and continue to work side by side are merely condoning the behavior.
If you work for pigs, you contribute to the shit in their pen too.
Posted by: nicole | April 17, 2008 at 05:39 PM