I’m sure you’ve encountered these women. When you were in college people used to say they were getting their MRS Degree. If you’re in the military they are Parade Pretty. If you’re in business there doesn’t seem to be a specific label. Sometimes I refer to them as the clubbing girls because what they wear to work would look more appropriate in a club.
Giving Serious Women a Bad Name
Unfortunately for those of us who are serious about what we do certain people can’t seem to understand that a woman in a corporate environment is just as likely to be serious about her work as a man. How do you think she got in the door? It gets old to prove yourself to each and every one of these people.
If things aren’t going well for you at work or your boss can tell you’ve lost motivation it is easy for him or her to just assume you’re not serious about work. Focusing on this issue causes them to assume they don’t need to work with you to discover the problem. Ut oh! This is exasperated by otherwise serious women who step back when they are considering having children. They stop looking for the next promotion, next big project, next opportunity. Keep your foot on the gas pedal until the very end! You don’t want your job to be gone when you get back because you’ve been stepping back and fading out for months or maybe years.
Enabling Men
Some men like the not so serious women looking for a husband. They love the female attention and can’t seem to get control of themselves. Or should I say aren’t motivated to get control of themselves. It has paid off in the past and they don’t easily see the downside of being a creeper. Like the pretty girl or the overtalker their perception of the world is not entirely clear.
What about the Not so Serious Men?
Of course there are not so serious men. The difference is that unknown women generally get lumped into the not so serious category and unknown men generally get lumped into the serious category. Men must prove they are not serious before getting put in this category.
Men and things that men do are generally considered to be serious business. Thats why there are so many serious male chefs and yet in general women do the cooking at home. Since women are obviously such experts and have so much experience shouldn’t they also dominate the professional chef scene?
Walking the Line
Serious women are stuck in a difficult situation. Women are expected to behave certain ways to be liked in a social situation and serious people are expected to behave certain ways to be heard. While women are not expected to be super feminine at work there are certain expectations unconsciously brought from one situation to the other.
My name is Kelly Seiler. I'm an electrical engineer working in the defense industry. I realized that there was an undercurrent of sexism present at work... no one person or attitude seemed to be the culprit. I've decided to learn more about feminism to help me better combat sexism without damaging my reputation. I consider myself an undercover feminist. I'm a feminist, but I avoid pointing things out directly.
An excellent feminist primer! At 118 pages this one is a quick read, but still jam packed with information. It will change your perspective about what feminism is really about compared to the mass media portrayal.
While not a strictly feminist read, this books has lots of good tips to consider in an office environment.
The #waronwomen in our states: Minnesota, Indiana Push "Defund Planned Parenthood" Initiatives - http://ow.ly/4Ecbr (via @RHRealityCheck)
Bedsider.org, the free birth control support network, is nominated for a Webby Award in the Health category! Vote here: http://ow.ly/4EwLY
@nwlc's Fatima Goss Graves will join @AAUW's conference call tomorrow on #EqualPay at 2:30pm EST - here's more info: http://ow.ly/4EsQC
Honest Abe on the importance of getting tested. Sort of. http://bit.ly/9r3eNR #gytnow
Not So Serious Women
I’m sure you’ve encountered these women. When you were in college people used to say they were getting their MRS Degree. If you’re in the military they are Parade Pretty. If you’re in business there doesn’t seem to be a specific label. Sometimes I refer to them as the clubbing girls because what they wear to work would look more appropriate in a club.
Giving Serious Women a Bad Name
Unfortunately for those of us who are serious about what we do certain people can’t seem to understand that a woman in a corporate environment is just as likely to be serious about her work as a man. How do you think she got in the door? It gets old to prove yourself to each and every one of these people.
If things aren’t going well for you at work or your boss can tell you’ve lost motivation it is easy for him or her to just assume you’re not serious about work. Focusing on this issue causes them to assume they don’t need to work with you to discover the problem. Ut oh! This is exasperated by otherwise serious women who step back when they are considering having children. They stop looking for the next promotion, next big project, next opportunity. Keep your foot on the gas pedal until the very end! You don’t want your job to be gone when you get back because you’ve been stepping back and fading out for months or maybe years.
Enabling Men
Some men like the not so serious women looking for a husband. They love the female attention and can’t seem to get control of themselves. Or should I say aren’t motivated to get control of themselves. It has paid off in the past and they don’t easily see the downside of being a creeper. Like the pretty girl or the overtalker their perception of the world is not entirely clear.
What about the Not so Serious Men?
Of course there are not so serious men. The difference is that unknown women generally get lumped into the not so serious category and unknown men generally get lumped into the serious category. Men must prove they are not serious before getting put in this category.
Men and things that men do are generally considered to be serious business. Thats why there are so many serious male chefs and yet in general women do the cooking at home. Since women are obviously such experts and have so much experience shouldn’t they also dominate the professional chef scene?
Walking the Line
Serious women are stuck in a difficult situation. Women are expected to behave certain ways to be liked in a social situation and serious people are expected to behave certain ways to be heard. While women are not expected to be super feminine at work there are certain expectations unconsciously brought from one situation to the other.