You know that feeling you get when you receive an e-mail containing a recycled joke being revived every time a friend discovers the internet? Some of these jokes have been in circulation for over 20 years, and I thought I blocked them from my e-mails but they are resurfacing on Facebook now (or like this old lady from church calls it: Bookface). That is the same feeling I get when I witness a business woman being perceived as less skilled than a man. I still cannot believe that some people are not over the fact that women in business are as good as men! I am not sure whether this is a generational, cultural or inferiority complex, but some men should start treating women as equals in the business space! For God’s sake, this is 2009!
I am not writing this blog to gain women’s support but as a man who moved to the US ten years ago, I always assumed that this country was ahead of others when it came to women rights. This assumption made me cringe every time I saw a woman not being treated fairly. I guess it still takes me by surprise. I notice it often when I am accompanied by my wife on a business meeting. She is a well educated and smart lady, and she definitely gets the unwanted flattering attention at first (in this case, I cannot blame anybody because she is gorgeous and I am… well… much hairier). However when we start talking business, some men (older ones mostly) suddenly shift all their attention to me and barely listen to what my wife h
as to say. The worst case came when my wife got referred to a medical specialist for health reasons, the old doctor kept talking to me and almost ignored my wife even though I was merely accompanying her. He was communicating with her through me without making eye contact with her even though she was sitting right by my side!
I do not believe we will ever completely eliminate sexist comments and sometime flirtatious behaviors from the work space (it goes both ways by the way), however it is about time we stopped behaving like Borat and convince ourselves that women are equal to men when it comes to business.
I am not writing this blog to gain women’s support but as a man who moved to the US ten years ago, I always assumed that this country was ahead of others when it came to women rights. This assumption made me cringe every time I saw a woman not being treated fairly. I guess it still takes me by surprise. I notice it often when I am accompanied by my wife on a business meeting. She is a well educated and smart lady, and she definitely gets the unwanted flattering attention at first (in this case, I cannot blame anybody because she is gorgeous and I am… well… much hairier). However when we start talking business, some men (older ones mostly) suddenly shift all their attention to me and barely listen to what my wife h
as to say. The worst case came when my wife got referred to a medical specialist for health reasons, the old doctor kept talking to me and almost ignored my wife even though I was merely accompanying her. He was communicating with her through me without making eye contact with her even though she was sitting right by my side!I do not believe we will ever completely eliminate sexist comments and sometime flirtatious behaviors from the work space (it goes both ways by the way), however it is about time we stopped behaving like Borat and convince ourselves that women are equal to men when it comes to business.
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