Posted by Sadie from ? (160.129.202.182) on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at 3:48PM :
This is a interesting website I just stumbled across (looking up info for a friend about sexual harassment). Anyway, it's about the famous glass ceiling.... which I've slowly become more aware of over the past couple of years. I never had this problem at home, of course, because my mother is a very strong woman who taught her daughters that nothing is impossible for them & my father is the most incredible advocate any woman would want on her side (as it should be with fathers; no other man can be as strong an advocate for a woman as her father, & it is unfortunate that some fathers don't think that way). Women still have it harder than men.... & you know, the men women work with usually try to kick out their female colleagues, subordiantes, or even supervisors from the workplace before the men compete with each other. Men do this in a variety of ways - sexual harassment, condescension, labeling strong women as "bitches," gossiping maliciously, joking inappropriately (not necessarily about sexual matters), etc. Women still have to watch their male colleagues, subordinates, & supervisors carefully, & make sure these men don't try to make them (women) feel like they (women) are less than them (men), because the truth be told, these men are acting like that out of insecurity & petty competitiveness.
Advice I've learned from other women these past few years: The best way to avoid a lot of sexual harassment is to dress & to act professionally at the work place, even if everyone else is casual. Sure, you can chat with people at work, but make sure you don't become the object of malicious gossip (keep your private life out of the picture or as discreet as possible). Watch for people who have no tact - even someone lacking tact can pose a problem for you in the future (e.g. will he/she start telling others things about you you don't want to be shared with others?). In other words, try to control your work environment so that you only interact with people who will be good/fair to you. If someone tries to create problems for you, avoid that person so that that person doesn't create even bigger problems for you in the future....
Anyway, enough typing for now. I just wanted to empty my thoughts here & maybe help someone, anyone who reads this board feel like she is not alone out there - there are a lot of women experiencing the same horrible things, & we can all learn by communicating advice & experiences in a positive way with each other.
-- Sadie
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