Friday, April 10, 2009

Damn It, I Want Cake, Too!

What is it with women and jealousy in the work place? At least, I think it is jealousy? Women have been competitors in the workplace for a while now but so many times it goes beyond the boundaries of what is appropriate. Many women are experiencing this from other female co-workers and administrative assistants.

I know I have had my share of workplace conflict that has included down right cat fights, lying and unethical/unprofessional behavior. I don't put up with it but it drives me nuts! I don't have time to put up with the pettiness of it all and document others' behavior to confront and/or turn it over to their supervisors if necessary.

Some examples of this kind of behavior include: pretending to not know what I ask for or to do the task wrong on purpose, doing tasks for men but not women professionals, stealing a co-workers work and taking credit for it, calling men by their titles but calling the women by their first names, gossiping about women professionals, talking about them disrespectfully behind their backs, etc.

I had a run in with my own administrative assistant and had to confront her on her behaviors. I demanded respect and documented for her what was inappropriate with her behaviors. Just as I thought I had obtained piece with the administrative assistant….Here comes another today. The administrative assistant next door came over to offer some extra cake they had left over from a meeting. She made the rounds to the other administrative assistants offering cake. Then she asked all of the professional men if they would like cake and passed it all out. But did she offer cake to me or the other professional woman the same age as me....NO! Now I choose my battles. I really didn't want cake (it had coconut in the icing, I don't care for that) but I did want the respect and to merely be treated equally.

With all of the discrimination that women experience in the workplace, why are we so catty (meow)? Why don't we respect and support each other? I am a very young, professional woman and while I have worked very hard to achieve the success I have, some may perceive that it has come easy for me. So all of the women I have had conflict with have been older than I. Sometimes I wonder if, perhaps, they are jealous…that they didn’t have the same opportunities that young women do today? Perhaps being from an older generation they don’t believe women should have power in the workplace? Maybe they don’t know how to respond to women in supervisory positions because women have only been in these positions for a short period of time and they don’t know how to deal with that kind of exposure to women in these roles?

If anyone has insight to this, please post a response. All I know is that I want my cake and I want to eat it, too.

1 comment:

  1. I work in a female dominated workplace. They often talk about how it is working with mostly females. They describe it exactly as you have. Why is that? Why do women accept that? It seems like such a stereotype.

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