aaaaarrgghh! I am WOMAN! Hear me roar!

[dkent]

FWIW, age discrimination happens to men also. I'm 35 but I look like I'm in my 20's. I've had many comments about my youth. Youth is perceived as being inexperienced and this REALLY pisses me off. I recently lost a promotion to a job that I had been performing for over a year in addition to my assigned position. They gave the job to an old geezer that didn't have any related experience and knew NOTHING about the job. ....just talking about this is getting my blood boiling!

For some reason, looking young also invites an older office bully to pick on me by calling me names. I put up with it for over a year but recently he threatened to call me a name in front of my family at the company picnic. ...can you believe the immaturity of this guy? I had enough so I told the boss. Now the effing bastard is bullying me because I told the boss. I wish things were like high school where you could just punch the effer in the nose and fix the problem.

D

 

[Guest]

In a news item that is related, but not exactly on point - I noticed some news items (e.g. his interview on Sixty Minutes) regarding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defense for lashing out at opponents and critics by calling them 'girlie men'. I can see how this would be defamtory towards men and women alike as it draws upon negative steortypical elements of each sex in a .. well .. demeaning way. Schwarzenegger insists that it is a complete joke and scoffs at others who suggest otherwise but many on the receiving end of the rebuke don't find any humor in his statements or excuses.

Do you perhaps believe that persistent attitudes like these that are allowed to prevail serve as reinforcment for those who would use terms like 'little girl' or any other quip that would make anyone feel less than respected??

Just a thought here.

JR

 

[benbo]

In a news item that is related, but not exactly on point - I noticed some news items (e.g. his interview on Sixty Minutes) regarding Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defense for lashing out at opponents and critics by calling them 'girlie men'. I can see how this would be defamtory towards men and women alike as it draws upon negative steortypical elements of each sex in a .. well .. demeaning way. Schwarzenegger insists that it is a complete joke and scoffs at others who suggest otherwise but many on the receiving end of the rebuke don't find any humor in his statements or excuses.
Do you perhaps believe that persistent attitudes like these that are allowed to prevail serve as reinforcment for those who would use terms like 'little girl' or any other quip that would make anyone feel less than respected??

Just a thought here.

JR

It is certainly not politically correct and a bit unprofessional perhaps, but in defense I think it literally is a joke - didn't it come from Saturday Night live where a couple of foreign bodybuilder Arnold clones (Franz and Hans or something like that) constantly called everyone by that name?

 

[MA_PE]

It is certainly not politically correct and a bit unprofessional perhaps, but in defense I think it literally is a joke - didn't it come from Saturday Night live where a couple of foreign bodybuilder Arnold clones (Franz and Hans or something like that) constantly called everyone by that name?

Ben:

agreed, if anyone can call anybody a "girlie man" it is the Terminator himself. This is a case of a guy spoofing a spoof of himself. Man, this world is getting pretty sad when people make an issue out of such nonsense. my 0.02

 

[Hill William]

Agreed, for crying out loud, everybody knows that girly-man as made famous by VTEnviro is totally a joke and if Arnold is saying it, most people would get the correlation.

Totally agree.

 

[bigray76]

FWIW, age discrimination happens to men also. I'm 35 but I look like I'm in my 20's. I've had many comments about my youth. Youth is perceived as being inexperienced and this REALLY pisses me off. I recently lost a promotion to a job that I had been performing for over a year in addition to my assigned position. They gave the job to an old geezer that didn't have any related experience and knew NOTHING about the job. ....just talking about this is getting my blood boiling!
For some reason, looking young also invites an older office bully to pick on me by calling me names. I put up with it for over a year but recently he threatened to call me a name in front of my family at the company picnic. ...can you believe the immaturity of this guy? I had enough so I told the boss. Now the effing bastard is bullying me because I told the boss. I wish things were like high school where you could just punch the effer in the nose and fix the problem.

D

I am in the same boat... after 8 years in the same position with the responsibilities and workload of the senior guys in my department, I approached my boss about a promotion. After he told me that my experience and work were excellent, he told me that despite my qualifications, I was 'too young' to be promoted. Long story short - I interview for a department head position at one of our competitors (does about half of our volume per year) and he ended up finding out and asked me "fine, what title do you want?" My answer was that I DESERVED the senior position since I have proven myself and my abilities over and over. Needless to say, I was promoted last summer and got a bump for the position. Since then, the boss has been elevated to an Executive VP position and made a new department head. Now I am fighting with my former colleague (non-licensed engineer) for a raise for my PE which he and the big boss don't care about. The big boss also runs one of our satelite offices and he and his cronies still call me 'kid' everytime they see me.

It doesn't bother me that much these days - I know that I will one day have his job. I treat him respectfully and professionally, which is more than I can say for how he acts. I will be here long after he is gone (should I choose to stay).

-Ray

 

[Slugger926]

So what if I'm new in the office and very few people know me.
So what if I look 19 instead of 30!

THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CALL ME [SIZE=14pt]LITTLE GIRL[/SIZE]!

Yes, I am old enough to have graduated from college. Yes I am an engineer. Leave me the F*** alone!

Sorry, just had to vent!

ldman:

Is your name Tammy? I know a PE that is now in TX (forced to move after layoffs in OK) that was called "lil bit". Arghhhh.... no respect. I felt bad for finding her a job before a big colapse, and then the non degreed people gave her little respect, and I had to fight for mine still.

 

[Jennifer Price]

My first job as an intern while I was in college, I was a materials tester (concrete, asphalt, etc). I went to one job to test the concrete for a slab on grade for a warehouse and the job super came up to me and told me to get off of his job b/c girls didn't belong on jobsites.

After I graduated and had worked for a while, I was transferred to a field office for the DOT (state to remain nameless) to be a construction project manager. My former boss called me and a coworker (both female) "His Girls". He seriously introduced us that way at a grand opening for a bridge that both of us worked on during its construction (we both worked under the Construction PM performing inspections, keeping track of time and money, etc). It just amazed both of us that he always called us that b/c we weren't "girls" at all.

As a female I still struggle with the stereotype that we shouldn't be doing engineering. It feels as though with each new client I meet, I have to prove myself to them before they will respect me. And if you are too tough, then you get labeled a b!&%h and if you are not tough enough, you don't get noticed.

So I definitely feel you...I don't know how many times I wanted to scream it out also!

 

[maryannette]

Ladies, it is better than it used to be; and if we continue to prove ourselves, it will be better for our daughters. It's not fair. I know. Much in life is not fair. I'm just very thankful that it's better for me than it was for my grandmother. She was born in 1900 and remembered when women got the right to vote. And I'm very thankful that I'm an American woman. Don't let those things bother you too bad. And if you need to blow off steam, do it here, or some other safe place.

 

[Road Guy]

can we put you down to help with the eb.com christmas party planning?

just kidding!

 

[maryannette]

A$$h01E!!!!

Just kidding.

 

[Guest]

^^^ Ooooohhhh .. pwn3d !!! :bananalama:

JR

 

[Road Guy]

its okay, you can say asshole here.

 

[TXengrChickPE]

Since this thread still seems to be getting some traffic, I figured I'd update everyone on what happened Friday. So, I was packing up my stuff to move into the new building and one of the guys who called me "Little Girl" last week walked in. I just happened to be moving a box that was filled with textbooks. Guy walks in and says "Here, let me take that sweetie" and tried to grab the box from me. When I let go, he dropped it! I guess it was heavier than it looked

Then, I walked over to my desk where I had copies of our company's harassment policy and handed one to him. He looked at it long enough to figure out what it was, then looked at me and kind of sputtered... "But... I didn't mean..." I said, "I know you didn't mean anything by your little nicknames, but it is degrading and inappropriate." His reply was, "Sorry, I never thought about it that way." I said, "I figured that, that's why I haven't said anything about this to anyone else." He said, with a grin, "Well, I guess I'll just have to get used to women in this business." Then he helped me move the rest of my boxes, after assuring me that he was just trying to be nice and not implying that I couldn't do it myself. So, it takes some effort, but they can be trained

I didn't see the other two who made the comment last week, but I have a feeling that Larry will let them know they shouldn't mess with me

 

[TXengrChickPE]

Ladies, it is better than it used to be; and if we continue to prove ourselves, it will be better for our daughters. It's not fair. I know. Much in life is not fair. I'm just very thankful that it's better for me than it was for my grandmother. She was born in 1900 and remembered when women got the right to vote. And I'm very thankful that I'm an American woman. Don't let those things bother you too bad. And if you need to blow off steam, do it here, or some other safe place.

maryannette - I know it's better now than it used to be. My MIL was one of the 1st women admitted to Harvard Medical School back in the '60s. They had a Nurse's Lounge and a Doctor's Lounge. She was told to use the Nurse's Lounge to change clothes after surgery. She did at first, but then started to realize that the Docs would talk about procedures and stuff to the students in the Doctor's changing room and she was missing out. So, she started changing in the Doctor's Lounge with the other Doctors so she could join in the post-procedure discussions. She said that eventually, they worked out a compromise. She would use a curtained area within the Doctor's lounge to change and give the guys a few minutes to get changed before she came out and they would continue the discussion. I know that unnamed women like her in Engineering had similar issues to deal with, and paved the way for my generation of female engineers

 

[TXengrChickPE]

Now you are showing off. Where is the proof? :bio: Don't believe you. :GotPics: Bluff bluff bluff. Good option the one of the harrasment policy in your office. That will give the guys a clear signal.

Sorry, no pics... btw, looking 19 does NOT necessarily equal being hot!

 

[maryannette]

I applaud you, TX, for the professional and bold way that you handled your situation. It's that kind of influence that will gradually change the way women get treated. We all (not just women) are paving the way for future female engineers. :appl: :appl: :appl:

 

[dkent]

Regarding the "girly-man" comments. Just because YOU think it's a joke, does not mean that it's a joke to the person that is being called the name. It is HARRASSMENT. No matter what you say or how you say it, if the person on the receiving end perceives it as harrassment, it's harrassment. You may not agree with this, but the law will back me up. As a federal gov. employee, we are frequently reminded of this and we are required to take an annual harrassment class.

These name callers are creating a "hostile environment"......because if they don't effing stop, I'm going to get hostile!

 

[MA_PE]

So, it takes some effort, but they can be trained.

As a male, if I were the sensitive type, I might take offense to that remark. <_<

 

[Dark Knight]

As a male, if I were the sensitive type, I might take offense to that remark. <_<

I second that. RG, we need something about harrassment in this Board. We are taking a beating. :angry:

Be brave. It is time for revenge. :respect:

:17:

:joke: