Pointing at the Glass Ceiling

So - I'm now an unemployed person...or, officially, a self-employed person.



I've spent the last couple of weeks regrouping and with my business partner, TD, sorting out the legalities of our company.



We have a lot of hard work to do to get our potential clients to learn about us and to take us sufficiently seriously to actually employ us.

It's gratifying that everyone I've explained the idea to - from the bank, to friends, to a Businesslink advsor - thinks it a wonderful plan. But these are not the people we need to convince.

Fortunately, 50% of the company directors has a lot of experience in the industry. The other 50% is less well endowed with knowledge of architecture, landscaping and construction.

The other slight disadvantage I have is, let's not put too fine a point on it, that I'm a woman.

Back in the day (in the late 80's) I was full of rage with how badly women were treated in the workplace. Insurance wasn't the most sexist industry to be in but even so the number of women in senior management jobs was vanishingly small.

As I moved away from the operations side of things towards working with IT folk it became more noticeable that it was hard to be taken as seriously as my male colleagues.

It's a simple fact that there are fewer women working in IT disciplines than there are men. It was the same at school and in my studies for my degree. I can't opine, with any authority, as to whether it's nature or nurture.

What I can say is that in my relatively limited experience that women in IT management-type roles tend to play one of two parts. They either get down and dirty with the boys or they turn into bitch-queen and shriek their staff into submission.

I'm a down and dirty kinda gal. I mean, I've been a geek my entire life. Nevertheless, you are received with a mixture of suspicion and patronizing tones, quite often.

Towards the end of my career in insurance, I totally forgot that there had ever been a time when I wasn't respected by my male colleagues for my ability and knowledge. I could walk into a meeting and be taken seriously.

BW is a network engineer. He says that women have to be at least twice as good to be taken seriously in the industry. It makes him angry. BW is a rarety, I believe.

I can't imagine that the industry I'm moving into that I'll have an easier time of persuading the some of the men I'll have to work with that I've anything to contribute. I will have to work damned hard to get enough understanding and technical knowledge to bridge my credibility gap.

I fully expect to have to be at least twice as good as I would need to be if I didn't wear a bra...

So I could bleat on about it. I could rage against the injustice. Or I can just suck it up and prove that women can perform well in these sorts of jobs.

Maybe the more of us do that and the fewer of us whine on "Woman's Hour" about how hard life is, the quicker it'll be the norm to take us seriously.

Wish me luck, eh?

Oh, and wish TD luck - he's got the job of educating me sufficiently to not let him down.

.

Drinks vs Gender - Update

So, it turns out that I was right. A few of my male friends think I'm exagerating the whole "I get given the wrong drinks cos I'm a girl who drinks boys' drinks" thing.

They don't tell me as much but two further incidents with the doubters in tow caused a simultaneous "I told you so" and giggle.

DrC meets me for a swift evening drink. I umm and ahm quite loudly in the hearing of the new landlord of my local as to what beer I might drink.

After I decide, DrC declares it's his turn to buy and so orders a pint of Golden Hare and a pint of Coke.


Landlord looks me straight in the eye and says "would you like ice in that?"

"In my beer? No thanks..."

DrC catches my eye and we share a moment.

A couple of days later five of us go out for a meal in a local Nepalese Restaurant. When the drinks order is taken "Five beers and one pint of coke, please".

The drinks arrive and the coke is put down in front of me - DrC is sitting opposite.

BW roars with laughter. He admits he thought I was making a fuss about nothing but now he sees it in action, he is contrite.

The considerably more charitable SI says that people's response is not unreasonable. He's an actuary and his work is all about the odds.

He gives sage counsel "in most people's experience, the woman is the designated driver, if nothing else. Also - given a random man and a random woman, the woman is more likely to drink G&T than real ale. It's this knowledge that the various serving staff are relying on".

Does it make me feel better?

Since I first blogged about it, I feel wholly less exercised by the subject. Now I'm just mildly amused.


.

Drinks as a Gender Issue - Discuss

Never blogged before...don't know if I want to keep it up but I'm trying it on for size.

First post
Controversial subject.

Spent the better part of the day (in every sense) with a female friend. Drinking coffee, walking, taking photographs.

I'm not very girlie. I'm short, dumpy and shortish haired. I don't possess a pair of heels and have no patience for make up and little time for jewellery.

I am however, a middle-class, white, straight, woman.

My companion today has more attractive bone structure; the most lovely liquid eyes; makes far more effort with her appearance and is always better turned out than me.

I frequently look like I've been dragged through a hedge with my muddy jeans and all terrain trainers. Like Timothy Winters, my hair is an exclamation mark.

But it's my friend who was referred to as "Sir" the other day.

I get cross with the world on her behalf (she doesn't ask or need me to do it...but I do, nonetheless)

She's transexual. Reasonably openly so....and there's no doubt when you look at her she is SHE.

In various conversations with her today various aspects of gender identity came up.

I get cross when I'm patronised in a camera shop by people (men) who think that use of a reasonably good camera is only compatible with the possession of a set of X&Y chromosomes. Some of my friends understand and agree. Others think I over-react a bit (they may be right)

I sometimes have a lunchtime coffee with a male friend. Each time he orders a mocha, I order a strong black americano. Without fail, when the coffee arrives I am offered the mocha...he the black coffee.

Another male pal and I frequently go to the theatre together. He drinks Tonic (with or without gin, as occasion demands), I often drink a pint of (real) beer. Again there's always a swapping of drinks.

I really didn't realise to what extent even the food we eat and the drinks we choose in public are gender specific.

My TS friend is cautious how she behaves lest someone calls her sir.

I can stumble wind-blown into a pub with my muddy jeans and tatty tee-shirt; order a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord and a burger and chips (don't really like burgers...or chips but you get the picture) and I will likely be called "Ma'am" (or just conceivably "Miss" if the landlord's feeling charitable). They might think "now there's an unattractive woman" but they'll not call me sir.

So today at least, I'm counting my blessings and trying my very hardest to remember that I have it easy the next time a camera shop assistant tells me that cleaning my camera sensor is "no harder than baking a cake".