Maxine asks an interesting question in her comment on my previous post:
Do you see women behaving in a sexist manner, also? Flirting, basically, with the powerful males in senior roles, when they happen to be around. Or exaggerated over-friendliness when they spot a "more powerful than them" female?
I'm not entirely sure that I have, but then I might not be sensitive to that behaviour. Usually I'm too buffeted by the Westerns of outrageous fortune to notice what's going on 'above stairs'. Joking aside, it's something to look out for.
And in related news, Chall points out that sexism hurts men, too. This is something I've noticed, especially the bit about it not being 'done' for men to take time off to look after sick children (while their partners, you know, actually work.
I'm not going to whinge about this 'reverse-sexism'. It's not the battle that concerns me most. I am very fortunate here in that I feel I can work at home some days and look after sick Pawns. My day is much more flexible than the Black Queen's, who has chosen to work school hours so that she can be with them in the afternoons.
I also remember a previous (male) boss ranting to a female post-doc in one of my past lives, "Why doesn't your husband take time off when your kids are sick?". Enlightened self-interest? Quite possibly, but hey, if that's what it takes.
Comments
Not so much sexism, but for a while we had only one guy in the lab (and about ten women). Everyone asked our boss to please hire more men! It's better balanced now, and not so much of a hen house.
(Other than having a lab full of women, we also had/have abnormally high numbers of vegetarians and people born in 1978 - regardless of which point in their career they were at. I contributed to all three categories!)
Posted by: Eva | May 16, 2008 01:57 PM
I shouldn't have written that, should I? (but having observed from afar that very female behaviour on that very day, I could not resist). Coincidences being what they are, my phone rang at 1 pm today. Little voice: "Mummy, I'm feeling sick, what shall I do?" Cue 2 hour journey to school and 40 mins return trip to take her home.
What am I doing writing this comment? I need to be catching up on that missed work.....
I don't know what the MP is up to in all of this, but it is 1945 over here and he isn't home yet. What lives we lead, in this so-called modern, emancipated age.
Posted by: Maxine | May 17, 2008 04:44 AM
Hey Maxine, it's all good. (What you wrote, I mean). I suspect though that a lot of your work can be done at home, as Henry wibbles elsewhere?
Posted by: bk | May 17, 2008 10:47 AM
not really, unfortunately.
Posted by: Maxine | May 18, 2008 06:03 AM