by Maureen Bordelon

Created on: August 16, 2008

After over thirty five years logged working in a corporate atmosphere, the ugliness of sexism continues to run rampant. Amazingly, the absolute worst instances of sexism I'd ever witnessed occurred during my tenure at one of my favorite workplaces.

The CEO of our company was a well respected man, albeit rumors abounded about his tendency toward drinking to excess and a fondness for tall blonde women, even though he was married. While I've always taken the attitude that what one does on ones own time is strictly their own business, when it leaches into the workplace, it becomes an issue.

Monday mornings, you could find our CEO and my male peers huddled so that the CEO could regale his minions with the stories of his latest adventures. These stories usually occurred during our regular manager's meetings in the conference room. Being the lone female attending, I had a choice. I could either pretend that I was "one of the boys" or excuse myself with the pretense of an unscheduled appointment.

In our male dominated industry, I chose the former. Literally impossible to withdraw from out meetings without the appearance of being considered a whining bitch, I participated in their stories with a determination to be respected both as a manager and as one to be reckoned with. I could hold my own with the boys, but secretly, the way they spoke about women in general, I found abhorrent.

Definitely not prudish, I was astounded as to the descriptions of female genitalia that seemed to be a frequent topic. It was as if they were trading baseball cards in their stories. One trumped the other, therefore the worth was higher. In these meetings, their audacity to inquire about my own anatomy blew my mind. In order to cover my anger over their brazen questions, my performance rivaled an Academy Award winner. I would usually reply, laughingly, "You'll never know, will you?"

The meetings would generally continue along the same lines until I could sneak an important business topic into the conversation. I would then receive a comment, usually from the CEO; to say that the "little lady" had interrupted their fun and that it best we discuss any issues confronting the company for that week.

While the meetings were an irritation, I soon found that my male peer's view carried over into the day to day workings of the company. Traditionally, the clerical staff was female. As a female manager, my office was the place for non stop complaints, ranging from offensive comments to borderline potential

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>