by Cicely Richard

Created on: August 18, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

In the early 90s, the term sexual harassment was defined and companies enacted policies on how individuals were to behave with one another. Even before this term was defined, companies made strides to form a cooperative bond between male and female workers. Yet, in this new millennium sexism in the workplace still exists. On the other hand, in our politically correct day and age, some people think of any comments as sexist.

Women still hold less supervisory and managerial positions than men in workplaces across the board. Most companies are reluctant to hire women, thinking that if they get married and have children, the women will opt for home life. So, to offset this, they prefer to hire men. Even when a woman is in a position of power, any emotion by her can be used against her. There are two examples that I can think of that shows that sexism still exist, even for powerful women.

Jane Swift, former governor of Massachusetts, showed just how far we haven't gotten in the realm of sexism in the workplace. She became acting governor of the state, and in the process, she became pregnant. She was the first governor to become pregnant while in office. She was criticized for taking maternity leave, which the Family Leave Act says is the right of all citizens.

I remembered her apologizing for letting the people down by taking maternity leave. I thought it was unfair of them to criticize her for that because it set women back. If they criticized a female governor for doing something that was within her right, how are women that work in corporate America supposed to fare when they become pregnant.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco was also criticized after Hurricane Katrina hit the state. While male government officials were criticized as well, they were not castigated because of their gender. However, they used her gender against her as one of the primary reasons for her failure to act. When she showed emotion, Blanco was used as an example of why women should not be in power.

The media said she shouldn't have cried in front of the camera during press conference. They thought it was a sign of weakness. Yet, there were men crying on camera, including police officers and other public officials. Their tears were not attributed to their gender, but hers were. For people who think women can't handle power, it gave credence to their claims that women are too emotional to be in power.

Although we've come a long way from being goosed by the boss and told to take it, subtle rules of sexism still exist that hold women back. Even when they are in powerful position in business or politics, any misstep is attributed to their gender. It may be another 30 years before things get a little bit better.

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