Equal Pay - Gender Discrimination

Comms69 wrote: »

from my experience minute taking and event organisation is actually a highly sought after skillset. The fact they are incapable of doing them should be a credit to the OP, not seen as demeaning.


I don't make teas, but I don't expect anyone to make mine - I always refuse offers.


So yes I agree it can happen, but often it can be prevented with simple and polite steps.


You mentioned that the minutes etc were in addition to her role. If that's the case then yes I agree it's not fair. But if it's instead of other duties it seems perfectly fair.


For example I often make films as part of my duties. I'm the only one asked to do it, and i'm the lowest paid on my team. The rest of the team is female. I wouldn't dream of claiming discrimination - it's just something i'm good at and they aren't.

You come across very agressive. You don't get to decide if something is demeaning to someone. Women being asked to make the tea, do the birthday collections, perform admin tasks when it's not their job is a common issue that is gender based and gives the impression she is lower ranked than her peers. Those who don't consider it an issue are at risk of contributing to this gender based behaviour and should actually educate themselves to prevent it and become more aware. Arguing against it helps noone.

tenchy wrote: »

Are you challenging the obvious - that women are better at some types of job than men, and vice-versa (and the two sexes have, on the whole, different interests and aspirations)?

Yes, that's what I'm challenging. And to me it isn't obvious at all. What is obvious is that as a woman, I have been told my whole life that I should behave in a 'ladylike' way, that I shouldn't rock the boat, that I should be demur and quiet, that I should worry more about my hair than my career and that I'm just not as intelligent as any man. These messages have come from people I've actually met, but also from the media, the news, wider society. Start to look at it, seriously, take a look at the messages which are presented, take a step back, think them through. It happens all the time.

I'm a woman in what was a male dominated industry - IT. Over the years I've seen many more women come through, and many of them are brilliant. But, we all have to work twice as hard as a man to be thought half as good.

It goes the other way too. It's still tricky to be a man who wants to work with children. At one point being a male nurse was 'odd', but thankfully we seem to be past that point now - or nearly past it at least.

And no, I don't agree that the two sexes have different interests and aspirations. Please take that attitude back to the cave you found it in. You'll be saying next that people who are black can't do certain jobs. Think for a moment how that would feel? Thankfully, in this day and age, we are (mostly) past those attitudes. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go in terms of gender equality.

Wyndham wrote: »

Yes, that's what I'm challenging. And to me it isn't obvious at all. What is obvious is that as a woman, I have been told my whole life that I should behave in a 'ladylike' way, that I shouldn't rock the boat, that I should be demur and quiet, that I should worry more about my hair than my career and that I'm just not as intelligent as any man. These messages have come from people I've actually met, but also from the media, the news, wider society. Start to look at it, seriously, take a look at the messages which are presented, take a step back, think them through. It happens all the time.

I'm a woman in what was a male dominated industry - IT. Over the years I've seen many more women come through, and many of them are brilliant. But, we all have to work twice as hard as a man to be thought half as good.

It goes the other way too. It's still tricky to be a man who wants to work with children. At one point being a male nurse was 'odd', but thankfully we seem to be past that point now - or nearly past it at least.

And no, I don't agree that the two sexes have different interests and aspirations. Please take that attitude back to the cave you found it in. You'll be saying next that people who are black can't do certain jobs. Think for a moment how that would feel? Thankfully, in this day and age, we are (mostly) past those attitudes. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go in terms of gender equality.

Claptrap of the highest order. I've recently retired from a career in IT. My first job in the profession was working for a woman; I've worked for women, with women and had women working for me, and this with various companies. No woman has ever had to work any differently from men in my experience. They have always progressed on merit. Why are there more men than women in IT? Because like lots of other work it appeals more to men than to women. You might not like that, but it's a fact. There's nothing stopping any woman getting a job in IT, or emptying dustbins for that matter. The majority just don't want to do it. Instead, they want to be teachers, nurses and hairdressers, for example.

KittenChops wrote: »

^^^This. A million times.


Yep, I’ll challenge this, as a woman who finds those things which have typically been branded as male far more easy / interesting than those typically branded as female. For example, I can read maps and park a car easily. I love football. I’m useless at multi-tasking. I hated dolls when I was a kid, and instead loved Lego and toy cars. And my job is in programming. Want me to go on?

Having previously working in a similar sounding role to the OP, I too would find being asked to minute take etc demeaning and I certainly wouldn’t be including it on my CV. However, the bone of contention here is not the task itself, but the fact only the female member of staff is ever asked to do it.

Well it just goes to show that it takes all sorts. My wife is also good at map reading and parking, but she doesn't like football, but then, nor do I. However, the majority of women are not so inclined as you to being a programmer. Any woman who wants to be a programmer can become one. There's nothing stopping them. As I said previously, most are just not interested. Or perhaps more accurately, more men than women are interested in programming, and who cares, provided all programmers are up to the job.