WHAT A SHAME by Joan Marques
As if it's not enough that women earn less than men in similar positions, it
now has come to light that working with women -whether you are male or
female- is perceived in the corporate world as being infected with a
terrible disease! How? Well, a research done over the course of nine years
by a female professor at Arizona State University West proved that anyone
who works with women is at a great disadvantage and will suffer painful
financial consequences. Actually: the more women you work with, the less you
will earn on an annual base! That means that the person who has a female
supervisor, female subordinates, and female colleagues, is finished! And,
yes, we're talking about tens of thousands of dollars disadvantage for the
worst cases.
"Well, well, well," I thought to myself, "So that's how the brotherhood of
men discourages companies from hiring females." Logical: if you hire women
in your team, you'll feel it in your pocket. Who wants that? I mean: even
the most altruistic soul who has a family to take care of cannot be expected
to be that greathearted.
Now, am I wrong to be aggravated about the contents of this article that I
read yesterday in the local newspaper? Or was I just ridiculously naïve
before reading it? Isn't it commonsensical that women increasingly find
their way into the entrepreneurial section of the workforce, since they
realize that they will barely make it otherwise?
One can wonder what the real philosophy is behind this corporate attitude,
especially because every CEO, founder, legal or governmental authority has a
mother! One can also wonder where and how this outrageous policy of
degrading women, solely because they were born in that sexual category,
originated. And one can finally wonder if our hypocritical approach of
killing women's dignity is any better than the condemned historical -and
hopefully now discontinued- Chinese policy of murdering female babies! At
least they were blunt in China about their aversion toward women, as they
finished them off before these females could grow up to find themselves
perceived as an untreatable disease!
Amazing is what I call the fact that humanity, in spite of a so-called high
level of civilization, cannot seem to rise above prejudices as simple as
race, color, and gender: even today, where the call for meaning at work and
quality of life seems unstoppable.
I once read a statement that I cannot literally recall, but that had
contents in the spirit of "It's easy to feel good about yourself and
motivate others when you are not born with the wrong color." And you can
expand that with the wrong sex, the wrong race, or what not. Sadly enough it
's not difficult at all to determine what society perceives as right and
wrong.
So here, as a conclusion to a less upbeat article than usual, is a word of
courage offered to all those who find themselves maneuvered in a vulnerable
position, simply because of what they were born to be or who they chose to
surround themselves with. I think it's good to know your perceived
disadvantages, and to realize that the secret to survival lies in your
mind-set: Every disadvantage can actually be seen as an advantage because it
forces you to work up a firmer backbone, a sterner approach toward your
performance, and a stronger willpower to reach your goals no matter what.
People who are confronted with a combination of societal disadvantages
(wrong sex plus wrong color plus wrong race) may definitely pride themselves
in knowing that when they make it, they will have themselves to thank in the
first place. Here's to attitude!
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About the Author:
Joan Marques, holds an MBA, is a doctoral candidate in Organizational
Leadership, and a university instructor in Business and Management in
Burbank, California. You may visit her web site at www.joanmarques.com
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