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Workplace inequity gets another look
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8/10/2010 by Terri Schlichenmeyer |
"Damned If She Does, Damned If She Doesn’t"
by Lynn Cronin & Howard Fine c.2010, Prometheus Books 272 pages
You always thought you were on the right track. You got good grades and attended a good college. After earning your degree, you went on strategically-chosen interviews. You obtained work that led to a better position and eventually landed your dream job.
But, it’s turned into a nightmare.
Your workplace is mixed pretty equally, gender-wise, but things are decidedly not equal. It’s not overt, but little occurrences add up, making you wonder if you’ve somehow stepped back 50 years.
In the new book Damned If She Does, Damned If She Doesn’t by Lynn Cronin & Howard Fine, you’ll see that you’re not alone.
Nobody can deny that the blatant discrimination our mothers experienced is over and gone. Still, many working women notice something just a little off at the office. Subtleties make you drop your jaw and raise your eyebrows.
You’re told to be assertive, then management says you’re being a witch. They want you to speak up and actively participate in meetings, then they say you’re too aggressive. If you’ve got family, your dedication to them and to your job is questioned. You’re passed over for too much information and too many promotions. And, despite all sorts of laws, you still make less than most men in your department.
Part of the problem, according to the authors, is that we’re “solving the wrong problem.” Today, by law, no one can be denied a job based solely on gender. The issue, therefore, is not one of women entering the corporate system. It’s “working within the corporate system.”
So what can a working woman do?
Good question. You’ll have to do plenty of between-the-lines reading to answer it.
Damned If She Does, Damned If She Doesn’t is a first-class examination of gender inequality in the workplace, but doesn’t offer much more than that. I think, unless you’re looking validation on the subject, it’s a waste of time.
Previous Books Articles:- Workplace inequity gets another look -8/10/2010
- The Body Language Handbook -7/13/2010
- The Body Language Handbook -6/29/2010
- 'The Winner's Brain' -6/8/2010
- Catch up on reading with a new summer release -5/18/2010
