
An Open Letter to Managers of Women - ohjeez
https://medium.com/@JasonShen/an-open-letter-to-managers-of-women-58b1655943ce#.jev2nanrq
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gjmulhol
Yes, this happens to everyone, but this happens to women much much more. Even
well intentioned managers at good companies can find themselves victims to
cognitive bias, unintentionally. This article raises specific things to watch
out for.

Note: I am a male, a manager, and occasionally guilty of such things.

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red_blobs
"Maybe you think she has to wait her turn, or brush up on her soft skills and
work better with others, or that she simply needs more experience"

This happens to EVERYONE, not just women. I worked at many companies in my
career doing the work of my superiors and kissing their ass, while getting
paid at a lower pay-grade and not getting promoted. This is how the game is
played. If you want it changed, start your own company and change it for
everyone, not just women.

"Despite this woman’s outstanding contributions, you haven’t promoted her or
given her a raise. It’s not fair and you know it."

I don't really see any actual statistical evidence that shows this happening
at a greater level (or an alarming level) to women.

"You’ve talked a big talk about mentoring and development opportunities, but
when push comes to shove, you give her the less glamorous work, the “maybe
next time” speech, the completed plan decided in a separate meeting without
her, because it was just easier and perhaps you think she won’t make as much
of a fuss about it."

Did she actually deserve a raise? Put her time in? Have the experience?
Lately, it seems many people attribute the -isms when they don't get their way
and want power and control over another.

"She’s no fool. She’s taking classes outside of work, maybe with company
support, but often paid out of her own pocket. She’s got side projects where
she’s developing new skills and learning how to lead, because outside the
company walls there’s no one who can hold her back. She’s got a network and
she knows what her friends at other companies make and she has thought about
what she might do if her paycheck were 20%, 30%, or 50% bigger."

There are plenty of bad companies that don't recognize good talent. This isn't
related to sexism. Finding a better job might be your best option.

"And pay her what she’s worth, with a title to match. After all, she’s grown
more in the last six months than some of your team have grown in the last six
years."

This isn't how it works. Regardless of the person, you need to put your time
in before getting promoted. You can learn lots, but there are many things you
just need to experience...and this takes time.

"Fail to do these things and she will leave, probably after a big project
wraps up because even in the end, she’s still responsible"

So, because she didn't get a major raise after completing a project after 6
months, she's going to leave? I've worked and managed at many, many places
(and now own my own business) and I don't think I would want to hire anyone
with this entitlement attitude.

"This article is inspired by the struggles I have heard from many talented,
ambitious women who do amazing work that is as good and often better than the
men around them"

OFTEN better than the men around them? Can we please not encourage blatant
sexism in an article that is supposed to be against sexism?
So..many...logical..fallacies.

"These issues are often worse for women of color."

Proof? I also wish we had more statistics and facts and less emotion and
hearsay. Come on HN!, we are all about intellectualism...and this article is
the antithesis of that!!

"It can be downplaying of the ideas and contributions of women, comments like
“she can be abrasive”"

Some people are 'abrasive' and need to change their attitude at work. A friend
of a friend of mine was called 'abrasive'. She just got out of college and
interviewed at a place and told the interviewer that the job was beneath her
and she knew more than them. She just graduated from college and had only
intern experience. It was well deserved.

"Well-intentioned men and women may still unintentionally reinforce
patriarchal patterns and devalue women."

I wish you would have mentioned 'patriarchal' at the beginning of the article,
so I wouldn't have to waste my time. But alas, I can't get that time back.

Corporate life is tough and not always fair, but it has nothing to do with
sexism on a systemic level. All of these complaints have been happening to men
for many years. It sounds like now that women are becoming more of a part of
corporate life, they are finding out how shitty and soul-sucking it can be.

This is actually why I started my own company.

Edit: I also checked out some of the links at the bottom of the article (which
I won't name here). It's one of the most excluding jobs sites I have ever
seen.

I hope one day we can have inclusivity for all, instead of this backward 1950s
thinking where one group is accepted and the rest are turned away.

~~~
cloudjacker
There are some studies that try to dive into this often repeated anecdotal
stuff you are reading here. Turns out it was observed frequent enough to
garner some actual research!

One study found a key perpetuator in divergent career growth along gender
lines was was an observation that women had support networks that consisted of
other women, who were also less likely to be in management positions. Both the
men and women that had professional and support networks consisting of men who
were more likely to be in managerial roles found their contributions to be
matched with greater career growth.

Wish I could find that study so you could make your own conclusions and read
theirs. FWIW it kept my attention because the sample size and time period was
decent.

