I read this post about sexism yesterday and it reminded me of a story told to me by a girl I know.
This story was about her conversation with a guy in the HR department with some company. This company wanted her for an internship position this summer.
This HR guy was telling her the locations that this mediocre company had to offer. They featured Lansing, Michigan, somewhere in Ohio, someplace overseas, and somewhere else. The guy asked her which location would she be interested in.
She knew she didn’t want to go to Ohio because she had in internship in Ohio last summer. She didn’t really want to go to Lansing, Michigan because she’s from Michigan and because Lansing isn’t anything special. But she also didn’t want to be counted out because she didn’t want to go to those locations.
She told the HR guy that she had no preference and it didn’t matter which location she was offered.
The HR guy said, “Yeah I guess as long as there’s a mall around huh (chuckle chuckle).”
She didn’t like that at all and decided that she wouldn’t have any dealings with that company.
When she talked to me about it, I told her it’s smart for her to leave that company alone. If they’ll make those sexist jokes now when they’re trying to recruit her, it’ll only get worse once she’s locked in for a summer and has to take it or be labeled as that angry black chick.
Do you think that was a sexist comment and was a sign of things to come? Or do you think it wasn’t that bad and she should’ve taken the internship?
Popularity: 17% [?]
You gave good advice…the male corporate culture is hard to break into, especially as an underrepresented female. Why put yourself in a position where you know you won’t have a fighting chance going into it? If that comment was a glimpse into how they veiw their female interns, then she could never expect to be taken seriously. Good for her for looking elsewhere!
Thanks! The good thing is that she already knew what to do. I think when I was her age, I probably wouldn’t have picked up on it until it was too late.
If I was in her position I would have done the same thing. Even though the statement could have been much worse, the situation may have become progressively worse over time. If she didn’t stand up for herself it would have given the HR guy the “green light” to make further comments and take her involvement with the company for granted. I agree with Amanda, I don’t think they would have taken her seriously. Why work for people that clearly don’t respect you?
I don’t know that she did the right thing. I commend her for recognizing that the guy made a sexist joke, but I think it’s silly to give up an entire job because of one person.
Here’s a reply: “Why would that have any effect on my decision?”
This generates conversation, and brings it to the guy’s attention that he just made a sexist joke, and alerts him that she won’t tolerate it.
It sounds like she walked away from the job for other reasons too; in which case, more power to her. But the whole point is learning how to fight it if it bothers you… not walk away from positions. Walking away just hurts yourself and your career.
I believe that she was overreacting. Unless she was specifically going to be working with that HR person, he is not necessarily an indicator of how things are run at the company. Case in point, the HR lady at my last job had made several off-color remarks about various things, including being surprised that my girlfriend was half-black, since her nose was ‘so small’.
This was of course after I was hired, but the way she spoke and carried herself was not an indicator at all of the corporate culture of the company.
Without knowing much of anything about the author of the original blog post, I’d say she was actually a little spoiled! Some of us could only WISH to be offered an internship, then have the audacity to casually walk away from it almost knowing that another opportunity will pop up.
Of course everyone’s outlook on it is different. I would’ve done the same thing but that’s because I feel like life’s too short to worry about whether the whole company feels the same way or whether I should check him and let him know how I feel about what he said. I wouldn’t expect to change his mind about what he said nor would I be concerned with whether he said it to anyone else.
After she read this, she told me that she met other people at the company and they were all decent human beings. Her real reason for not taking it was because it was in Lansing. But the guy’s comment was that extra push to make sure she didn’t take it.
Thank you all for your comments!