Treat me like a human

I find it amusing when young, single, financially independent, professional women — who sign their own car loans and apartment leases, who change jobs, cities and opinions without anyone’s permission — tell me earnestly I’m not a feminist. Fair enough: we get to call ourselves whatever we want. I’m less amused when those same women add Because, you know, men don’t like feminists… but why drag out a 30-year-old social issue in December 2008 when there’s so much chaos in business?

Because in times of chaos, you need all your best people to be engaged. Some of those best people are women. And if you treat them “like women,” you might lose them — or at least their committed engagement — at the time you need them most.

You may not believe gender discrimination still happens. You may think it doesn’t happen in your company. You may see that it does and not care. That’s your choice. But I encourage you to read this “conversation starter” by a highly competent person who has experience in a complex field (insurance law) as both a man and a woman. It’s not the same experience. Check out the conversation in the comments for more perspectives from people reporting on their own — similar — experience.

Can you really afford to ignore the possibility that people in your workplace might be feeling this way? And as a manager, are you willing to examine your assumptions about the people working for you, and look at whether you offer them all equivalent levels of respect, appreciation, and support? Every single one of us has blind spots, biases and prejudices. What are yours, and what are you doing to make sure they don’t drive away good people?

I’d love to hear your stories of how you keep yourself honest, or your ideas about what people could do better where you work.