Diversity
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I am a female currently employed in the healthcare field, at a well known hospital. I generally consider my co-workers and organization to be relatively progressive and sensitive to unique individual needs. Therefore, it is easy to understand the surprise and disappointment I felt when the members of my management team (all of whom just so happen to be male) decided to take a day off to go golfing without the thought of inviting me. To the men out there, you may wonder why this is an issue. From my perspective, this is an example of gender inequality. Discrimination occurs when someone is treated differently because of something that is outside of their control. By that definition, my co-workers, who I also consider to be my friends, were discriminating against me.
With this unanticipated realization, I understood my anger in not having been invited. In truth, had they asked me to come, I cannot say definitively what my answer would have been. However, they should have included me. A problem exists when one member of the team is excluded from activities outside of work, during work hours, that others are asked to take part it. The assumption that I would either not be interested in attending such an event or that the event itself would be less fun if a “girl” was there, infuriated me. The truth is, this kind of inequality is alive and well in the workplace, and unfortunately, it is something that women have to deal with and men often do not understand. As a woman in the workplace, I chose to deal with this situation by expressing my disappointment in the team for not including me and explaining why and when this becomes an issue. Primarily, in this instance, it was an issue because it took place during work hours. Therefore, I was left to cover for all of the others who were enjoying an activity, which I felt I was excluded from for unfair reasons.
While it is often difficult to express your disapproval with your co-workers and friends at their behavior, most will respect you for your choices. I chose to address the situation in a social setting, rather than in the office environment. While careful not to use the word “sexism”, I spoke with my co-workers about their plans and why I would not have been included. The only explanation I received was that they did not know, but they were asked by the manager who arranged the outing. My disappointment grew in knowing that someone with even more experience than my peers did not have to forethought to understand why his behavior could be perceived as sexist. This was particularly disconcerting because the individual who arranged the outing has always been keen to avoid any conversation that would imply any sort of sexual harassment and is always explicit in his verbal intent. So how could someone who is so aware of one aspect of gender inequality be so oblivious to another?
Though I cannot say for certain, I think the answer is that it simply did not occur to him that I would be interested. Some additional background may be necessary to understand the relationship I have with this individual. I was the last member of our current team to join and therefore, have been working with the group for the shortest amount of time. I have