I think we have very similar issues here in Australia.
I grew up in a family where girls could do anything and really, until I fell pregnant I was never conscious of discrimination. Sexual harassment, yes, but my gender standing in the way of my career? No.
When I was pregnant I applied for an acting promotion. My female boss told me that while I was the most qualified for the job, I was not to be granted the position because I would be too tired. I took it straight to HR and acted in the position, without issue, until the scheduled end of the stint.
Before I went on maternity leave I was at the top of my game and various business units approached me about working in their areas on my return. I went back after a couple of months (much earlier in hindsight than I should have) and discovered no one was interested. I wanted to work part time and all the roles that had been discussed before I went on leave could have been done part time without issue (I am nothing if not efficient!) However even working 4 days a week with an offer to be on call on the 5th was not accepted. I wasn't prepared to work full-time and so Initially I did menial jobs at my former pay, which was a ridiculous waste of money on their behalf. Over time they remembered just how competent I was again, and loaded me up with higher level work - but would not promote me or pay me for the level of work it was, because I was part time (and as one person said to me, I should feel grateful I was being trusted with the work). This was an organisation with thousands of employees.
I stayed - and I suspect this is a trap for many women - because I could work flexible hours and I was never going to get the same pay part time elsewhere. In the end it was just too demoralising and I left. I have recently gone back to work but in a role with significantly less responsibility than I had, and much less security. We too made the decision for me to be the one who went part time because dh earned more, despite the fact that I have more skill and experience and work in a similar area.
I agree with Steven Sylvester's post too though, women do so little to support each other. I realise that that is a generalisation and there are some amazing women who do wonderful things for the 'sisterhood', but as a rule, I suspect we're all too busy protecting what little we have to feel that we can give much away to anyone else. I think also, in my experience, people in management positions (again, this is a generalisation) generally tend to be people who feel entitled to those role and go about their work in such a manner that others buy in to this (and sometimes, rightly so), rather than necessarily being the best people for the job. I think that sense of entitlement is much more ingrained for men than for women (for many reasons) and so women don't put their hand up as often as men do.
Last edited by Giftodd; 03/29/11 12:41 PM.
