The Unfair Fair Deal
Femme Filer Opinion: I blame music. Sort of. Bon Jovi coined us “Bad Medicine,” Donovan says “…it’s the Season of the Witch,” and the iconic Dolly, while writing an ageless anthem, may paint us as a slightly ungracious albeit paranoid lot worried about our bosses coming for us.
You are not hallucinating. What you are about to read may be disturbing and resemble you. That’s okay. I am you. You are me. We ARE we.
While we did not create it ourselves, in many cases, we are remiss in addressing it.
Check the income statistics regarding what women are paid vs. what men are paid for doing similar or identical jobs, in any and every developed, industrialized nation among western democracies.
Yes, some nations could say they are doing better at paying their female workers the same or equal wage compared to their male counterparts, but no matter how you cut it, "better" is still NOT "same." This is ridiculous at worst and insulting at best.
The truth is, many of our male allies know it.
We watch them golf together, run off to the pub together, break bread together whilst we hope that the work we are putting in back at the office will offset some of that familiarity that we’re missing out on. And that’s if we opt out of the pervasive code switching that is becoming more common that I take issue with.
Strong unpopular opinion: I am NOT going to suffocate in the confines of palazzo legged pant suits, Ms. Clinton. Which by the way, and this is my personal opinion, Hillary felt she HAD to adopt in order to get people to take her seriously in politics.
Cue Announcer: “Dress more like a man and you too can become President!”
(It didn’t work for Hillary. And it ain’t workin’ for me.)
There has been a large level of rationalizing that has been used to placate (and convince) women as to why it IS acceptable and reasonable for them to be paid less than the men around them. “He has more experience than you” is one that echoes loudly in the halls of plausible reasoning.
We accept on the face but let’s think about this for a minute — because isn’t someone that knows how to work a Commodore64 an asset to operating a MacBook Air? (It sounds ridiculous, right?)
Let me be clear — experience IS important. It’s an asset and it sets foundations for all kinds of situations. Experience makes sure growth is inevitable. It’s also an easy blanketed excuse. One of many used to solidify the male line across industries that really has not had women on the frontlines and ensures women stay marginalized.
Answer me THIS: How – HOW — could a woman fully compete with experience in an industry that only really embraced her in said role in the last decade or so? And should she be penalized for it? What if her experience was in another role in the same industry? Should she still be penalized and paid less? How much less?
If her talent, desire, education, investment, and drive make sure the same growth is inevitable – should her seat at the table not be delivered to her with a brass plate in gold wrapping paper? No? Am I wrong here?
By the way, Femmes – this really insipid notion that you will come in, pay your dues, and that then…THEN they will bring you to scale is so effing flawed. You MUST do your homework, put your money on your belief that you will advance further in your knowledge, own the confidence in yourself, and negotiate hard up front. At the BEGINNING.
How have we deluded ourselves into thinking that being a high performer, loyal, and investing emotionally will outweigh not having earned some kind of undefinable and invisible “experience” mark? It doesn’t.
The onus is on us. On women.
Item 1: Queen Victoria, former queen of Great Britain some time ago. Her reign lasted slightly over 60 years and during her tenure, she was the ruler of an Empire that was at its highest peak. Over a quarter of the entire planet fell under her jurisdiction, along with approx. 400 million subjects. To this day, she is regarded as one of Britain's most beloved monarchs.
Item 2: Catherine The Great, the Empress of Russia from 1729-1796. She is recognized for having helped to modernize Russia at that time by revitalizing their economy, i.e. kick-starting massive trade and commerce initiatives, as well as nurturing Russian arts and culture. She was also behind creating Russia's first government-funded, all-girls school.
Item 3: Marie Curie, a noted physicist and chemist who was twice awarded the Nobel Prize in each of those areas (in 1903 and in 1911). She discovered radioactivity as well as various and new chemical compounds. During World War I, she also developed the first mobile radiography units to provide X-Ray services to field hospitals. As such, her voice didn't count. In that specific regard, her voice certainly did not matter. At all.
The above-noted examples are just a very small sampling of women throughout history who have held (or have been held in) the highest positions of power and influence in times when women were extremely marginalized. There are MANY more. They have literally had a hand in directly shaping the destinies of entire countries and nations, big and small, wholly or in part. One can even say that they have helped to directly shape human history ITSELF.
They had nary the experience of their men contemporaries at the time they started their roles/journeys.
Therefore, given all of that, it begs the questions:
Is it perhaps because there is a level of acceptance on our part as women? Maybe. If so, then what are we doing about it? Inaction won’t change the landscape and jackhammering our male allies doesn’t help us. Separating ourselves out, doesn’t get us there. Code switching is both insulting and an exercise in futility. One answer is advocacy. Knowing our value and worth. Being able to cut bait and leave when we aren’t being heard or our interests unserved. Respecting our value and understanding our gifts. Speaking above the fray.
Can we fix it without being labeled “that woman,” “difficult,” or “a problem”? It’s certainly a ponderance for the Files. And if we can’t without the labels… do we do it anyway?
Labels are for boxes… and you can’t put us in boxes.