Jamie Cat
Ana RodriguesIt's often uneasy for me to share my experiences as a woman in tech, but this job market has me worried for everyone stuck somewhere harmful. I admire everyone who takes on "women in tech" speaking gigs but I am also angry for them and us.
Charlie O’Hara@anarodrigues you’re a strong lovely for sharing this❤️
Erik Vorhes@anarodrigues — thank you for writing this!
zool@anarodrigues potent essay. I've been pondering what kind of collective structures, communications, care need to be in place that could prevent that kind of retaliation. Is it possible for a sizeable workplace culture to have built-in resistance to the ways that control hierarchies are too easily abused? Is it even possible to advance that argument from a place of marginalisation and doubt?
@zool Thank you! I've asked myself this but I don't have an answer. When there's economic difficulties in the region, people will most likely keep their heads down and carry on.
It's also very hard when you know that whoever handles the report systems is friends with the abuser. So maybe that needs to be completely external.
Maybe team members should rotate a bit more to reveal gaps and toxic micro culture.
EQ@anarodrigues This might be a very good idea! The last 20-odd years I spent at jobs where the majority was women (I was mostly the only male). It has been very friction free in my view so I'm spared any of this crap thankfully. But I had a few peaks at the other side of the coin when I was visiting the other branch in south sweden. A male salesperson brought one of the women working there to tears. Thankfully we have a good boss that took care of the idiot even though he was owners friend.
@anarodrigues Wasn't until many years later that I learned that my nice group of women had brought one of the very few male coworkers I ever had to tears and that is why I'm not having male coworkers. So yes, changing environments/rotating groups might be a very good idea to see what realy goes on in society.
(The group had also frozen out several women, not just that man) (Please don't take this as whataboutism or something, just trying to say I was so blind in very limited world)
@eq I totally get that! It's very easy for a team to become a clique and really hard to break it once it reaches that stage.
Tyler Sticka@anarodrigues Ana, thank you for sharing this 💜
@tylersticka 💜 Thank you for reading!
Florence Maraninchi
Aubrey@anarodrigues Thank you for writing this. 💜
Christopher Kirk-Nielsen@anarodrigues I'm so sorry Ana. Thank you for sharing this with us. 💜
Angela Scholder@anarodrigues Being a woman in tech, let's say 'has it's challenges'.....
Pretty sure I didn't get jobs. Had a conflict about pay. Have had lots of 'discussions'.....
Pretty sure I didn't get jobs. Had a conflict about pay. Have had lots of 'discussions'.....
@AngelaScholder Push-backs or negotiations are expected from men, but hated when they come from women...
Weekend EditorAlso, it's pretty sure that in the past layoffs targeted women (a) statistically significantly more often and (b) with bigger strength of effect (i.e., laid off a larger % of women).
@weekend_editor well, that's depressing 😞 there was a short lived phased in the tech industry were hiring people from underrepresented groups were a source of pride. The political landscape has brought forward a new lack of shame to undo all that work.
When someone complains about abuse or simply asks for normal work adjustments they're seen as troublesome and "too much".
Large Heydon Collider@anarodrigues What a heart-rending post. I thought I knew what it was like out there, but this really made me pause. Thank you for putting it to words, and with such care.
@heydon Thank you Heydon
Laura Kalbag@anarodrigues thank you for this horribly relatable post. I really appreciate you sharing your experiences in such detail ❤️
@laura Thank you Laura and I am so sorry this was relatable. ❤️
Michelle Barker@anarodrigues Thank you for sharing your highly relatable experience, Ana 💔
Sherri W (SyntaxSeed)@anarodrigues The number of generally nice guys who think sexism in the workplace is a solved problem & doesn't happen outside of rare criminal cases is staggering. They are so blind to the behaviour of their peers. Willfully blind or otherwise it's pretty depressing how bad men are at policing each other, and we the victims are left to sound the alarm over & over again to an increasingly disbelieving male population. 😫
Ena@anarodrigues I appreciated your post!
AI gave me the gift of being interrupted for a new reason in a meeting this week! my manager interrupted me to tell my coworker to "just ask Claude" so we all just sat in silence while he read the wrong explanation despite me knowing the right answer 🙃🙃
@enarocks thank you! that's infuriating and so embarrassing for them 🙄 i'm sorry!
lornajane@anarodrigues thank you for this VERY good article. I relate to so much of it, and I don't have any advice but I wanted to say that I'm glad you're here, in tech.
@lornajane Thank you! 🫂