Technically Women

I first got in trouble (received my first Skype-thrashing) from Dennis Howlett over a feminist issue. He nearly blew a gasket and proceeded to tell me that he had a long history in understanding the challenges of women in the workplace and in society in general. The trouble kicked up over this post. It was my comment that ticked him off. So, it’s somewhat ironic for me that Dennis is the inspiration for our fledgling “Technically Women” blog. That bit notwithstanding, I’m really happy to be here.

Over the past week, I was planning on dropping out of this blog startup, as the work is starting to pile up in Enterprise 2.0 land. But over the weekend, I had this short conversation with a young woman looking for a summer job:

Me: “Why don’t you apply at Best Buy?”

Young Woman: “No. At Best Buy you have to know things. I want a girl job.”

Me: “WHATTTT?”

Young Woman: “At Best Buy you need to know how things work; I want a girl job, like a clothes store or a restaurant job.”

I won’t burden you with the impassioned lecture that ensued from there. In that moment, however, I realized I have to contribute to this blog. It’s simply amazing to me that the same stereotypes I grew up with are still present among the Millennial generation here in the USA. Around the world, it’s far worse. I listened recently to a debate on CNN whether feminism was obsolete. So did Peggy Drexler, apparently. In this excellent post on HuffPo, she points out that the women in Iran are fighting and dying for basic freedoms– a far cry from equal pay and promotion.

I probably won’t blog here on industry issues. I will use this platform to share my experiences and opinions related to women working in a predominantly male industry. My greatest hope is I may be able to bring some relevance and wisdom to a particular situation women may be facing in their careers or personal lives.

So, thank you Dennis for the inspiration for this blog and the privilege to write with a pack of smart, techno-savvy female bloggers. I look forward to making my contribution.

Image courtesy of misterbenderthomson