Hello
Well, mumsnet regular lurker for years and only just discovered the feminism threads. Where have you been all my life?!
I'm a feminist. Quite honestly, I feel like society is riven with sexism, I see it everyday. From an acquaintance calling a woman a slut. To leering from white van men on my walk to work. To entrenched institutional sexism both direct and indirect in my workplace.
I challenge it every single time. I have been told I'm strident and difficult for this. LOL!!!! Even by my own father.
But I don't care. I'm actually softly spoken not that this matters.
So here's my latest battle ladies.
My office has a promotion system whereby employees are assessed against certain criteria to win the promotion.
When I started work all those years ago, there were 12 in my "intake". Roughly 50:50 male to female split. Most woman have now left, there are three of us remaining with one being on maternity leave. Formidable women, brilliant at their jobs. Hard working. None of us have been promoted. All of the men have.
The scoring against the criteria is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. I asked to see these "criteria". Objective and quantifiable... Errrrrrr no. Things like how many business development events do you attend? Well not many.... Because they are rugby matches and cricket matches and all day drinking and when we asked to do something different we were told there was no budget! Do you smell a male bias here?
So.....
I have brought a grievance about this and will resign if affirmative action isn't taken. I cannot wait. And hopefully it will change things for the positive for the next gen of female employees.
Will update you.