Lots of men in my new job ..aibu?

[melleb33]

I start a new job Monday.
I've been really looking forward to it.
Good money etc and I feel lucky to have found something given current circumstances.
Today I had a teams meeting to get introduced to everyone.
7 new starters and 5 of them are male.
Only me and another woman.
All the managers are male.
I just feel like it's going to be such a male dominated office.
I'm now worried incase this other woman doesn't turn up and it's just me and all the men.
I worry we will have nothing in common
I worry on team nights out I won't be able to go
Aibu ?

I found it a problem when I was the only woman in a bank dealing room. 35 years ago. So I left. Hopefully things have moved on a bit since then.

OP, you do realise how sexist you are?! What do you think will happen if the other woman doesn't turn up?

I can kind of understand it, OP. This wouldn't be my ideal dynamic either.
You'll be find though. Focus on the job, and be polite and friendly. You'll probably end up getting on brilliantly!
Good luck and congrats

I my personal experience teams that are predominantly male are far better than predominantly female. More fun and no bitching.

Turn it around - if a man had posted this, there would be hell to pay. You haven't even got to know any of your co-workers yet. YABU and sexist

I think YABU, I have worked in both female and male dominated teams, none are better than the other but I did notice more gossip/bitchiness in the female dominated team (could just have been that particular team though)

Currently I am the only female in my team, and actually the only person under 50, it has made no difference other than slightly different topics tend to come up when we are chatting (DIY being the favourite!) just go in with an open mind and be professional and it will be fine, they are just humans after all.

Personally, I find male bosses and colleagues in general better to work with. Women bosses can be a nightmare, and you get less back biting and bitchiness with men. Generally what you see is what you get with men, and I like that.

@WhoStoleMyCheese

Without any further information YABU OP. As long as they’re professional you can what’s find something in common. Having said that I have been in male-dominated teams where the dominant conversation was around video games. That was a sign of a bad team however as my next team was all male and much more balanced/welcoming

I’d have fitted in totally fine there. Women play video games as well you know. I’ve worked in many male dominated environments and never once felt out of place or discriminated against. I’ve had a bit of “banter” which if too out of order I told them and they apologised and didn’t do it again. Don’t be anxious @melleb33 I’m sure you’ll be fine once you’ve settled in and got to know everyone.

What is the industry OP?

I work in I.T. which is heavily mail dominanted. I have done recruiting and despite many initiatives many more men apply for i.t. jobs than women. That is just the way it is (though there are continuing initiatives to change), these men are actually human, and most are nice people!

YABU and have a

I am the only female in the Senior Management Team. The team consists of 12 individuals from different parts of the business. Do you know what? I get so much respect from every single person. Having previously worked in more female orientated environments, I far prefer the more male dominated one! There is far less gossiping and far less bitchiness! I know that may not be the most politically correct thing to say, but that's just the way it is!

YABU

LOL! You're worried you won't get on with another group of humans before you know really anything about them other than the genitals they have and that they work in the same industry as you.....?
Good luck with the job, hopefully when that starts you won't have time to think up ridiculous problems that haven't happened yet

Another one saying you’re worrying unnecessarily. I work in a male dominated industry never been an issue.
I have had stupid comments (not many) about being female in this job but I put it down to them being dicks rather than them being male tbh

I’ve spent over 30 years in a very male work environment. You,know what I discovered. Men are people too.

I work in a male dominated industry
My previous job was was too
My sense of humour, tenacious & flexible approach has helped
However, my job would not suit a "snowflake"
Good luck

fantastic. No diet or fashion talk, no wedding babble, no competitive non eating, no interest in appearance. I've always worked in places like this and it makes for much more interesting colleagues. A lot of the office talk recounted on here would make me want to jump from the window.

congrats on new job and hope it all goes well.

I love working in a male environment!

They might hate having me, but it's not up to them
I play the "female" card all the time, they are too scared to even steal a pen from my desk, it's bliss. I also have private loos, being nearly the only female on the floor..

Pretty much all men I have ever met are very decent human beings, very pleasant and play fair. We can argue just as well as anyone else but I have never pretended to try being one of them. It's easy to stand your ground, be respected but not being ashamed of being female.

I was made an 'honourary' girl on joining the offices of a factory.

We have 'technical' female staff too, so it is funny when I answer the phone - customer starts talking about machines, assuming "speaking to a man so he must know..." and I have to stop them, and put them through to our female service manager..

Plus, I know bugger all about football...\

YABU

my whole office is about 20 females and one male. He manages fine with it 😂

My last job I worked at there was me and 7 other males. I lost my job due to covid but they still keep in touch ask how I am etc. I found they treated me with more respect than maybe a female would because I was female if that makes sense?

I've worked in a predominantly make-dominated field since I started working (I'm 51 now) and it's literally never been an issue.

In fact, I don't really notice it, and the only time I do is normally during a particulalrly dull meeting when I'll idly look around and think, "Oh look - 14 people here and only 2 are women.."

Honestly, it's a non-issue - enjoy your new job

I actually find it quite offensive to assume that people automatically have something in common because they are all "female"

why, you think we are bonding over our chosen brand of tampons or something?

or nothing in common because you are the only female among men.
We do the same job, work and live in the same environment, since when a vagina is preventing you from joining in discussions about holidays/life/sports/leisure?

Try working in the Fire Service! Honestly you will be fine. They will have recruited the best people for the job not because of gender (hopefully!!). Good luck with it 😀

Personally I've had enough bad experiences with men that I would find this a bit uncomfortable and would avoid nights out if it were team only and involved drinking.

If it's just about what to chat about in the workplace, I can chat with men no problem.