‘The girls’

[Girlygirlgirl]

I’m fairly certain I’m not being unreasonable in getting irritated by this, but does this irk anyone else?

I started a new job 6 weeks ago with a new organisation. In our department there are two types of job role. My role is highly qualified, the other role is also skilled but less qualified, and supports my role.

The people that do the other role are collectively called ‘the girls’. For example ‘the girls can do that piece of work’ or ‘give it to the girls to action’. I don’t get it. They are not girls, they are grown women!

Everyone who does my role is also female. We are all women! So why are they ‘the girls’? In my old organisation we called them by an abbreviation of their job title.

I too can't abide this.

I'm going to go a step further and say I hate the use of 'ladies'. Girls isn't used in my professional environment, but now and again some male staff (sometimes same level, sometimes higher) say things like 'Morning ladies' / 'Help yourselves ladies'. It really, really irritates me. Why does my sex matter? Or am i being too picky? Thoughts?

Like others, not even on my radar to bother me.

I wouldn't tell my Husband I'm going for a night out or a weekend away with 'the Women' because it sounds all wrong, but neither would I reel off their names individually as that's ridiculous. 'The Girls' covers it just fine.

Can't get worked up about it at work either, so long as it's not deliberately used in a patronising way.

I run my own business, sole director…and am referred to as “the office wifie” (Scotland) 🤣

Reading with intrigue

It sounds like it is deliberately patronising in this sense though - referring to women in a supporting role as the girls but not describing more senior women that way? It's infantilising.

This would piss me off no end. I work very closely with 3 colleagues - myself and another woman, and two men. Between us we often refer to each others as the girls/the boys, and that doesn't bother me at all because we're all equal in seniority.

If I was bring referred to that way when more senior colleagues weren't then I'd be really annoyed. It's infantilising and deliberately belittling.

Oh yes this pisses me off as well.

And the guys in our warehouse are referred to as ‘the boys’. and the there ‘the girls in the shop’!!!!!

I think it’s a control thing as well. Some people feel superior -and do this all the time (to men and women ) without even being aware if it! And when you call them out on it you are told you should be grateful to be referred to as a girl at your age!

Same. Yawn

This. I also might say I'm going out with 'the girls from work' to refer to friends. I would not use that term to refer to work colleagues.
I never address an audience as You Guys either!

You might be, just not by this. I'm not offended easily for no logical reason. This annoys rather than offends me.

I wonder if we work at the same place 🤔
Students also get referred to as 'my little student', I was not in any way, shape or form little but still got called it as a student 🤨

YANBU. I hate it too.

The women in my department would collectively eviscerate anyone who said that.

Nailed it!

I think it depends. My mum (80+) loves going out with "the girls" although when she worked she called her boss Mrs xxxx

My dad goes golfing "with the boys"

Not everything is offensive. Although everything is offensive to someone.

Nope, you are at work, you are doing your job, it’s not a girl/boy issue, you are your job and fulfilling your function and that is it. They can call you by your name, your role or your team.

It’s different to being out in a bar drinking after work.

In my last job, my team’s boss had a definite chip on her shoulder. Her status as ‘the boss’ was very important to her, and despite us all being 40+, highly experienced women she determinedly called us The Girls/My Girls.

In a work context, wrong.

Blimey I am amazed that’s still being used, I haven’t heard it in years.

As soon as you feel settled in enough to raise it formally, do. In the meantime I would point it out every time anyone says it ‘it’s not the 80s’ etc -

It’s not about being offended, it’s about spotting phrases that demean a group of people, be they women, black people, older people.

Calling out prejudice isn’t ‘yawn’.

I'm part of a small team of females at work and every email we get starts with 'hello ladies!' I can't explain how much it irritates me and I'm not even sure why.

A woman at my old place of work used to refer to an all male team as 'the boys'. I was on good terms with 'the boys' and they told me that they found it patronising and demeaning ("we're men"). Quite right. Interestingly, she referred to equivalent teams (i.e same hierarchy in the organisation) of women as 'ladies'. 🙄

Someone on our team (male) refers to all women as "Ladies" in emails. They are often senior to him. It's so pompous.

Could be worse - I had a line manager who referred to his 2 admin assistants and myself (a fairly senior manager) as "my girls" I was 6 years older than him and every time he said it I wanted to punch him

Yes this term has been used in both companies I have worked for (male dominated, engineering industry). It tends to only refer to the women in the administration team, women in managerial positions/manual jobs aren't considered to be 'the girls'.
I'd say it annoys me more because it feels like they are being belittled for being in administration roles more than anything, rather than for being women.