I work as a postie and every shift I feel the differences between myself and the men.
I have to work in a default male environment where female managers are seen as diversity hires and ageism is rife. Older women are mothers, expected to sort out cards and cakes, and younger women are subjected to inappropriate comments.
They are pushing us to do more and more in the same time. When I'm on my period, more and more frequently I find myself having humiliating discussions about my "performance" with my (usually male) manager, often in front of male colleagues, because I've finished later than everyone else. Surely they know it's a possibility that I've come back later than the men because of extra toilet stops?
We are placed in shared vans with men who are faster. If we need the toilet several times, it's obvious why, and I don't always feel comfortable asking them - they're often much older than I am and it invites uncomfortable questions.
During the summer, again I have more toilet stops because many men wee in bottles in the back of the van (yes, it is disgusting). So again, I am made to feel as if I am slow and avoid using the toilet. I've ended up with kidney infections.
It's a lottery on whether you get easy toilet access on your particular duty. As the duties are allocated by seniority and the older workforce are majority male, men tend to have the best duties.
Royal Mail are moving our working hours ever later which means many parents are going to be quitting over the next decade because they cannot make the school run, possibly reversing the minimal progress that has been made towards gender equality.
I am expected to carry the same bag weights as men, there is no distinction between sexes or ages. 16kg on one shoulder. If we complain, we have to go through an occupational health assessment, as if not being male is a health condition.
I have to keep up with estimated speeds set mainly by men, with no adjustment for age or gender. They don't pair us up by ability, so I often come back to the van to a young man idly sitting on his phone and having a short break, who immediately rushes me on to the next loop, resulting in me getting no rest stops throughout a shift.
Many men suffer with this too as they age, but there is a culture of getting on, the fear of appearing weak. It doesn't benefit anybody but the Royal Mail's bottom line. This way, they retire people with musculoskeletal issues early and hire younger people on worse contracts who lack the institutional memory of better working conditions.
I NEED feminism to be about my sex, because I cannot ignore it, it affects my everyday life. We need to be able to describe the root of these discriminatory practices against women. I cannot identify out of this disadvantage.