Gender Discrimination In The Workplace
Sexism is the act of discrimination, essentially against women. Presently, gender discrimination flows into our daily lives. The workforce should not tolerate acts of prejudice. The following descriptions highlight a script of interviews showcasing qualified, working women from the Law, Medical, and Education fields discussing their experiences and perspectives against the battle of sexism.
The following eight questions were constructed to reveal active acts of gender discrimination in the workplace.
1. When have you begun your journey in your career?
2. What drove you to your career path?
3. Were there any challenges when you first began your practice concerning the treatment you received?
4. Have you ever felt controlled by a male coworker?
5. Name one event and/or situation where you had the urge to speak up due to gender mistreatment.
6. Have you ever witnessed mistreatment with your coworkers?
7. Are there challenges now that you continue to overcome?
8. What advice would you give to someone dealing with similar circumstances?
From the Law field, Attorney Amanda P. Ketchum and former attorney Eileen Flaherty responds.
Participant Eileen Flaherty responses to each question.
*This participant responds to question #5 as a current teacher in education. Not as a former lawyer*
1. “Right after I graduated from Wesleyan, I didn’t know what to do in terms of work but I had studied law. At the time, my husband suggested I take the LSAT and I ended up doing really well on it. I ended up going to UConn Law. I didn’t really enjoy it but my friend from Wesleyan was accompanying me and we got through it together.”
2. I was always able to read and write well. When I was young my father and I entered a court competition and we ended up winning. I really enjoyed standing on the ground and arguing for something I believe in.”
3. “People were good in the firm. It was when I was in the courtroom I had difficulty. I was working a divorce case where I was defending a woman. One day I received a phone call from her husband and he was yelling at me and said he felt nothing but contempt for me, trying to intimidate me. As crazy as it sounds, the judges did not expect female attorneys to wear pants, and referred to me as “dear”. After a trial, everyone would assemble in the court to talk and one time the judge asked all females to leave the chambers because he wanted to make a joke. An off-colored, dirty joke.”
4. “No, but there was one person who was very assertive towards young people.”
5. “There were subtle acts I witnessed where teachers would act differently towards students due to their gender. There were different expectations given to female teachers vs male.”
6. “Nothing due to gender”
7. “Earned respect is difficult nowadays.”
8. “Find mentors, male or female, that you trust. Learn to run things by them. Don’t be afraid to speak out. If you develop a good reputation, people are less likely to mess with you.
Participant Amanda P. Ketchum responds to each question.
1. “I graduated in 2021, then worked for a law firm.”
2. “Growing up I watched this show called ‘LA Law’ and it fascinated me to be an attorney”
3. “In the courtroom, men always assumed I was some sort of court reporter because I was a young woman. Specifically men of opposing counsel would not believe I was an attorney.”
4. “No, my law firm was very purposeful and now filled with women.”
5. “I was very fortunate to work in a firm that was a women's organization so in my firm I did not see as much discrimination.”
6. “The biggest challenge would be lack of representation. A few weeks ago, I would have said no to this question but after the election I feel we are taking a step back and people do not want women to succeed. Even in court, they see a woman and don’t take us seriously.”
7. “I had just lost a court case. After the trial I went to the jury to ask about what I could have done better to win. I was told by the men in the jury that I should have put my hair back and he suggested I should have worn a panty hose and I could’ve won. It was truly disgusting and ill-spoken.”
8. “Always speak up and advocate for yourself. Find an ally, and it could be male or female, but make sure you have support.”
From the Education field Director of Hartford Engagement and Research Strategic Partnerships Liliana Polley, and Social Studies Teacher Andrea Oropallo responds.
Participant Liliana Polley responds to each question
1. “I started my role as a program manager for HMTCA in 2021, then progressed to director that following year.”
2. “I always had a passion for higher education. I am a first generation college student in my family and I wanted to make a difference and provide other students with resources I didn’t have.”
3. “I am a native Spanish speaker with an accent. When I first started I had ‘Imposter Syndrome’ I didn’t feel welcomed. I felt people didn’t take me seriously because I am a woman of color. ”
4. “Not necessarily ‘controlled’ but my male employees were greatly shocked to see how much I achieved in a short amount of time. A faculty member spoke up against me and belittled me. He told me ‘You’re not my boss’ and was very rude to me specifically. It felt targeted.”
6. “I haven’t witnessed any gender mistreatment”
7. “Not being a part of the faculty is difficult. I was not taken seriously because of that. But I receive lots of support from the dean of faculty who is a woman, and it is very empowering.”
8. “I would say to never give up and be yourself because if I can do it, so can you.”
Participant Andrea Oropallo responds to each question
1. “2015”
2. “In seventh grade we read ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and I was so distraught that kids didn’t know about her or about general important historical events. So, I knew I wanted to help change that and teach kids about history.”
3. “When I was in this program in college, men would tell me I didn’t look friendly enough or smile. I thought that was odd because I wasn’t there to be friendly and pleasing, I was there to get my degree.”
4. “I never felt controlled while working here”
5. “When I came back from maternity leave I was not feeling good about the treatment I received. I talked to Dr. Lavecchia about everything that was going on.”
6. “Throughout the years I have definitely witnessed everyone be more pressed on girls than boys, especially with the dress code and I don’t think that’s fair.”
7. “None of the teachers made things difficult for me.”
8. “Don’t be afraid to ask someone if something is wrong. If you’re not sure, ask someone if they would be comfortable if this had happened to them.”
From the Medical Field, Ceritified Nursing Assistant Linda Santos, Nurse Ravi Dieng, and Pharmacist Catheriene D’Costa responds.
Participant Linda Santos responds to each question.
1. “I started my career in 1998”
2. “When I was a kid, I volunteered at retirement homes and sometimes I fed the people there. I realized I wanted to take care of people and do it for a living.”
3. “There was one male worker who was white and he would say the n-word around me. As a black woman, I was uncomfortable but I told him straight up to cut that stuff out, and he should know better to say that around me. He seemed smug saying that kind of stuff around me but never was like that with men.”
4. “No, I am a direct person and people see that instantly. I think it intimidates men around me.”
5. “At this time where I worked, there weren’t a lot of female patients. This one male employee would mess with one of the female patients. He would hide her chair from her and do little things she did not like. I don’t like bullying. I told the DNS and made sure his behavior stopped immediately.”
6. “No, not with my coworkers.”
7. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, I don’t think I face any challenges anymore”
8. “Always be patient and let someone know the issue you’re dealing with. Take into account that people come from different backgrounds of time and culture so things will happen.”
Participant Ravi Dieng responds to each question.
1. “I entered the medical field in 2019”
2. “I started off as a CNA and I wanted to do more so later I became a nurse.”
3. “I felt discriminated against by male nurses a lot because I am an Indian woman and I have an accent. They never took me seriously.”
4. “Some of the male nurses tried to prove me wrong when it came to patients. I remember, we had this one patient in hospice and I discovered an error in her charts based on her current health condition and when I brought it up, they would act like I didn’t know what I was saying or doing and took control of the situation acting as if they had discovered the error.”
5. “I always see male R/Ns being more demanding towards female workers than males and I want to say something but it got so normalized in this field”
6. “Male nurses are very demanding with female CNAs.”
7. “There are some male LPNs that get paid more than me even though we have the same level of study and experience, and it’s still an issue for women especially for me that I have to deal with.”
8. “Make sure you have knowledge of what you’re dealing with because women aren’t taken seriously unless they have evidence. You need to know how to deal with gender discrimination because it really shouldn’t happen in the workplace.”
Participant Catheriene D’Costa responds to each question.
1. “I started in 2022”
2. “Medicine fascinated me. I knew I wanted to study it.”
3. “When I started working in the pharmacy and engaging with employees in the hospital, my male superiors would tell me I don’t smile enough while working. I feel like they expected me to be bubbly and talkative. And, I think they have that expectation for all young women where we have to meet their obligations and if we don’t we are dull and moody which is what they called me.”
4. “I had this one male coworker, who loved ordering the women around. He never did this with the men. It was crazy because he wasn’t even a manager. So for him to specifically be on the backs of his female colleagues was weird to say the least”
5. “There were many times I crossed paths with male Doctors and physicians or even the male medical assistant. When I was in an elevator with them, the male doctors were speaking really dirty around me. They had plenty of jokes about lap dancers and strippers that they huddled to talk about, and I think it was to make me feel some type of way. It felt like I was being cornered by misogyny.”
6. “I have a Bengali Coworker, and sometimes we would speak to each other in Bangla. We were in the break room speaking Bangla, and a man walked in and proceeded to say ‘Woah It sounds like a nail salon in here’ We spoke up about that and he was reported but no further action was taken.”
7. “My former boss was a man, and I never failed to notice that he criticized his female employees way more than the men. He was always on me about little things, but he never spoke to my male colleagues about their little things.”
8. “Keep note of every issue that happens and speak up right away. I made the mistake of waiting after something happened and I was made a fool.”