Men—when you introduce your employee who's a woman and say, "She does all the work"/"runs things"/"keeps us all sane"/etc.:
1-You are not paying her enough.
2-You haven't given her the title or team she deserves.
3-Talking about her contributions doesn't make up for 1 and 2.
1-You are not paying her enough.
2-You haven't given her the title or team she deserves.
3-Talking about her contributions doesn't make up for 1 and 2.
Just saw this exact thing happen in a show and my spouse turned to me and said, "They don't pay her enough and she doesn't have the right title for that." Took me a second before I gave him bones.
Next time I hear this in real life, I hope I have the guts to say something like, "Sounds like she needs a raise," or, "I hope you pay her well."
But still, I hope people who give condescending praise in place of pay will re-think why they feel they should, and that the people next to them will be considerate and say something.
To the responders here who have said there are bigger issues than praise in place of pay, that’s true, but not a reason not to discuss. I want to always be learning and improving and I hope you do, too.
My more-than-full-time, under-appreciated (the worst nonprofit boss is yourself) work for the last nearly three years at @TechtonicaOrg shows I’m also dedicated to bigger issues.
I founded @TechtonicaOrg to give tech skills & jobs to people most underrepresented in tech and most in danger of displacement because of the income disparity caused by tech. You can help by getting your company to sponsor and hire or by donating at techtonica.org/donate.
This is @TechtonicaOrg’s first cohort of apprentices, who graduated a few weeks ago. They stuck it out through many bumps. I’m so proud of them and can’t wait to see how far they go. Starting Monday, 100% of them will be working with partners.
