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Firstly, I echo the remarks of the genderless q, and urge you to provide
further details.
Secondly, I would ask that among the details you give us, you indicate
what conclusions you have drawn so far, and why. This is very important.
I have occasionally (rarely) seen instances where people read too much,
or too little, into the reactions of others. I trust you have watched
closely, and are sure this is a specific reaction, not a "generic" one?
There *are* turkeys here and there, and at least once I had to
explain to somebody "No, so-and-so treats *everybody* like dirt".
After three years, you probably know...still, after three years, perhaps
it would be wise to reassess. Certainly discussing it in this forum is
a good step.
Pat
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| Okay. In the absence of further details then, I can toss out some
things I've noticed, and you can take it for what it's worth. Could
this problem fall into one of the following catagories?
(1) When women occupy administrative positions their work is often
denigrated by others as quasi-secretarial rather than taken on
the same par as their male colleagues. This makes them hyper
sensitive about any implied criticism of their job. You, sad
to say, are probably an implied criticism. You probably make
more money as a principal engineer than this person (or people)
you are having trouble with, and that is an affront, especially
if you are younger.
(2) Secondly, there is the issue of expectation. Some women
expect women engineers to wear jeans and tennis shoes, and
those who look otherwise are frippery and lightweight. Other
women expect them to look feminine, and those who look otherwise
are unkempt and unprofessional. And then, in a very few cases,
some are convinced you got where you are by wearing nothing at
all, and nothing convinces them otherwise.
(3) Also, since people are mammals, you will be saddled with any
dysfunctional mother/daughter games; likewise, because women
occupy the lower-paid teaching positions, any bad experiences
with elementary or high school teachers.
Pat
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