Sexism at work...

[sparr]

Girls get a locking cabinet to keep all their personal stuff in at their desk.  On wheels, no less, to take with them when they have to change desks.  Guys aren't allowed to bring bags of any sort into the call center.

The rationale is that girls have needs, which is true, but how is that relevant?  What do you need, to take care of a possible female emergency, that requires 2 cubic feet of storage?

Comments

[thandor.livejournal.com]

you have needs, like porn. I say stick it to em. once I can afford to lose this job, I'm going to do the same about my kilts, damn it

[luckygirl74.livejournal.com]

hey - a bottle of red wine, box of chocolates and a box of tampons takes up a LOT of room bud.

;)

[allison-smiley.livejournal.com]

i keep my tampons laying in the unlocked top drawer of my cube. Fuck secrecy and discretion. Men know I have monthly requirements everyone old enough to have a real job should realize that. What else could a woman need in a cube that men shouldn't see? Lipstick? Oh no don't let men know I have a secret stash of cookies and booze... the horror!

[childofmetis.livejournal.com]

Giant-ass tampons? (Not to be confused with giant ass-tampons.)

[shrike1978.livejournal.com]

I LOL'ed, then I cringed.

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

http://xkcd.com/37/

[shrike1978.livejournal.com]

I remember that one...still doesn't reduce the cringe factor of the original statement. :)

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't so much care about the locking, or even the fact that they have a cabinet. My complaint is that by virtue of having the cabinet, they are allowed to bring in anything they want and keep it in the office, up to and including 20+ pound purses full of cosmetics, magazines, electronics, etc. And guys can't so much as bring in a bookbag.

[feachador.livejournal.com]

Trust me, that's not the issue. I've been written up for bringing my bag into the office. They literally told me it was because they don't trust us. (It's also why there's cameras by the doors in the office.)

*Technically*, I was told that the women should only be bringing in "necessities", and big purses should be kept in lockers. I was also told that the cabinets shouldn't be used for anything OTHER than necessities.

The problem is, nobody checks, and as long as nobody sees what you're putting in the cabinets, it doesn't matter.

[feachador.livejournal.com]

really, it's just lazyness. They don't really go out of thier way to check to make sure the guys are following the rules, either. but we don't have a convienent place to hide the bags. Basically, with girls, it's "out of sight, out of mind" more than anything else.

Granted, that really doesn't make me feel any better.

[basbleugrrl.livejournal.com]

It is, and it is not, sexism.

The thing you have to remember is that we women have been made to feel ashamed about our bodily functions for hundreds of years, whereas men have never had to think
about it. It was within my generation that tampons became culturally acceptable for women to use. Further, our choice of birth control is a matter of public observation and debate-- however, men can keep their choice of birth control 100% private simply by not talking about it.

Nevertheless, I'm sure yours and my answer to the problem is the same-- either allow both sexes to have locking, rolling cabinets, or allow each employee one "personal item," as the TSA calls purses and briefcases. I hope you bring it up to management.