I promise this will be my last gripe-y blog for awhile. But I have a bone to pick..and what better way to voice my opinion than on here?
First of all, I'll start out with the good stuff.
I'm on a co-op term from January to April, and so far I'm really loving it. I consider myself very lucky to have the position that I do because it isn't related to my major, and it is for an intermediate or senior student. I feel really blessed to have gotten such a great position, and definitely have my Dad to thank for it :) The old phrase "it's not what you know, it's who you know" certainly comes in to play.
Now with that being said I'll explain the job a bit. I can't explain too much without the chance of getting in trouble haha, but basically I'm working on marketing and business development for a...company... in Waterloo. So far I've been working for this company for a few weeks, and I've met some really interesting and influential people.
So here's the bone I have to pick: I went to roughly 5 meetings this past week, and aside from my boss and myself, the only people in these meetings were men. Now I understand that there are certain jobs that attract men, and there are certain jobs that attract women... but you cannot tell me that I am one of the only women in all of Waterloo that would like to be in this kind of fast-paced corporate atmosphere. When I was sitting in one of my meetings this week, I was in a boardroom filled with a couple of CEO's and mayors (no, I'm not a big deal, I just take notes) and I notice that the only women in the building are secretaries. So not only can you not tell me that I am one of the only women in Waterloo that wants to be in this industry, you can't tell me that every woman in that building aspired to be a secretary. I highly doubt that when they were a little girl they dreamed about getting coffee for important people... Nope, I think they probably had dreams of being one of the important people too.
I don't really understand it. Maybe I will in the future, but at this point in time I really don't. Are these demographics based on a woman's ability, or are they based on something else? Do young women see themselves as secretaries from an early age? And yes, I know that there are lots of women in very influential positions that are way more successful than any of the men sitting in that boardroom, but why is it that the odds are if you're a woman you'll be a nurse, teacher, or secretary, and if you're a man... well, you can be whatever you want to be? So here's my question... do women choose this, or is it just easier than fighting to get in to the boy's clubhouse?
On a closing note, my boss told me on Thursday (after I pointed out to her that we were the only women in the office not pouring coffee): "Learn how to play golf and drink whiskey, or else you'll always be a step behind".
Peace and love,
Linds
