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Discrimination in the Workplace - Part 2
July 3, 2007

As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog (Discrimination in the Workplace - Non-pregnant Women) I promised to share what actually happened in the real-life stories I shared about two women who experienced a few uncomfortable moments in the work place.

As a reminder – here are the two stories:

1.  A 38 year old, married woman named Susan is conducting an interview (she is 3 months pregnant and not “showing”). Upon viewing a family photograph on the Susan’s desk, the female job candidate volunteers that she has two children she had “just under the wire”. The interviewer asks, “What do you mean?” The job candidate explains she is 35 years old and does not believe women should have children past the age of 35. 

2.  A 34 year old, married woman named Ariel is celebrating her birthday having some cake & ice cream with her office mates. A female co-worker approaches Ariel saying, “When are you going to get started?” “Started on what?” she replies. “Having children!” was the response.

I ended the blog by posing a question - What do you think Susan and Ariel did?

In the first example the interviewer, Susan came clean. She told the interviewee she was in fact pregnant and over 35. On the one hand she was flattered to be thought of as younger that she was on the other she was a little indignant. The candidate was embarrassed but handled it professionally and they both moved on. It turns out Susan ended up recommending the candidate for the job, knowing she would be working side by side with her because she was well qualified and clearly she hadn’t intended to offend.

In the second example, Ariel didn’t say a word. She ignored it and a co-worker quickly changed the subject. Ariel’s co-worker then pulled the offender to the side and explained how, from her point of view, the comment she made to Ariel could have been taken the wrong way. Once again, there was no intention to be hurtful and everyone went about his or her business.

Unpleasant things can happen at work – that’s a fact of life. It is rare that co-workers set out to hurt or offend each other. How you handle it depends largely on the situation, the circumstances and your personal style.

Posted by Gretchen Miller on July 3, 2007 | Comments (0)