245
votes
How to make interviewee comfortable interviewing in lounge chairs
I would ensure that a meeting room is available for these interviews. Perhaps bump people out of meeting rooms as they could rearrange/or use the lounge.
I would do this also because an interviewee ...
- 17k
241
votes
Accepted
How can I address being paid less than my male colleagues with similar or lesser roles in my company?
I'm a female developer with 10 years' experience (despite my name here:)) and unfortunately this is a familiar situation.
I think gnasher729's answer is excellent.
The only thing I'd add to gnasher729'...
- 1,291
221
votes
Accepted
Is the term "man hours" appropriate for the workplace, and if not, how do I get my coworkers to use a more neutral term?
Do as you're doing; call the time period by a phrase that you're comfortable with. Maybe even use the role title - so instead of a job being x man hours, it would be 'x' hours, made up of 'y' ...
- 33.1k
203
votes
How do I tell an executive that I am an engineer not an admin
Could you raise it to your manager? (Assuming that someone sits at a level between you & the exec, e.g. a head of engineering) A few months in the door & at a junior level, it makes sense that ...
- 2,779
191
votes
Is the term "man hours" appropriate for the workplace, and if not, how do I get my coworkers to use a more neutral term?
Don't chastise anyone for using "man-hours", it's an ingrained part of traditional English usage.
Continue to use "person-hours" whenever possible. The laughing will eventually subside.
Attitudes ...
- 19.5k
189
votes
How can I work in a chauvinistic male dominated environment where the women are no better?
There are two reasons why a man at work would behave like this towards you:
they genuinely desire you sexually and would have a relationship with you if you were willing
they want to embarrass you, ...
- 153k
153
votes
How can I address being paid less than my male colleagues with similar or lesser roles in my company?
There is no reason to assume that the pay raise didn't arrive because you are a woman, but there are the facts that (a) you didn't get a pay rise, (b) you make less than a junior that you are training,...
- 170k
127
votes
20 years ago, a colleague said I should have treated a female employee differently due to the difficulties of working in a male-dominated industry
I berated her about it and explained how this wasted time from everyone in the room.
You shouldn't do this with any employee, male or female. If there is corrective action required, you do this in ...
- 128k
110
votes
How to make interviewee comfortable interviewing in lounge chairs
facilities staff is stretched too thin
Does your company not have a room booking solution? If so, just print out a piece of paper with text "Room blocked from time X to Y on date Z for interviews". ...
- 7,773
97
votes
CEO ridiculed me with gay jokes and grabbed me and wouldn't let go - now getting pushed out of company
You need a lawyer
What you have experienced is sexual harassment. You are being further victimized by having your career damaged by this person. You need a lawyer
HR will not be your friend here. ...
- 6,736
91
votes
Should I mention my name change in my resume, when it would expose me as Transgender?
I think you should mention your name change in the resume or something like
John Doe (Formerly Known as Jane Doe).
I understand the risk of possible discrimination but if your potential employer ...
- 19.3k
80
votes
Is the term "man hours" appropriate for the workplace, and if not, how do I get my coworkers to use a more neutral term?
"Man hours" is a unit for an amount of work done, measured in such a way that (a) it's easy to determine how many units a person can do in a week, and (b) it's easy to determine the cost of the people ...
- 170k
77
votes
Accepted
Addressing Sir or Ma'am to Transgender or Androgynous looking individuals
Just drop "Sir/Ma'am" entirely and say:
"Hello and welcome to tech camp! How may I help you?"
It doesn't seem like such a formal environment that omitting that would be too casual.
...
- 8,212
77
votes
How do I tell an executive that I am an engineer not an admin
The other answers are also valid, but none have mentioned this idea yet: When tasked with an admin task from an exec, try one of the following responses
Sure, I can do that, but can you clear it with ...
- 1,359
71
votes
How do you shake hands with women at work in France without being rude?
I'm French so I can answer really easily.
If you are in a big company it's really common to shake hands with women until you know them better.
If you are in a smaller firm, usually the culture of ...
- 561
67
votes
Accepted
Should I mention my name change in my resume, when it would expose me as Transgender?
Background checking rarely happens at the resume shortlisting stage. It usually happens closer to the end of the hiring process. Keep your preferred name in the resume. When a company wants to make ...
- 47.3k
66
votes
Accepted
Clarifying Gender in Email Signature
Just replace in your signature "Sam Smith" with "Mrs. Sam Smith" or "Miss Sam Smith" or "Ms. Sam Smith" or "Mr. Sam Smith". Whether you want do that ...
- 170k
64
votes
How to address a transgender coworker and accomodate their toilet needs?
If a person changes their name from "Jake" to "Richard" then they expect to be called "Richard" from then on. If you insist on calling this person "Jake" because he's just "a Jake pretending to be a ...
- 7,606
63
votes
Accepted
How to respond to a passive aggressive implication of gender bias
How should I respond to this?
You should tell her that you referred to the male doctor the way you did because he has never introduced himself using his first name.
You should tell her that you ...
- 387k
62
votes
Should I mention my name change in my resume, when it would expose me as Transgender?
I'm in a very similar position and also work in a management position with responsibility for hiring.
From my experience, the fence sitting of employers is a real thing so what I did:
Inform ...
- 651
60
votes
20 years ago, a colleague said I should have treated a female employee differently due to the difficulties of working in a male-dominated industry
I wish I could just say it was ok as long as you treat your male colleagues equally, but it isn't that easy.
Unfortunately women receive harsher punishment at work for mistakes and misconduct.
I can ...
- 2,757
58
votes
Alleged sexist comments charges presented toward me
What do I say in this open court hearing in order to save my
reputation and keep my current job.
You simply answer all questions fully and honestly, and give your side of the story.
There's not ...
- 387k
52
votes
Terminated by boss at the demand of his jealous wife
Pennsylvania is an "at will" state. This termination is not based on a characteristic that would make it wrongful.
Those would be race, pregnancy, religion, gender, family status, disability,...
- 4,502
46
votes
Is the term "man hours" appropriate for the workplace, and if not, how do I get my coworkers to use a more neutral term?
There is nothing wrong with using the term man-hours.
Although it does have the word "man" in it it is definitely not geared in any way shape or form towards any sort of gender bias.
If the term ...
- 85k
46
votes
How do I tell an executive that I am an engineer not an admin
I have had this happen to me at every single job except my current one (we have a female CEO and female VPs).
Also, we expect junior people to do tasks seniors don't want to do. Don't make a big ...
- 143k
46
votes
How do I tell coworkers about my pronouns?
I don't like using they/them because it often feels impersonal: they're just using it as the default; it feels like people don’t actually know my pronouns.
It's important to note here that a ...
- 60.6k
44
votes
How can I address being paid less than my male colleagues with similar or lesser roles in my company?
I work in the US, but I believe that this generally applies: companies that don't care if they pay a new hire more than current employees are the same kinds of companies where they promise pay raises ...
- 12k
43
votes
How to address a transgender coworker and accomodate their toilet needs?
(For clarity, the question has been significantly edited from its original version, both before and after I wrote the reply below.)
We've been assigned to work with a man who considers themselves ...
- 9,044
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible