Misogyny in the Work Place

39 Comments

1. AnonymousApril 1,2025 at 8:06PM UTC

   Unfortunately it remains this way everywhere.

2. Barb HansenApril 1,2025 at 8:40PM UTC

   Side note: While you mention that you don’t “hold to modern feminist views,” I’d gently point out that working outside the home in a male-dominated industry is already embracing some of the progress feminism has made possible—whether we label it that way or not. :)

   But I get what you’re saying, so here’s my take on your questions:

   Are there STILL biased opinions from men toward women in industrial workplaces?

   Absolutely. Bias still exists, especially in industries and roles that have historically been male-dominated. That said, the bar is slowly shifting (and not shifting fast enough). Sixty years ago, most professions were considered "for men only." The women who came before us did the hard work of pushing into those spaces—and we're benefiting from that progress.

   Do you feel looked down on by men for making it into management in these workplaces?

   I definitely did earlier in my career. But now? I’m long past caring what a man thinks of my title or trajectory. I work in tech now, and while it’s a different industry, the dynamics can be similar. I’ve had to deal with everything from dismissive comments to someone literally saying, “You should fire her and hire a man.” But the truth is, my skill set and experience speak for themselves. It doesn’t take long for people to realize that.

   Do men make comments about your intellect or abilities?

   Now? No. But in the past? All the time. Early in my career—working in construction—I heard it all. From inappropriate comments to flat-out refusals to work with me: “My team isn’t working on this site if she’s here.” Like many women in industrial spaces, I’ve had to navigate that kind of garbage.

   Things still aren’t perfect for women in construction or industrial settings or in business for that matter. But thanks to the women who came before us, those of us still pushing forward, and the slow changing of workplace norms (plus a wave of retiring "old guard"), things are getting better. And they’ll keep getting better—as long as we stay in the room and keep speaking up.

   I do wish progress would move faster, and I sometimes worry that the U.S. might backslide. But I trust that the generations of women younger than me will continue to push forward—louder, stronger, and with even more resolve.

   I think I may have stepped up on a soapbox here—so now that I’ve said my piece, I’ll take my soapbox and quietly step down. :)

3. AnonymousApril 2,2025 at 1:00PM UTC

   Oh definitely.

   I too am on the conservative side. I typically see women either starting companies or rising to controller or office manager. I myself made it to inventory manager and QC/QA manager at one point.

   I actually think if a company is run by conservative men who hold a high degree of respect their wives, that’s the best shot we’ll ever have of being employed by someone else and rising to COO/CFO etc.

   Men and women are different, however, and if there’s a bunch of drama caused by women in the organization, women aren’t going to be promoted. Female jealousy of other women can also prevent growth opportunities because they tear each other down - we don’t need men to stop us the girls will get together and see to it all by themselves. And men will look at that drama and not associate any of it with their lack of management skills, but rather place 100% of blame on all the women in the organization/department, regardless of involvement.

   I had better experiences in warehousing and industry than I do currently. I currently am in a local government administration role. My direct supervisor claims to be a feminist, but he’s incredibly arrogant and patronizing, and I have to downskill to manage his confidence. He’s not a good leader and his COC - also male, and one is arrogant and the other is interesting, but not an experienced manager - expect me to provide his education and training. (I didn’t, and that has led to clusterf*ck after clusterf*ck, some of which I’ve had to clean up). They also hand credit for my contributions on joint projects to my direct supervisor, thereby artificially inflating his skill set.

   So it may not happen overtly, but yes, discrimination is alive and well.

4. AnonymousApril 2,2025 at 2:51PM UTC

   I worked for a large company in a smaller department, my coworkers were 3 men.Two of the men were in senior positions, one was at the same level as me. They always asked me to setup for meetings, meaning making coffee and getting bagels. My coworker was never asked to help. When I asked for help he was always too “busy”. When a business trip came up they asked him to go because they didn’t think my husband would want me to be away from home. I liked most aspects of the job, but hated that.

5. GirlBossanova934974April 3,2025 at 1:06PM UTC

   I worked in manufacturing for several years and there were some cases of negative commentary about female management. However, there is a world of difference between a few disparaging remarks and "misogyny". We need to be careful with this. Similar when it comes to the "toxic". Nowadays, I find most workplaces have been become very tribal, not male or female but concentrated on one age group or belief structure. They now call that "cultural fit" which is code for everyone looks and sounds alike. If you are looking for true examples of "misogyny", one should go back to the 1950s-1970s. It was then that women were told to their faces they shouldn't be in management because they were taking a man's job. My mother heard that all the time.........as she was a Senior Director with 70 direct reports.

6. AnonymousApril 3,2025 at 1:35PM UTC

   What do you mean? A few disparaging remarks IS misogyny. Nobody should be receiving disparaging remarks in the workplace

7. GirlBossanova934974April 3,2025 at 5:12PM UTC

   I completely disagree. This is a big issue in today's workplace. People start throwing around words and highly emotionally charged expressions like these words were cotton candy at a state fair. Like tossing a hand grenade into a crowded movie theater. Next thing you know you have HR running all over the place, company lawyers interviewing people, and all sorts of stuff. I have seen it happen a few times. Once the issues were investigated, a lot of time and money had been spent. People do the same thing with the word TOXIC. Suddenly one lousy manager makes the whole place TOXIC. Not true.

8. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:06PM UTC

   Yeah no , I just left a job because the HR manager was very unprofessional and contributed to make MY work environment toxic. Micromanaging, infantalizing , criticizing ONE person for what everyone else does also, arrogance, thinks they don’t have to listen. That’s all toxic and unprofessional. She once came to talk to me and her phone rang 3 times in 10 mins with personal calls. I just left my job …. Everyone hates her and talks behind her back. I will soon send an email to the big boss. Letting her know. 3 people quit in the last year , 4 with me out of 6 people.

9. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 11:01PM UTC

   Misogyny is misogyny. Whether it's "big" or "small", it's still misogyny. I don't think she's "throwing around words." And it feels like you're policing her experience, which is its own firm of misogyny. Unlike "toxic" misogyny has a pretty clear definition, although it can show up in many forms.

10. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:01PM UTC

    Excuse me ,,, misogyny isn’t just telling women they take men’s jobs. When you confront women just because they are women , yeah that’s misogyny. I have seen so many men online attacking women for saying the same thing as men say. It’s insane. if you want to pretend it’s not an issue. That’s all on you. But if you actually want to learn something and use your brain … make a social media account , use a man’s pic and name … and take notes. You will get wildly different responses. That’s the really problem and it happens at work… and that’s an issue. Women’s ideas being shot down just cuz they came from a woman ? That’s not okay. Men saying : she didn’t deserve her job … that’s not okay.

11. AnonymousApril 3,2025 at 1:13PM UTC

    What do you mean by you are a conservative and do not hold modern feminist views? Genuinely curious / trying to understand the context of your question.

12. AnonymousApril 3,2025 at 7:36PM UTC

    OH honey, Yes, Yes, and Yes. It just isn't manufacturing, it is in just about every industry possible including the military. Trust in this current environment it will only get worse.

    It is entirely dependent upon a corporate culture of how much they will allow or tolerate.

    Their is also something called Unconscious bias. Some people don't realize they are doing it.

    I will say, if you are competent, can hold your own and call it out you will stand a chance of making a change in how you are treated. If you curl up into yourself and allow it happen - it will.

13. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistApril 3,2025 at 9:43PM UTC

    What, specifically, are "modern feminist views"?

14. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 12:25PM UTC

    lmao, the cognitive dissonance here cracks me up!

15. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 12:44PM UTC

    Unfortunately, yes it still exists. To some extent it's more covert than overt these days, but yes women still have to aggressively prove that they have the skills and the intelligence to be in the positions of authority. I haven't experienced it, but then, I'm not in a leadership position. I think the higher up you go on the corporate ladder the more you'll see and experience gender bias. Also, it really depends on what industry you're in that determines how blatant and prevalent sexism can become.

16. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 12:58PM UTC

    I’m having a hard time understanding misogyny in the context of conservatism. Based on who you may have voted for or the ideals you support, you don’t get to experience misogyny because you’re complicit in creating it.

17. Marguerite FarleyApril 4,2025 at 1:29PM UTC

    Exactly. you cannot have it both ways.

18. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:52PM UTC

    This is exactly the sort of comment I was afraid I would see, but I'm still saddened to see it.

19. Zeecil KimmelApril 4,2025 at 1:58PM UTC

    Do not accept being judged for your views no matter what they are - and I love that because you said you were conservative it became okay to decide who you voted for. I live for the day when people are judged for how kind they are to others and their moral compass.

20. Zeecil KimmelApril 4,2025 at 1:55PM UTC

    Wow, you are so liberal and open-minded that you discriminate against conservative people and make judgemental comments for everyone to see. I am conservative therefore I believe that everyone has a right to be treated kindly no matter who they voted for.

21. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:55PM UTC

    She's experiencing misogyny - regardless of whether or not you think she "gets to" experience it or not.

    What make you then turn around and say she is "complicit in creating it"?

22. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:01PM UTC

    I am finding the opposite - my org which was previously male dominated is overrun with females in leadership positions, and the promotional structure is biased as a result. Discrimination or biases of any kind are unhelpful in the workplace.

23. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:49PM UTC

    Yes, every single day. I am constantly questioned about my level of expertise. I am often referred to as sweetheart, darling or honey, all while asking me if I know what they are talking about. In general I know more than most of my male counterparts, but often we all find that customers won’t accept the answer until they hear it from a man.

    My colleagues are aware and will often ask me, while customer is listening, the answer to drive home the point that I am capable and knowledgeable. I wish you all the same type of amazing co-workers.

24. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 1:55PM UTC

    Your ability to get to the position you currently hold was afforded to you by the “feminist” philosophy that women are equal to men. That you don’t buy into that notion and are complaining about being looked down upon as less than is so very ironic. You are perpetuating that same dynamic that you find yourself in by not believing women and men are equal.

25. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 2:00PM UTC

    You don't ascribe to "modern" feminism? It boggles the mind. You DO realize that without the feminist movement, you could not ask for equal pay for equal work? And those "women" who led that movement enabled you to gain the right to open bank accounts in the 1960s (60 short years ago), but it wasn't until the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) in 1974 that women could independently apply for credit, including mortgages, without needing a male co-signer. TODAY, only 10% of large companies are led by women and that has EVERYTHING to do with repressive environments, and a lingering misogyny in many industries including technology and manufacturing. Good luck with handling YOUR situation without the help of other enlightened women leaders. Sigh.

    Here's a more detailed look:

    1960s: Access to Bank Accounts

    Women in the U.S. began to have legal access to banking products in the 1960s.

    1974: The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)

    The ECOA prohibited credit discrimination based on sex or marital status.

    This meant that women could now open bank accounts, apply for credit cards, and qualify for loans, including mortgages, without needing a male co-signer.

    Before the ECOA, financial institutions could legally refuse loans to unmarried women, or require them to have a male co-signer.

    Likewise, a married woman often couldn't apply for a mortgage on her own; she had to have her husband's permission.

26. AnonymousApril 7,2025 at 2:28AM UTC

    And when they insisted that a wife's earnings count toward the size of a mortgage that could be granted, sellers happily raised prices. As a result, it took 2 incomes to afford a house as Ms. Warren noted in her book "two income trap."

    When women poured into the work force, they doubled the labor supply which halved wags over time.

27. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 2:07PM UTC

    With 30+ years in oil & gas it has gotten much better. Early in my career I fought assumptions that I was an affirmative action hire by working hard and demonstrating that I was the best candidate for my position. Also I was fortunate to work for men who had professional wives and daughters.

28. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 2:46PM UTC

    Of course there are men who still hold those views, but they should not expressing it in the workplace. Sex and gender are protected characteristics; they cannot be used against an employee in terms of pay, treatment, and promotion. But there will always be there for some people. Any sort of harassment because of being a woman should be reported to HR. It is illegal to discriminate or hatred on the basis of sex.

    Additionally, if you are a woman in the workplace, you are by definition a feminist. Feminism is entirely about choice and completely equal treatment. Your grandmother maybe didn’t work or divorce your grandfather, but it was because she would have nothing if she went on her own. It astounds me the number of women who don’t seem to know or understand that civil rights laws had to be passed to guarantee women the right to own money, have a job and be pregnant at the same time, and hold public office.

    Thank female rights activists for your right to receive alimony and child support if you divorce, to be the beneficiary of your husband’s estate if he dies, and to hold a job because you want to.

29. AnonymousApril 4,2025 at 3:52PM UTC

    I'd encourage you to broaden your research beyond sources including your own opinion and an article from 2017 that you did not understand the point of. People are absolutely concerned about women in hands-on trades as well. Not "everybody says that's so". We're not fragile, emotional creatures who need to "relate to a computer". We are not a group sharing entirely homogenous characteristics. Women are looking for opportunities in these fields with people who treat them fairly, and it's certainly unfortunate that the threat of sexual harassment prevents both men and women from forming beneficial relationships at work, but that's the price we all pay for not shutting up about inappropriate and predatory behavior anymore. It's not a "nuclear option" that women are exercising on a whim, and women are well aware that it can backfire on us as well. There is plenty of data surrounding how many allegations of assault are false, and you'll find it's very few.

    Additionally, this site is intended for women and allies of women in the workplace. Does anything about your comment make you feel like you fit that description?

30. Carl KemApril 4,2025 at 4:21PM UTC

    I have encountered the same problem on both sides. To me both misogyny & misandry are unacceptable. You will still have the typical workplace humor, but a line must be drawn at some point to keep the humor from turning into abuse.

31. Courtney AApril 4,2025 at 9:45PM UTC

    I work in tech and it’s going strong and the reason I quit my most recent position after 3 years. They don’t deserve my efforts.

32. Mary Lea McTurnanApril 5,2025 at 11:34AM UTC

    Oh my gosh, YES! If you’d asked 20 years ago,?id have said’no.’ But we have regressed in our contemporary culture and women are at the bottom of the hierarchy. Again. It matters little if you’re the owner or the ops manager, many of our male employees have become emboldened by toxic masculinity, pornography, and fracture of their family relationships and some view us not as colleagues or even fully formed human beings, but rather barriers to their happiness. I use intimidation as a deterrent. Sad, huh?

33. Evelyn LivantApril 5,2025 at 10:36PM UTC

    Absolutely! A friend of mine was a manager and when she was contributing to a meeting, her supervisor said, "You don't think I hired you for your brains?"

    I'm in tech and in a role as Data Manager I had to explain to a team of men why they were making it impossible for me to do my job. The Assistant Director told me women didn't belong in tech. I had one man asking me if I was afraid of a command line. It goes on.

    I know a lot of conservatives don't think women need additional legal aid or protection in the workplace, but we do.

    The problem is that we don't get the same respect and promotions as a man would for the same work. Until we do and these use cases are not the norm we need equal opportunity.

34. ValerieApril 6,2025 at 6:08PM UTC

    Desire Misogyny is alive a well and getting worst. I know you don't want to hear this but it is driven by consrvatives. Many if not most conservative men and women in the work place truly believe this type of behavior is ok and how it should be. I was in corporate HR and have been an Executive Coach for over 25 yeaes and have witnessed this extensively.

35. Ellie BettsApril 6,2025 at 10:22PM UTC

    I work in HR in manufacturing. During a harassment training I had one of the plant managers ask why being a woman didn't count as a disability. He didn't understand why reasonable accomodations for disabilities didn't apply to having the same work standards for women.

    I definitely have men talk down to me often. There are many I can count on to not let me finish any of my sentences which makes it take extra long to explain anything to them.

    I don't want to attribute this to manufacturing or industrial workplaces because I'm sure these biases are alive and well across our entire workforce.

    While I think liberal men do hold probably as much internal misogyny as conservative men, liberal spaces call it out and push for growth (or try to) while in conservative environments it tends to be encouraged or at the very least tolerated.

    I also want to add that I have seen women hold these biases towards men but not on as wide spread of a scale. In general there aren't enough women holding these views in positions of power to impact the careers of a significant number of men but men in power holding these views absolutely harms the careers of a significant percentage of women.

36. AnonymousApril 7,2025 at 4:00PM UTC

    If you can pick out bias, unfair treatment, comments etc which you call misogyny then I would argue that you are a feminist because you see that it is not fair. Women should be demanding equitable treatment and not just at work and we should be advocating for each other. It's supremely important to support each other because no matter how skilled/trained/talented etc you are, the fact you are a woman puts you at a disadvantage.

37. Debbie SageApril 7,2025 at 10:34PM UTC

    exactly and being a woman doesn’t have anything to do with being conservative

38. Debbie SageApril 7,2025 at 10:34PM UTC

    it is present in the Sales area in the corporate arena on site inside of buildings where it’s supposed to be professional white collar.

39. Dawn McDonnellApril 8,2025 at 1:30AM UTC

    Yes, Yes, Yes,,,,,, Any business you are in where the ratio of women to men is profoundly less you will run into all kinds of situations of fraternal challenges. Your sistah coworkers ? May may not be on the same page . God help you if you happen to be beautiful , smart , have a cultural hot body but that doesn’t really matter either- You might get whispers, gossip because you’re successful. Do your job well, find one or to confidans if your lucky, don’t get inebriated at work events, keep your “ stuff” close to your heart and maintain professional demeanor all the time. Vulgarity , sexual jokes, ethnic jokes, after work gathering- don’t get involved. Sometimes, many times as a woman you got to work better, smarter, harder and let them know by your presence , your attitude and actions your strong in mind and body and you don’t approve of frat stuff. Nor sleeping around in your business whoever you are . It’s tough but you will carry your reputation.