I’m all for the advancement of women in the workplace. In a couple of months I’m going to be a woman in the workplace (if all goes according to plan … ). I can also sing every Spice Girls song ever recorded and would have seen them in concert this year if I wasn’t absolutely broke, so it goes without saying that I’m very familiar with the notion of “girl power.”
One new girl power staple, “Lipstick Jungle,” is a nice idea for television show. Hot, thirty-something-year-old women with ridiculous wardrobes and even more ridiculous expense accounts ruling the male-dominated business world is fun to watch, but doesn’t reflect reality.
The fact that women currently earn 76 cents for every dollar that men earn stems from our experiences with the opposite sex as far back as grade school. With the exception of a few girls who refused to step out of the spotlight, I’m willing to bet that most of us ladies sat politely in the middle of our math or science classes and waited, with hand raised, to be called on.
Obnoxious boys, on the other hand, had no problem yelling out answers and demanding attention. So it’s no wonder that, even though more females graduate from college these days than do males, men will leave school with degrees in more lucrative fields (i.e. business and engineering). They forced us out of the running back in sixth grade pre-algebra.
The fact that we are of the polite, well-mannered gender also puts us at a disadvantage. We’re not willing to sacrifice personal relationships or our integrity in order to get ahead, whereas men will step on whomever they have to in order to climb the corporate ladder. Guys don’t need a wife, kids and happiness if they make seven figures and drive an Aston Martin, right?
I’m sorry we also got saddled with that pesky little issue of perpetuating the human race, but somebody’s gotta do it. Where would our male bosses be if their mothers didn’t create them?
Before we have another controversy on our hands, you can relax – I’m not saying that women are less successful than men, but it’s undeniable that we’re treated differently in comparison. Gender stratification. Human nature. Come on, guys; open a book.
OK, I’m done now. That’s about as serious as it’s going to get all year. Savor it.
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