| Depends on where you are. Not all of these apply everywhere, but: - lack of maternity leave - being judged on personal appearance even in office settings because your appearance is more tied to your worth than it is for men - when you are harsh as a boss, labelled "bossy" as a negative. I don't hear many men labelled "bossy". - be chided about "being on your period" in case you say something people don't like - people confusing you for secretary / non-technical role because you are not man - people talking about things which may be sensitive to women in the workplace moreso than men and make them uncomfortable / unable to participate (for example, porn, I have seen this in my office) - after-hours fraternizing at the bar or on the golf course (or other largely men's activity, it's never going to the salon, for example). - harrassment / dating propositions (imo, it's not okay either way but obviously more likely for men to do to women in office than the other way around) - late-night meetings, frequent expectation for workers to come in late and stay late (if women mostly take responsibilities of children at home, this affects them more). - less pay because rather than keeping pays equal, companies only offer raises to those who ask Surely there are others. Perhaps some of these seem innocuous to you, but altogether they are potent. |
Tangential: I heard a wild, but interesting argument the other day about how allowing different maternity leave between men and women, ceteris paribus, would lead to gender discrimination when hiring. The reasoning was: regardless of the reason being "fair", companies would see women as having a higher chance of taking more leave than men, and thus have less value, overall.
It was an interesting argument for prohibiting differences between paternity and maternity leave, i.o.w.: you must give new fathers as much time off as you give new mothers, no more, no less.
It sounded nice so I never researched whether it was experimentally confirmed / disproven :)