Reply to What was it like for exec women & mothers 20+ years ago?

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[quote=Anonymous]It's the women who entered the workforce in the 90s or earlier who have the really gnarly stories. They were more likely to be the only woman in their graduating class, or assumed that they would stop working when they married, etc.

By 2003 (20 years ago) businesses wanted to be perceived as woman friendly, although they were clumsy at it. I was a brand new lawyer that year and I recall someone a little older taking maternity leave: it was unusual that she was doing it, and everyone was sort of proud of themselves and the firm for being a place where she could yet there was no reflection on why her case was unusual. There were not many female partners, and I was still often the only woman in the room at meetings or even industry conferences. I took a government job with a pretty equality-minded male boss and a lot of female co-workers, some of whom eventually became my bosses. A female boss promoted me while I was on maternity leave.  These days, the split in meetings is usually 50-50 or majority women.

I have never dealt with overt discrimination at work (I am white, btw). I have dealt with some inappropriate comments, an annoying number of party planning duties that always seem to fall on women, and A LOT of well-meaning men who don't understand why they can't retain women employees.[/quote]

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