The War on Women at Work

Last updated on: July 20, 2012 at 8:38 pm by Women of Spirit and Faith

The War on Women at Work 2012-07-20T20:38:03+00:00 Women of Spirit and Faith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Paul is a civil servant, a Blues DJ for Mod Radio and an aspiring author.

If you had asked me a few years ago about the ‘war on women’ I would most probably have answered, “What?” and asked you to stop blocking the TV. As a chap who since age 16 has worked predominantly with female bosses and studied predominantly under female teachers, it genuinely never occurred to me that women still suffered workplace inequalities or were discriminated against in other ways. The War on Women was an anachronism and vociferous protests against it were akin to shouting about the slave trade or condemning Germany’s march into the Sudetenland. It’s over peeps; let’s move on. Alas, reality was to slap me somewhat forcefully on the backside.

I first met my wife in Prague and she soon moved to the UK with me to continue the relationship. A waitress by trade (and a damn good one if you ask me), she secured herself a job with one of the leading restaurants in our area. Everyone who was everyone came there. Actors, politicians, footballers, Uncle Tom Cobley and all; seriously wealthy people to whom spending a couple of grand on lunch meant less than nothing. My wife has always been good at her job and she proved no different here. Aside from her excellence in managing sittings, she has a truly wonderful personal manner with customers and it is no exaggeration to say she brought a lot of repeat business through the doors. Whenever I went to pick her up from work, someone would always come up to shake my hand, wish our family the best and tell me how much they loved her. And on the occasions of her two pregnancies, the number of gifts from people I had never heard of (and from some whom I had but never expected to be receiving baby clothes from) was truly overwhelming. Despite all this though, my wife’s career can only be described as being in a rut.

At first the irritations were minor; a deferred pay rise here, passed over for a Head Waiter role there etc. By and large she let it go. But things began to get worse. Men whom my wife had trained upon joining the restaurant began to get promoted above her, pocketing hefty wage increases in the process. None of these guys possessed her qualities, and some struggled to even speak the language. Annoyed, my wife met with her bosses and re-affirmed her commitment to the company, stating she wanted to make her career there. She was invited to take responsibility for the breakfast shift (a tough job that involved very early mornings and often being the sole member of floor staff visible for several hours in very busy establishment. They promised to make her a supervisor and assured her that her extra work would not go un-rewarded.

After months of hard graft, she was told that they were “unable” to promote her after all and that no money was available for her pay rise, although they were very impressed with her work and wanted her to continue in this new role as it would be ‘good for her development’. When she discovered that new members of staff (male) were joining the team on higher salaries, her patience finally snapped. The Manager tried to placate her with assurances that a new manager role would shortly be available for which she would be considered. Imagine her surprise then when he opted instead to bring in someone else from outside to fill it. We wanted to believe that this wasn’t due to sexism, after all, this new manager was a woman, but nonetheless my wife wanted answers. Eventually, in private and off the record, the General Manager admitted that he hadn’t promoted my wife as she already had one baby and she would, “probably want another one sometime,” whereas his new recruit didn’t like children, so he, “didn’t have to worry about that”. In a show of gut churning ignorance, he told her she should concentrate on having another baby as, “that is what would really make her happy”.

Speechless is an understatement. I urged her to take action but, sadly, any attempt to do so would be futile. The truth is we need the money her job brings in and we have both seen the aftermath of disgruntled former staff trying to take action against this company. One frankly cannot play with the big boys. Currently my wife is on maternity leave as we enjoy our new addition to the family (at our planning, not the suggestion of her manager), and we are looking to find her something new before long. Infuriating though her situation may be, my wife’s employers have woken me up to something; the War on Women is alive to this day. Oh it’s more of a covert war, and like the ‘liberal interventionists’ who think they can achieve peace by strafing innocents in the middle east, its protagonists may even believe they are acting from pure motives. But that only makes it all the more insidious. And now I have not only my wife to consider, but a beautiful baby daughter, I know that for as long as the war continues, I shan’t fall asleep again.

Paul’s kids

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 12, 2012

I went down to the river to pray

Next Post

July 31, 2012 Invitation to write exactly what you like...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 28-day meditation challenge A new world Alchemy: Occupy Your Sacred Self Ancestors and Spiritual Evolution Consciousness Ending violence against women Holiday season: quiet time or chaos? How has She blessed you in 2011? inter-being. Interfaith Invitation to blog: What does a world transformed by the Divine Feminine look like? Sounds like? Taste like? Smell like? Living the Divine Feminine Mother Work Mothers and mothering On Feminine Ground Owning Our Wisdom Parliament of Worlds Religions Personal rituals or practices that keep you in touch with the Divine Feminine Reclaiming the heart of our humanity Reflections on WSF retreat Sacred Love Stepping Stones on the Spiritual Path The next generation Tugging at your heart Uncategorized Videos: women of spirit and faith What are you longing for? What are you noticing? What are your dreams/intuitions telling you? What gets stirred up in you when you hear the words "War on Women"? What happens when women lead? What is "the Divine Feminine"? What is the Devine Fem calling you to do? What wants to Emerge? When we act as the Divine Feminine... Who inspires you? Why I am a... Women of Spirit and Faith

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 July 2015 May 2015 April 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz