Prove Them Wrong

I suppose I should’ve seen it coming, because in the back of my mind I knew I was in an uncommon position. I’m a female in engineering, and I work in IT, setting up and fixing computers as well as answering questions from helpline callers. I was used to being in the minority when it came to gender, but I doubt that anything could have fully prepared me for the woman who refused to even speak to me regarding help with her computer purely because, as she told the co-worker to whom I transferred her, I’m a woman.

Being denied the chance to perform the duties of my job simply because of my sex was devastating for me, and I’ll admit it: I went home that night and cried. I had been brought up in a semi-sheltered, idealistic world that was primarily free from gender stereotypes. It hadn’t occurred to me that my potential would ever be seen as any different from that of males when it came to intelligence, leadership, or other abilities. I was unaware that people would make snap judgements of any sort based purely upon my gender, yet that woman had shattered that naïveté.

I thought a great deal about that phone call for days afterward. I felt helpless, as though I would always be looked down on no matter how skilled I became; if she wasn’t willing to even hear what I had to say on a simple computing matter, who would listen to me about bigger things? I was afraid to answer the phone at work, and for a day or two I didn’t want to go into the office at all for fear of encountering more people like her. Slowly, though, I realized I would have to get over it and do something productive. The only way to work to end her prejudice, and that of the dozens of others who have made snide and hurtful comments since, was to prove that her doubts about me were wrong and set a positive example.

I wrote her phone number on a sticky note, which still sits by the phone on my desk, so that when she called our office again, about two weeks later, I could make sure to answer it. This time, I didn’t transfer her call or shy away when she asked for nearly every male in the office (each by name!). Instead, I helped her with her computer problem, calmly and competently, and at the end of the call she thanked me and voiced her appreciation for my assistance. Even though she probably didn’t remember that I was the same girl whose help she had rudely turned down not too long ago, it was an empowering moment for me to hear her say “thank you” and truly mean it.

Today I am grateful for that first phone call. It was painful, true, but also eye-opening and inspiring. Yes, I am a woman, and yes, I am in a traditionally male field, but that does not and will not define me or my abilities. By learning as much as I can and working as hard as I can to better myself, I work every day to make a difference against gender stereotypes and prove people like that woman wrong.

SueAnne Griffith
AU Junior