Redefining gender in the workplace
by: Edward A. Brown
Being one of few males in an office has more benefits than pitfalls when it comes to the workplace, but being one of the few females can go either way, according to a sampling of young Boston-based professionals.
Quota filling, novelty and the perception of certain traits being male or female, were the main reasons these twentysomethings felt advantaged in their fields.
“My chances of getting a job in my field are really high straight from college as I have a unique selling point,” said Tim Howden, a Speech Language Pathology student at Emerson College. “The field is desperate for any speech language pathologists regardless of gender, but as a male, I am even more desired by employers.”
Howden, 24, said he is routinely asked to perform certain tasks based on his gender. “Males are often believed to hold more authority and presence in some situations, so behavioral issues are often handed to me,” he said. “I do not want people to think my success is only down to my gender. But I cannot say it isn’t nice to think I can walk into a job!”
Sangeeta Marwah works in television and film production, a typically male-dominated field. She reported a more mixed experience. “You can back slap a lot of people when you are working as a male, you have that kind of camaraderie,” said Marwah, 29. “As a woman you often end up standing around feeling uncomfortable. It’s not that people are saying anything, or being sexist. It’s that you feel ‘Oh, I really don’t belong here’.”
Despite the discomfort, Marwah said things are a lot easier for her generation. “Although 20 years ago, there were women making it as filmmakers, back then they were the exception,” she said. “Now, no one is raising eyebrows about it.”