Navigating Feminism in the Workplace

As I entered my first job, I was afraid of dropping the “F-bomb” and revealing my identity as a feminist. I wasn’t sure how my opinions would be received and whether they even had a place in the workplace. As the days went by, I met my supervisor and interacted with my (mostly male) peers. Eventually, I noticed that there was an inherent expectation placed on me as a woman. I would be expected to take the notes at meetings, or “good-natured” jokes would be made about feminism. Most of these were intended to be taken in a light-hearted and off-hand manner, but the subtle microaggressions were hard for me to ignore. These situations also made me wonder if I could assert my voice in the workplace while retaining the respect and favor of my coworkers and superiors. So naturally (as this is my first job whilst in college and I have nothing to lose) I did just that.

I ended up having a lengthy discussion with my superior about my opinions on microaggression, and while I did not point out examples from our own workplace, it ended up being rather informative for my superior and he was actually happy to learn about modern intersectionality and feminist issues (when framed in a non-confrontational and casual manner, of course). And while the Scripps student in me would prefer to call out behavior that is problematic when I see it, I have found it harder to do this in the workplace setting. Thus finding the balance between being an activist for issues I feel passionate about and being a savvy worker is difficult and I’m still navigating this. But through situations like the discussion I had with my superior, I have found that some of the best ways to reach fellow coworkers and bosses about problematic behavior is through engaging them in casual conversation once in a while and to have an honest and frank discussion about these topics. Of course this may not work in all workplaces – some may be more toxic than others, and other workplaces may not be open for such discussions. But in my personal experience, I have found that when I have engaged my workplace in such conversations, individuals begin to be more aware of these issues (at least around me) and have taken care to be more sensitive to problematic behavior.

That said, in an ideal world, it would not be my duty to educate these individuals about these issues. In fact, I shouldn’t even be dealing with this problem at all. Unfortunately this is not the case and the onus instead lies on me to deal with problematic behavior. While my conversations have worked to a certain extent, I have also noticed that it has earned me a label of that “women’s college-attending, over-sensitive” female. It has by no means been an overtly applied label and in fact, as I’ve mentioned earlier, after I’ve broached feminist issues with my coworkers and superiors, I’ve noticed a better working environment. The label is instead a much more subtle tag– a filter of sorts perhaps that my coworkers and superiors remember to use when around me. While I’m relieved that I no longer have to bear witness (mostly) to problematic behavior, it disappoints me that my values as a feminist have essentially earned the very title I feared I would earn when I entered the office. I’m not sure still how exactly I resolve this or if there is even a solution to this problem. I now understand why some women are hesitant to use the word “feminism” when discussing gender equality. But times are definitely changing and more people are embracing the word, and perhaps the only solution for my dilemma at this time will be one that requires me to not be afraid of this tag that I’ve earned and instead wear it proudly, a scarlet letter of which I’m proud.