51 Reflections on Gender in the Workplace

Keywords: Occupation, Gender Performance, Experience

Communicating one’s gender identity is a task that varies based on factors such as settings and peer groups. The degree to which an individual expresses their gender is largely determined by the norms and rules of a designated environment or community. In my experience, my workplace has played a salient role in influencing how I illustrate my gender. In order to explore the diverse nature of my gender portrayal, I will reflect on four of my past jobs, all of which contrasted each other greatly. I was first introduced to the practice of conforming to workplace gender norms during my employment at a library. Unlike many of my other jobs, the library welcomed and encouraged gender diversity so although there were rules, they were subtly enforced. Personally, I found that this job allowed us to convey our gender identity in any way that we saw fit as long as it was appropriate. Although many of my co-workers used this unspoken rule as a means to explore their gender identity outside of the parameters of highschool that they were used to, I took the liberty of dressing and behaving more demure than I usually would. To this day, I am still unsure of why I felt the need to adhere to the stereotypical librarian criteria when my co-workers did anything but. Perhaps it was an excuse for me to examine traditional femininity without feeling sanctioned by my peers and family. Although displaying myself in this manner did help me blend in and be accepted by my older colleagues, it made me feel powerless. My self imposed compliance to the primary culture at work exhibited to me that although behaving in a docile and submissive manner was achievable, it was not something that made me feel empowered. Although I did not communicate my gender in a manner that felt comfortable and authentic, I am utterly grateful for this job opportunity as it gave me a judgement free outlet to explore my femininity in an otherwise restricting time of my life.

Subsequently, I found myself employed at a purse store shortly after leaving my position at the library. Although my femininity was challenged immensely during my previous employment, it was nothing compared to this job. Working at the purse store forced me to grapple with elements of femininity that I did not prescribe to nor want to implicate in my gender performance. To me, these components signified hyper femininity, which is not a trait that I often choose to embody. However, it was conveyed to me via the attitudes and behaviours of my coworkers that in order to be successful at this job, I had to be the pinnacle of femininity. This included dressing in ‘professional’ clothing, which included pieces such as dress pants and blouses as well as speaking in a manner that came across as bubbly and kind. Additionally, all of my co-workers were female. This made me feel like I was constantly being judged and pressured to conform to typical feminine traits by everyone around me, not just management. Furthermore, my customer demographic also significantly influenced the way I viewed my gender performance. The usual clientele of the purse store included middle aged conventionally feminine women. Personally, I felt as though these women were constantly challenging my intellect and knowledge of purses (which to be fair was quite minimal). I am unsure if this was intentional or unintentional on their behalf. Perhaps they felt the need to establish a pecking order with me because I was younger and expressed myself as naive or weak minded. Whatever the reason was, it made me feel as though I was being sanctioned for attempting to act like a typical feminine retail worker. This only further asserted my original belief that I was in way over my head with this job and that I did not belong in an environment where such rigid gender roles were imposed.

My job as a cashier in a hardware store completely juxtaposed my previous employment. In contrast to the purse store, I did not feel pressure to conform to any kind of gender role. This could be attributed to the broad range of employees that this store possessed in comparison to my other job. Whatever the reason was, I never felt as though I had to present myself in a manner that was stifling or oppressive. Instead, management was solely focused on our job performance, which helped ease the pressure of maintaining an unrealistic persona. Perhaps I felt accepted in this workplace because I perceived the culture to be gender neutral, which was a massive change from what I was used to. However, this occupation was not without its flaws. I often found it difficult to build rapports with my co-workers because of their various backgrounds and age ranges. This was a bit isolating at times as I found that many employees had already formed friend groups based on their similarities and were not incredibly welcoming of new employees.

As a new employee, the cliquey nature of this workplace was definitely a challenging aspect however I never felt like I was an outcast because of my gender. Oddly enough, the only individuals that seemed to take note of my femininity were the customers. I was undermined and questioned about my ability as a cashier countless times because of my gender. For example, customers would regularly ask to speak to a manager or seek out a male employee if I offered them answers that they viewed as unsatisfactory. Although they almost always received the same explanation from other employees, it appeared as though they respected it more when it came from a man. This was undeniably the most frustrating aspect of my job as it conveyed to me that although I was more than capable to assist customers, they did not deem me as a reliable knowledge source.

Most recently, I worked as a groundskeeper on a golf course. This job was completely polarizing to the other jobs I’ve had because I was one of the few women who worked there. When I first began this job, I thought that my gender would for sure cause problems as it was a heavily male dominated field. However, this was presumptuous of me to think as the occupational culture was nothing short of welcoming and supportive. There were definitely instances of me being assigned tasks that were less labour intensive because of my gender however I recognized these gestures as accommodations rather than discriminations.

Furthermore, because my coworkers were predominantly male, I would often be misgendered by golfers and proshop employees alike. Once again, this was not done out of malice but out of ignorance as patrons did not discern groundskeeping to be a ‘feminine’ job. Although my experience at the golf course was mainly positive, I did hear sexist remarks from my co-workers regarding female golfers. This was troublesome for me as I felt that if I spoke out in defense of these women, I would be putting myself in an ‘othering’ position and my peers would no longer view me as one of them. I did not want to be perceived as someone who could not “take a joke” so instead I chose to keep my opinions to myself, a decision that I often regret. Navigating occupations that are not regarded as traditionally feminine can prove to be somewhat difficult as women may feel rejected or exiled by their coworkers. However, thankfully I never felt the effects of these pervasive actions.

Overall, I am incredibly grateful for the lessons that each of these jobs taught me. All of the workplace cultures I endured helped me develop a more heightened and secure sense of my gender identity. Although not all of my experiences were positive ones, they were all equally beneficial in creating the person I am today. Unfortunately, workplace interactions are executed through a gendered lens which can have adverse implications for the individuals involved. It is crucial to note that not everyone has had such positive experiences with their past employment and some have felt the effects of gender-based judgement more than others. It will be interesting to see how and if gender in occupational settings evolves into a more inclusive space in the upcoming decades or if patriarchal themes will stay intact.