Difficult work conversations: a gender perspective

[shootingstar]

I've been in a meeting where I insisted that I have a witness. It was a gender issue and I was telling my boss that he had no right to question my reproductive future. It was the right thing to just have another person in the room to note that I handled myself with professionalism and to make a record that I'd noted the inappropriate comments and was requesting them be stopped.~

Ridiculous that boss. When I was 5 years full-time into my career after university, I was delivering a presentation. Suddenly a manager in the audience (of 8 people), asked if I got home on time last night. I was so unprepared for that chauvinisitic line, that I got abit flustered and just ignored his line.

Afterwards a friend (outside of work) told me I should have comeback with: "Old enough to stay up all night".

He was an ex-fire chief/ex-firefighter that became a govn't bureaucrat.
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To handle conflict and negotiate with men at the same table, when I myself wasn't in that role on par/equal in my paid job...I found it most helpful..and without planning on my part, when I was involved as a volunteer for a national board for non-profit organization on human rights and race relations. For about 5 years....before cycling sucked me away.

There I saw how other women on the board dealt with the men... over difficult complex topics involving government policy, media relations, community-building, police relations, social support services, etc. It was great fun and great learning simultaneously. There were some highly skilled women with excellent negotiation skills. These women now manage social service organizations with annual budgets of several million dollars and over 100 staff.

I recommend that....volunteering for a board for a passion that you hold dearly.