Dismissed in business conversations?

[ny biker]

I think it's important to look at it this way: they're not men, they're people. We're all people. If you're focused on gender differences, how can you expect others to overlook them? Same for age. Who cares if someone is old enough to be your father or young enough to be your daughter? If you're colleagues, that's what is most important.

[Cataboo]

Maybe I've just had good experiences, but I've never noticed gender biases or class differences in the biological sciences. (OKay, so I've known some phds who were absolutely terrible to any people in their labs... and I think that was just they were mean people that would torture anyone they could get away with torturing, even if it was fellow phds who wouldn't stand up for themselves) Yes, most of the tenured professors tend to be old men, but most of them at this point don't have a choice in taking women seriously. My graduate school class was 13 females. We did have 1 token male, but he was doing the 1 year certificate program to try to get into med school. And old men professors seem to not have too much problems with ending up with a lab full of smart females that look up to them as a mentor.

But, I was always taken seriously and my opinions sought - as a high school student working in a military lab, a college student in a lab, as a grad student or as a post-doc. And I can't say that I ever really observed class differences, but then I've never been the top of the chain. As a grad student or post-doc, you're pretty aware that you need to be in the lab technicians good graces. But lab technicians, high school or college students, etc. were always invited to sit in on meeting about a project they were working on, and they were listened to - because they were the ones actually doing the work.

I won't say that I'm not disgruntled with the whole academia, post-doc, etc - but it's not about being female or not being taken seriously because of my level or anything like that.

[Mr. Bloom]

I think it's important to look at it this way: they're not men, they're people. We're all people. If you're focused on gender differences, how can you expect others to overlook them? Same for age. Who cares if someone is old enough to be your father or young enough to be your daughter? If you're colleagues, that's what is most important.

Well said!

[ginny]

Well, I never experienced it either until I moved out of academia and into a company ... and I'm in Wyoming - that could have something to do with it. I have experienced maddening hierarchies (usually in gvmt labs), but in academia, I have found that one's brains speak much louder than one's degrees. I have also learned that those who really put much stock in the PhD after the name are usually narrow minded and petty to begin with...