Young Women in the Workplace

Young Women in the Workplace

Always have your hair done. Look awake and refreshed, please wear makeup. Oh, but not too much makeup. Don’t show too much leg, heaven forbid they see too much of your legs. Are those heels too high? Cover up any cleavage, can’t let the world know you actually might have breasts. Cover up your shoulders. Cross your legs when you sit in meetings. Don’t wear anything too tight or anything that makes your curves prominent. Don’t look overly feminine but you shouldn’t look too manly either.

I've had a lot of time to reflect on what it takes to be a young woman in the workplace and how we are treated by superiors and coworkers alike. Granted, at my internship with the US. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I don’t feel this pressure to look or act a certain way due to the progressive nature of the work environment.  Although, in my experiences with other internships and jobs, I haven’t been as lucky. At other jobs, I have been told that I am too passive for more competitive job markets. “You need to be more assertive”.  As I moved up in the professional field, I found myself overcompensating for this, now on the other side of the hiring process. While interviewing candidates for internships, I was told that I am intimidating. Me? Intimidating? I am a five foot tall, barely pushing 100 lbs woman, how on Earth could anyone find me intimidating?!  Do you think a male would ever be told, “You need to be more assertive” from a superior? Maybe on the rare occasion, but I contest that women are held to a higher standard in the professional world. Research suggests that more attractive people earn better salaries/wages and often earn more promotions. For women, this definition of attractiveness is often based on unrealistic beauty standards.  

According to the Pew Research Center Report on “10 Findings about Women in the Workplace”, “Today’s young women are starting their careers more educated than their male counterparts”,  yet woman on average are less likely to ask for a raise or to be considered for a promotion when compared to men.  However, women are becoming heads of agencies, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and innovators in all variations of career fields. It's about time we are treated accordingly in the professional world. This isn't the 1950’s, there is no room for misogyny in the workplace, not anymore.

In my short time working for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I have realized that the inequality between men and women in the workplace does not need to be the norm.