My answers

[mrsbrown]

I'm being interviewed for a national idustry magazine and I'm crafting my answers. I'd really like some feedback on getting the feminist line right, while making sure I don't come across as either a weirdo, hard liner or that I compromise my ideals.

I particularly hate this set of questions:

What inspired your career choice, especially as the industry is one that is traditionally (perhaps notoriously) male dominated?

I get asked this question all the time and I have to answer that it didn’t occur to me that male domination would be an issue. I was a very idealistic feminist when I chose to do an engineering degree but I was also looking for a job which used my maths/science talent. I knew I didn’t want to be in a lab, or a teacher; I wanted to be doing something real. Then we pulled apart a single cylinder engine in my first thermodynamics prac and I knew I wanted to be a Mechanical engineer! Building Services came later, after working at the Gas and Fuel New Technologies division where I learnt about co-generation, ice storage and dessicant based air conditioning. I realised that the way I wanted to make a difference to the world was by designing building systems that use less energy.

Is this changing, or is it still Blokesworld?

Gender is not really an issue for me in my interactions with people. What people do and say is much more important, so I haven’t spent a lot of time counting and estimating what sort of minority I’m in. I’ve just gotten on with things and made sure I introduce myself to the women I meet at industry events..

Has the profession reached the point of post-feminism? Are you treated differently than men? Victimised or marginalised?

The industry almost certainly hasn’t reached the point of post-feminism, but I’m not a good person to ask if I’m treated differently from men. My best friend and I shared a physics class in year 12; she complained bitterly of discrimination and I got all excited about learning to solder. I keep a postcard above my desk which says, “It’s not because you’re a woman, it’s because you can’t urinate standing up”. I keep it to remind me that some of the things that I experience might be hidden discrimination

How do we expect an employer to treat a man who has 4 children and regularly arrives late or leaves early due to their family priorities? Or a man who arranges their work deadlines around having dinner with the family? Or chooses to work a four day week? Or has his partner bring the baby in to work every day for bonding time. In comparison to that man, I am not treated differently. Everybody is treated differently from others in some respects. We all have our own foibles, ways of working and day to day needs.

If I’m treated differently from men there are good things and bad things that come from that and just like anyone else I take advantage of the good things and work around my disadvantages.


Do you feel you’ve had the same opportunities for advancement as men?

Yes.

Comments

[villana.livejournal.com]

Gos! Go you! How wonderful to be singled out for special attention.

Wow, it's not hard to spot the focus of this interview! Sheesh!

You've done very well to sound balanced and reasonable.

I'd cut this sentence here: "and made sure I introduce myself to the women I meet at industry events."

On one hand you say you don't pay attention to gender, on the other you say you seek out females just because they're female. It's a murky contradiction. Maybe you could say you "seek out talented professionals at industry events."

Good luck!

[mousicles.livejournal.com]

I can identify with your answers.

I too, did an engineering degree because that was what I was good at and couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do. Only I did electrical. Although I loved the little bit I did on concrete and steel so I might have done materials engineering if that had been an option at my uni. (My brother did materials at a different uni 2 years later)

I've never noticed any discrimination. I guess that's because the people I work with are all well educated and it's a nerdy field. You just get on with the job and people treat you according to your abilities.

Women are still in the minority but it's not a big deal for me. What I do notice in my current workplace is that I'm one of the few people with kids, but even then, they had no problem when I chose to work slightly different hours to be home for dinner.

[teffania.livejournal.com]

hmm, or I'd say something like, I'm aware that other women may feel gender issues more acutely, so I make sure to introduce myself to other women at industry events.

[sjkasabi.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I like that sentence, myself, it ties in with the fact that you keep the postcard above your desk. I get the message that you don't feel discriminated against, but you're intellectually aware that it exists, and intellectually a feminist, so you're making the effort there. Is that the message you were trying to send, mrsbrown?

Is there more to say on the opportunities for advancement thing? As in, an observation might be that in some ways you've had more, because your life experience has opened them up when placed in conjunction with your work path. So, not just the stereotypical observation that parenting gives you multitasking skills, but also the fact that you did your degree part time and also renovated a house in that period, maybe affected things? Not least because it meant you were just plain older and wiser than others at various technial-experience levels in your career? Do you have any observations about this sort of stuff? Or is it just me :)

Anyway, yeah, go you for getting an interview! I'm proud of you as a friend AND a feminist *g*

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

I really like your answer to question 1.

Re-post feminism. Is it worth mentioning a promo held at a strip club?

I like the way you discreetly point out that you are treated differently, as men who did that stuff(bring kids into work etc) would be frowned upon - I do recall your employer(?) who didnt' bother telling people his child was seriously ill (I seem to recall you found that work culture difficult) - this is one of those areas where feminism has a lot to offer men, in providing leadership on better balancing of work/life choices. IIRC, you have turned down better pay when it did not suit family conditions - most men would not consider this choice.

Did taking time out for having kids slow down your progress up the ladder, compared to male colleagues who have kids?

[nephthys-secret.livejournal.com]

Well done! I felt like you are saying I'm a smart person who knows what she's doing and doesn't need to fall back on a wo-is-me crutch when she can't stand up with her piers (regardless of gender).

"I’ve just gotten on with things and made sure I introduce myself to the women I meet at industry events.."

I also like and don't like this sentence. I can see the tie in with the postcard but I also agree with villana's comments. Could it be something more like: "I’ve just gotten on with things, but I do make sure I introduce myself to the women I meet at industry events, because it's just nice to see other women in my industry on occasion."

I certainly didn't get any "bra-burning" vibes from these responses and find it easier calling myself a feminist in the light you shine.

[mrsbrown.livejournal.com]

I like, "you just get on with the job and people treat you according to your abilities"

Can I use it?

[omnot.livejournal.com]

Yoy! What questions!

I like your answers, all comments considered.

From the look of your responses, it seems that the time you most feel you are "treated differently than men?" is when you get a barrage of interview questions that are keenly focussed on the fact that you are female.

[nephthys-secret.livejournal.com]

"From the look of your responses, it seems that the time you most feel you are "treated differently than men?" is when you get a barrage of interview questions that are keenly focussed on the fact that you are female."

Totally agree!

[mousicles.livejournal.com]

sure