Since I've changed my dissertation topic more than once (okay, more than half a dozen times), I go back to my original gender studies. It hit me today in a meeting with six other men, three of them so gray-haired they are retiring in the next few months, that I'm not so sure it's men who are holding me back. My half-hour commute home, punctuated only by me flipping through the Sirius channels, since my dear husband and commuter-partner stayed home sick, was filled with the shocking realization that women, not men, have held my career back. How can this be? I've been fortunate to have men, who believe in women, give me advantages in my career. The women in power that I've worked for - they are the ones who've held me back. This hit me like a hangover of a dozen Jaeger shots. I'm getting it all wrong. I shouldn't be educating MEN on feminism, I should be educating jealous, insecure females. Really? Again - how can this be? We women have to stick together. But unfortunately, I have battled the Queen Bee syndrome, battle it today. The men I work with respect me and trust me and value me. The women - threatened and jealous.
This hit me while I'm helping my fellow female comrades build careers, only to run into women - not men - telling them no. Ladies, come on! We can do better than this!
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