How using a female name in an e-mail signature showed one man how difficult it is for women in the workplace

By divya sFirst Published Mar 12, 2017, 5:49 AM IST
Highlights
  • This man realised his privilege at the workplace after he conducted a two-week experiment

 

It all started rather innocuously when this Philadelphia-based man called Martin R Schneider, who is an editor and writer, realised how rampant and pervasive workplace sexism can be after he experienced it himself firsthand.
 

So here's a little story of the time @nickyknacks taught me how impossible it is for professional women to get the respect they deserve:

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

It started with his boss who was unhappy with a particular employee’s work who he considered not be fast enough.  Schneider was asked to step in.   And so he did.
 

He noticed that one client was being unnecessarily unreasonable whilst being rude and dismissive.
 

So one day I'm emailing a client back-and-forth about his resume and he is just being IMPOSSIBLE. Rude, dismissive, ignoring my questions.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

Telling me his methods were the industry standards (they weren't) and I couldn't understand the terms he used (I could).

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

It was then that he realised he had been signing off as his colleague because of their shared inbox. So, Schnieder then decided to introduce himself, and he couldn’t believe the change in tone and positive responsiveness.
 

It was Nicole he was being rude to, not me. So out of curiosity I said "Hey this is Martin, I'm taking over this project for Nicole."

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT. Positive reception, thanking me for suggestions, responds promptly, saying "great questions!" Became a model client.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

Note: My technique and advice never changed. The only difference was that I had a man's name now.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017


 

So I asked Nicole if this happened all the time. Her response: "I mean, not ALL the time... but yeah. A lot."

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

And then he decided to run a little experiment for two weeks – they decided to switch names.
 

We did an experiment: For two weeks we switched names. I signed all client emails as Nicole. She signed as me.
Folks. It fucking sucked.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017


 

I was in hell. Everything I asked or suggested was questioned. Clients I could do in my sleep were condescending. One asked if I was single.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

 

The results astounded him.

 

Nicole had the most productive week of her career.
I realized the reason she took longer is bc she had to convince clients to respect her.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

I wasn't any better at the job than she was, I just had this invisible advantage.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

When he brought this to the attention of his boss, his boss didn’t believe his story

 

I showed the boss and he didn't buy it. I told him that was fine, but I was never critiquing her speed with clients again.

— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017

 

After having experienced the sheer horror, Schenider had just one thing to say:  "Here's the real fucked-up thing: For me, this was shocking. For her, she was USED to it. She just figured it was part of her job, adding further. (I mean, she knew she was being treated different for being a woman, she's not dumb. She just took it in stride.)”

 

You can read the entire thread here.   Nicole Hallberg wrote her own account

 

 

 

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