Re: secretary's day

[Dawn-Marie Oliver <Dawn-Marie -at- XPENSE -dot- COM>]

        >  The discussion that followed confirmed for me that many of the
men on our
        >  list didn't see the issue as gender-related, even though many of
the women
        >  did.  I found this interesting and predictable.  We have a long
way to go
        >  ladies and gentlemen, and it starts in our own "playground."

        Because  I was starting to notice a trend in the drift of the
answers, I
        started compiling a list of which gender gave which responses.
Hillary is absolutely right, many men don't see it as a gender-related
issue--in
        fact, several men were downright nasty and dismissive of the
discussion
        (IMHO).

        Here is my list as of 2:15 today (with apologies to those I
paraphrased, as
        I was going for brevity):

        Men
        --------
        Explain nicely
        Educate them
        Take lunch, then educate
        Set aside feelings
        Identity problem/politely set the person straight
        Unintended mistake, gently set person straight
        Why don't we have Technical Communicator/Technical Author/Technical
                Writer/Information Developer day
        True men don't get this, but they do get "ox duty"
        Who cares what you're called as long as your paycheck is right
        It's an occupational hazard
        Career should be determined by self
        Missed the point, it's about titles on org chart and pay
        Please stop this thread...
        Well intentioned, misguided individual
        Why get in a dither over this
        Is this a great topic to stake her career on

        Women
        -------------
        Voice opinion
        Misunderstanding
        I'd be upset, too
        Happened to me, too
        Find out if others, treat as joke
        Men don't have this happen, I'm tired of setting things straight
        May be mistake or knee-jerk response...be direct to find out
        Wouldn't happen if you were a guy; You have a right to be insulted
        Be careful; If one, set them straight, if more, identity problem
        Don't ACT insulted; I hate these situations, too
        What is your situation/Thank g-d it wasn't my organization
        Similar situation/older, clueless female originating
        Getting upset in certain situations/Similar situation
        Use sense of humor
        Agrees not to anger secretaries
        Amen
        Misperception that must be corrected/wouldn't happen if male
        Experience says those who assume women=secretary also assume
                secretary != degree
        Attitudes can be a problem (reaction to "who cares..." above)
        Not about ego, about tasks
        Real issue is perception in the workplace

>
        Dawn-Marie Oliver
        dawn-marie -at- xpense -dot- com

        This opinions are mine, not my employees.  We're happy to have
        it that way.