A Man Signed Emails With A Female Name And What Happened Next Will Leave You Speechless!

Sexism is a global phenomenon today and you can find it anywhere. At home (unfortunately), at a restaurant outside and even in office premises. The fact remains the same, that women, unconsciously or unconsciously, are subjugated and met with discrimination on the basis of their gender.

But out of all, workplace sexism can have serious repercussions. It can mar a woman’s career, reducing her morale or confidence to size, minuscule. In fact, I happen to know many women who have had to face prejudice just because they weren’t born with a dick in between their thighs. 

If you still think that the century of modern times we live in, is free from such malice, let me tell you about a small social experiment (that happened in the first place because of a mistake) that I believe, will change your perspective. FOREVER.

Martin R. Schneider, a writer and entertainment editor from Philadelphia, US, took to Twitter and penned a long thread of a long-coming realisation and it is everything we need right now!

1. IMPOSSIBLE

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

 

2. You’ve heard that before, right?

Nicole and I worked for a small employment service firm and one complaint always came from our boss: She took too long to work with clients.

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

 

3. Have had that too!

(This boss was an efficiency-fetishizing gig economy-loving douchebag but that’s another story.)

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

 

4. If I had a penny for every time I heard that!

As her supervisor, I considered this a minor nuisance at best. I figured the reason I got things done faster was from having more experience

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

 

5. Been there, done that!

But I got stuck monitoring her time and nagging her on the boss’ behalf. We both hated it and she tried so hard to speed up with good work.

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

 

6. THIS

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

 

7. That wasn’t it

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

 

8. THAT

He was entertainment industry too. An industry I know pretty well.

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

 

9. The realisation dawned!

Anyway I was getting sick of his shit when I noticed something.
Thanks to our shared inbox, I’d been signing all communications as “Nicole”

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

 

10. Take a guess!

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

 

11. Because the name was changed

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

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

 

12. Reality check?

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

 

13. ‘Lot’ is an understatement!

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

 

14. Would you do that?

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

 

15. Oh, the plight!

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

 

16. Just to be taken seriously…

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

 

17. No surprises there!

By the time she could get clients to accept that she knew what she was doing, I could get halfway through another client.

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

 

18. I wish more people understood it for what it is!

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

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

 

19. Well, obviously!

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

 

20. For some other time

He conceded that battle, but found ways to hound us both on time in other manners, but again, that’s a different story.

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

 

21. JOB

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.

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

 

22. But I say, it’s time

(I mean, she knew she was being treated different for being a woman, she’s not dumb. She just took it in stride.)

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

TIME, WE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

It took him a mistake to realise that! We wonder, what will take others to take notice!

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