I work in a male dominated profession as an associate attorney. I worked hard in law school, graduating in the top 10% of my class. Continuously since I began working 5 years ago, I have had to deal with discrimination due to my gender, including discovering that I was being paid less than my male colleagues, despite having more qualifications and experience. I’ll watch my male coworkers ask me questions, only to check my answers with male colleagues. It’s frustrating and degrading. Over the weekend I received an unsolicited dick pic from a former boss. He is 13 years older than me and we are both married. I am just devastated by this development.
Why did I work so hard for a doctorate degree, go thousands of dollars into student debt, and jump through hoops to get all these qualifications if I was just going to be treated as a high priced prostitute for my male colleagues? I seriously feel like a highly trained courtesan right now and it’s breaking my heart. I feel like quitting.
I wish I could say that I am the only person who has these experiences, but I know at least one other female attorney who has had this exact experience. It’s the year 2022, so why do I feel like my accomplishments are just busy work to keep me occupied until one of my male colleagues gets an erection and my real work begins? All while I get paid less than that colleague of course.