So the company I work for is rather large and every summer (save for the pandemic summers) the company starts an office softball league. Now, I don’t participate as I am not one for sports and I also don’t love huge crowds but I still appreciate the company for putting it on and all that. Well, it was brought to my attention last year—after the summer and therefore the league was over—that a rule of the league was that men receive a max of 3 pitches and women receive a max 4 pitches. That sounds extremely sexist to me. First of all, it’s softball. I looked it up and while it wasn’t created as a “female alternative” to baseball, I think it’s safe to say that nowadays, that’s exactly what it is. Generally speaking. So, I guess my first point is, it’s literally a woman dominant sport so why in the fucking fuck are the rules being adjusted to give women an advantage? Second, well just the whole sexism thing really. It sounds to me like a textbook example of benevolent sexism. It seems like they’re being nice, but really what they’re saying is that women need extra help even when it’s just a friendly game among co-workers. Finally, how in the fuck does the rule work with non-binary employees in the league?
To me this seems like an obvious case of gender discrimination. I just don’t know what to do about it. It makes me like really, really angry. Is this illegal? It’s not technically work so idk about that. Let’s say it’s not, Do I reach out to HR? I don’t want to be a Karen but it’s 2022 and this seems like a total slap in the face, even if I don’t play, my friends do.
Should I say something? Am I being a Karen? Is this worth being angry over?