Are you the only girl in a male-dominated job? Did you start questioning your femininity? Do you struggle to prove your capabilities? Then this article is for you, it is for all of us actually, for those who struggle as the only females in the workplace, for the victims of masculine stereotypes and illogical expectations. What follows is how a girl suffer in the workplace and how to survive!

Even the most unshakably confident ones and those unperturbed by being perceived as bossy or emotional, sometimes have moment of weaknesses and often doubts themselves.

It’s true that we’re by now are over with all the nonsense stereotypes, especially with more women dominating various fields and excelling at what they do, but somethings remain unchanged and men at the workplace seem to never let go of some certain ideas and judgement.

She must be on her period

For starters, if a girl calls in sick, basically two things will come to mind, one is that she has her period, which doesn’t seem to them like good enough of an excuse to call in sick, or two is that she’s simply being a brat cause you know girls are weak and all that.

She must be PMSing!

If a girl shows extra emotion, if she seems a tat upset, then the first thing that automatically comes to mind is that she must be PMSing! That’s not the worst thing, the worst thing is that they assume that her mood will affect her performance. I remember one time, my boss approached me after asking me repetitively what’s wrong with me, and then said we need to get to work and not let my feelings interfere.

It’s either you man up or get left out!

If you’re the only girl in a team of boys, then you’re more likely to get left out because you have nothing in common with them. I remember a friend of mine telling me that her boss favored her male colleague because he likes football as well.

Moreover, it seems like we have to learn the guy talk or else we would be perceived as too sassy or too girly, which I still don’t understand why it is that a bad thing? But I remember how a friend of mine was picked on for the way she talks…

If you have the looks, they’ll like you better

Another thing that has shockingly become a norm, is calling out girls in front of everyone for the way they look! Flirting or commenting on the way a girl is dressed. Being a girl with a group of boys doesn’t seem to stop them from commenting on other girls’ looks.

You can’t have both a marriage and a career

Another case I have witnessed is a married woman whose boss always comes in late and complains that she has to leave early and that she doesn’t stay up late. This has created a miscommunication that obviously built a barrier between the two of them, but to the extent that he’s not mentoring her at all and always finds excuses not to teach her.

How to survive?

Build an inclusive squad of the people who can support you and understand what you’re going through, just remember to keep your complaints to a minimum so that you don’t end up negatively affecting one another and spreading negative energy.

Don’t lose your native language! Even if you have to toughen up in a workplace, twist your tongue a bit, don’t ever lose your mother tongue.

Speak up! If you have an issue with someone or something, talk about it. Approach the person and ask him about his problem with you and try to work through it. If they seem unwilling, that is when you should start working and prove yourself, not to anyone, but to yourself!