Dress Down for Success? ( Was: #$ -at- %#^&$# secretary stuff...)

[Penny Staples <pstaples -at- AIRWIRE -dot- COM>]

I've noticed this too. At our office, only the admin staff wear standard
"office clothes", unless someone Very Important is coming for a visit (and
then we're warned to dress up). A casual dress code seems to be a common
perk lately, at least in our business (hardware design). I like it.

Penny Staples
pstaples -at- airwire -dot- com

-----Original Message-----
From: Hutchings, Christa <cwhutchings -at- HOMEWIRELESS -dot- COM>
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU <TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
Date: May 13, 1998 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: Summary: #$ -at- %#^&$# secretary stuff...


>Here's a sideline on this: at a previous employer, I quickly realized
>that if I really dressed up (dress, suit, etc.), I was treated by the
>engineers/programmers as though I was clerical or administrative
>support. However, if I dressed like they did (jeans, Dockers, etc.),
>they treated me more like a peer. No more "Could you clean up my
>low-level spec for me?", or "When you get a chance, I've got some
>meeting notes I need typed up" (yes, I was actually asked this by a
>senior programmer).
>
>Chris Welch-Hutchings
>Sr. Technical Writer
>Home Wireless Networks, Inc.
>Norcross GA (USA)
>cwhutchings -at- homewireless -dot- com
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: DURL [SMTP:durl -at- BUFFNET -dot- NET]
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 1998 9:58 AM
>> To:   TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
>> Subject:      Summary:  #$ -at- %#^&$# secretary stuff...
>>
>>         Thanks to you all. I think this is on topic, given that a
>> significant percentage of us are female and encounter this struggle
>> about
>> our status as profesionals, apparently due to our gender. It's
>> relevant
>> to all of us because
>> the trend is that, as a profession includes greater numbers of women,
>> the
>> salary declines.
>>         More than half the men said they'd been asked to take minutes.
>> Of those, about half agreed and half declined. As you all saw, most of
>> the
>> men felt, "If you wanna pay me $60 hr to take minutes, I'll do it."
>>         IMO, most men don't see the problem, probably because they
>> don't
>> experience it. The problem I fear is that, once a woman takes on a
>> clerical
>> task, it
>> becomes harder to explain why she won't take on the next one. I
>> suspect
>>  that a male note-taker wouldn't be asked to type a letter,
>> simply because the gender stereotypes reduce the odds of that
>> occurrence.
>>         My answer to the interviewer was, "I'm willing to do it, but I
>> have a concern that, by doing it, I'll be seen as clerical support and
>> therefore have a harder time being treated as a professional when I
>> interview the programmers and technical staff."
>>         He--literally!--waved away this objection and said, "In a
>> perfect
>> world, we'd have a secretary to do it. As it is, we all have to wear
>> different hats."
>>         I reiterated my concern; he said, "OK, how about if we just do
>> it
>> among ourselves, not in front of the client?"
>>         I said, "If you're willing to take the risk, I'm willing to do
>> it.
>> Heck, I'll even let you open doors for me."
>>
>>         After reading your responses, next time this comes up, I'll
>> take
>> the advice of the listers who pointed out that taking notes for my
>> purposes precludes taking minute notes. I'll also ask if the chore is
>> rotated, or suggest rotation.
>>
>>         Thanks again!
>>         Yours for $100/hr rates,
>>         Mary
>>
>>  Mary Durlak  Erie Documentation Inc.
>> East Aurora, New York (near Buffalo)
>> durl -at- buffnet -dot- net
>>
>>
>> > Mary wrote -
>> >
>> >         Went to talk to a potential client today. Talked to the
>> Project
>> > Coordinator, the lead engineer....got past them, apparently, because
>> they
>> > brought in the Project Manager.
>> >         He asked a few relevant questions (no cannonballs, no
>> grenades)
>> > and then said, "Are you willing to take meeting minutes and make
>> copies?"
>> >         Does this *happen* to you gentlemen?
>> >
>>
>>
>> &^~~~
>> Send commands to listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g., SIGNOFF
>> TECHWR-L)
>>
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