WOMEN SPECIAL .....TALKING ABOUT BEING TALKED-DOWN TO

TALKING ABOUT BEING TALKED-DOWN TO

Women from the corporate world recall their brush with a male patronising attitude

Andrea Jung

CEO, Grameen America

Having started off my career in the late 70s, there were times when the assumption was that a woman couldn’t know as much as a man. That’s changing, though. I remember being a young executive when I was told that I should be grateful that I was making close to my age in salary while men were making significantly more. And that how, as a woman, it was a decent salary to earn. I’ll always remember that.

Meena Ganesh

CEO, Portea Medical and GrowthStory

I have experienced that you can’t win either way with some men. Sometimes I was told by men, ‘How could you possibly do that, you are a woman.’ And when I would end up doing a really good job, they would say, ‘Of course, all the men will give you great feedback because you’re a woman.’ So you can’t win either way.

Karla Bookman

Founder, TheSwaddle.com

It has happened to me many times. When I go into a restaurant and place my order, the waiter mansplains to me and says, ‘Oh no ma’am, you won’t like that’ or ‘That’s too heavy for you’. How do I handle it? I just ignore them and tell them bring me my food.

Priti Rathi Gupta

MD, Anand Rathi Group

I COME FROM A BIT OF A PRIVILEGED BACKGROUND. YET, I’VE HAD SITUATIONS WHERE BANKERS OR FUND MANAGERS, WHO DON’T KNOW THAT I’M FROM THE PROMOTER FAMILY, WILL TALK TO ME IN A WAY THAT IS UNDERMINING. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF YOU HAVE THE ABILITY, PEOPLE WON’T QUESTION YOU ANY MORE THAN THEY WOULD THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU.

Captain Kiran Sangwan

Indigo Airlines

Since I’m a captain, I often work with first officers who have less experience than me. Their attitude makes it seem like they feel I’m not fit for the job. In a cockpit you have to be a team, you cannot be competing with one another. So, I have the additional job of proving myself before I can actually start my job.

Namita Thapar

CFO, Emcure Pharmaceuticals

I’m a pretty direct person and have a loud voice, so there have been times when men have come to me and told me to speak softly and be tactful. I don’t think a man would ever be given these ‘helpful’ guidelines. To me, that’s a form of mansplaining.

etpanache

ET19MAR18