She did not take offense to it and she has since started to tell them that she can do things. They were just trying to be helpful and did not even notice they were treating her that way when she told them. It is interesting because they were so used to helping out their mom's or sisters that they just assumed she needed help. This image of women being incompetent in the workplace is common among males. It is interesting how even though our employer hired them both to do the same job, the males feel that they are more capable of doing it. I hope this interaction showed the boys who work there that women are just as capable to do the job correctly as they are.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
week 3 eureka moment
I work at a restaurant as a server. I have worked in restaurants before but this one is much smaller and family owned. The staff is very close because there are not that many people who work there and it is a great work environment. However, the other day one of the bus people pointed out something interesting to me. There are two girls and three boys who work there as bus people. Usually we will have two bus people on a night shift. One of the bus girls and I were talking and she was laughing because all of the bus boy's that work there think she can't do anything. She was saying that when it is her and another bud boy on a shift she was yelling at one of them because she was bringing plates out and they tried to take them from her saying they will bring it out for her. She also said that another time she was bringing a knife out to a table and the bus boy offered to bring it for her. They always make sure she is not too overwhelmed and treat her in a childish manner.
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I always think it is interesting how men think women are helpless. It can be cute sometimes... as long as they recognize that we can in fact do things for ourselves. I worked at a farm store in High School and the guys there were sooo old fashioned and never 'let' me carry anything. Sometimes though, they weren't around and a customer would need a bag of food carried to their car... and I mean like 50 lb bags of horse feed or other animals. For me... a 50lb bag of horse feed is really not a big deal at all and it was always funny to see the customers or the guys I worked with look at me like I lost my mind as I was carrying the bags around like it was nothing. A little chivalry isn't so bad though, right?
ReplyDeleteEven the job title is commonly referred to as bus boy and rarely do we see anyone call the position bus girl. That can sometimes be frustrating for me at my work as well because I am a bartender and all of the owners/bosses are men so when I work I am the only female. When I arrive at work I always need to prep the bar which is part of my job description--what they told me when I was first hired--yet the other guys at the job still try and do the tasks and always try and take the heavier items such as cases of beer when I am stocking or fill the ice in the coolers/buckets. I am perfectly capable of doing the work, nothing is too strenuous or heavy yet they still always insist on taking on my jobs. I never get offended that they think that a woman cannot do it, I think it is how they have been taught to treat girls and to think that it is polite to do these favors. I don't want them to think that I really cannot do something just because I am a girl. Then, when we need to set up for events, I will try to help out with moving chairs and tables around yet they always say they "got it" and "not to worry about it". I don't think it's as offensive as it is frustrating even though I know they are trying to help!
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