Every year, I look forward to the Women of InfoComm Networking Breakfast. This event gives me a chance to catch up with some of my favorite people in the industry. While I was thrilled to see all these women (and a growing number of men!) in one room, I, sadly, heard several stories of sexism at the show.
I'm not going to repeat these stories as they're not mine to tell. However, I will share with you a personal incident that happened to me at InfoComm 2017. I was working the reception counter at my booth when a man, we'll call him Jake*, came up looking for one of our product managers. I told Jake the team had already departed the show and I would gladly take his card back to them. He asked if there was anyone else he could speak to on this matter. I again repeated that the team had left but I could take the information back to the office for them. Jake then told me he was going to call Dave* because he was sure Dave, who was not on-site nor involved in tradeshow planning, could direct him to the right person. I again ensured him I knew Dave and there was nobody on-site to speak with. Nevertheless, he made the call. When he couldn't get a hold of Dave, he walked around the booth to find a male booth staffer to ask the same question. That staffer gave him the same response and Jake then left. Luckily for me, my team all recognized this incident as Jake not wanting to listen to a woman. They were very supportive and all agreed it was inappropriate. So why am I telling you this story? Because it is not the first, second or even third time I have experienced this at a show. Certain men just do not want to believe I am an authority figure, insisting they speak to a man who must know more. And I'm not the only one. This happens over and over and over again and it needs to stop. After repeating this story to an executive, he told me "This is 2017 and it makes me sick that we need a woman's group in this day and age." This is the attitude we need to have. We shouldn't have to host special interest groups for women because women should be accepted in this industry as the authority figures they are. So what can we do to change it? Keep up with the groups - there's power in numbers and our numbers are growing. If you see something, say something. Don't let anyone get away with degrading women or treating them as less-than. Speak up and let people know it's not okay. If you're a woman, keep being the AV Rock Star you are. Get those certifications, win those awards, teach those classes! If you're a man, join Women of InfoComm and similar groups. We appreciate you showing up and supporting us! Have you experienced something similar? Leave it in the blog comments. *I've changed the names in this story .
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Fake News. It's a trending topic. But why? I still can't fathom how many people fall for these stories. I was brought up to not just believe everything I've read or heard...but am I a dying breed? To be honest, I don't even take "real" news as fact anymore. The line between news and opinion has become so blurred it's hard to tell what is what anymore. Fun Fact: I wrote a paper in college (over 15 years ago!) on the blurring of news and gossip; this is NOT a new topic, just a trending one. Even our current President Elect, Donald Trump, is spreading fake news (note: I'm not getting political here, just using a public figure as an example). He consistently tweets articles without checking sources, spreading misinformation. Because of his position of power, people take him at his word and then use the "news" as fact. Seriously, whatever happened to doing a little research before you spread the word or form a concrete opinion? Are people really going to believe anything that sounds good and fits their preconceived notions? Fake news brings out the worst of us all, especially on social media. I know several older relatives posting and defending news stories on Facebook that were clearly and completely false. While I gently let them know these stories were incorrect and pointed them to verified stories on the subject, others were quick to leap to the defense of the story and tell me to stop by "liberal nonsense". Side note: at this point, I hadn't disclosed my political thoughts, just posted more accurate information. Clicking on the stories only led to massive amounts of the most vile comments you could imagine. People calling others the most horrible names that I would never repeat or say. All over an inaccurate news stories. Democrat or Republican, they went after anyone with a different opinion with a vengeance and fury I had never witnessed before. Furthermore, so many of these people were blatantly ignorant on the subjects they were battling over; the amount of fallacies in their argument was astonishing. I'm sure you've seen it too so I'll stop my rant there and move on. What can we do to fix it? Let's go back to the days where you analyze things before you take a stance on an issue. Fill our lives and conversations with facts. Take any "news" with a grain of salt and research the subject. I'm ready to take on this challenge - will you join me? Did you ever find a quote that sticks with you and you can’t stop thinking about it?
“Some days I am more wolf than woman and I am still learning how to stop apologising for my wild.” - Nikita Gill As I ponder the quote, more so I ponder why it speaks to me so loudly. One of my career struggles has been balancing finding my voice with managing others’ opinions of an out-spoken woman. I can imagine many others have struggled with this exact issue. When I started my career in the AV industry, I was in my early 20’s. It quickly became obvious that this was a male-dominated industry with ceilings for women to shatter. Not to say I was not welcomed – quite the opposite, in fact, but, as with most industries, there is a struggle being the minority. Being in this environment was somewhat intimidating to me; I struggled to find a voice. In fact, I came very close to leaving when my boss told me I was being too meek and it was time for me to take charge. Instead of letting this get me down, I took the statement as a challenge and rose to the occasion. It was as if he had given me permission to take my place in the industry and I was ready for it. Speaking up, ensuring things were getting done at the office, made my life easier. Suddenly tradeshows were running smoother and people were paying attention when I spoke up. Not a shock to anyone but me. You have to give yourself permission to take charge – I didn’t give myself that until someone told me I could. Whatever it took, it made a big change in my life. After some smooth sailing years, I was told I needed to “ask” people to do tasks instead of telling them. It was a shot to my heart; for those who know me, I am always polite – please and thank you accompany all requests. So why did these comments bother me so much? Because I am very sure this same criticism would not have been said to a man. Why did I need to ask people instead of direct them? That is the first time it occurred to me that a strong woman can be viewed as a threat. Here I was, working hard, ensuring projects were completed but I was being chastised for not saying “will you please do xxx” instead of “please do xxx”. I thought about this a lot – not only because it went on my official review but because I concluded this criticism did not have merit. I was doing my job and doing it well. It was not the time for me to regress and ask permission to get my job done; that’s not an efficient way for anyone to work. I had taken a long time to find my voice and I’m not going to let it go. So, no, I am not going to apologize for my wild. I’m going to embrace it. I hope you’ll join me. |
AuthorMegan A. Dutta Archives
August 2021
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