A female Ph.d. I know held a research post in a respected company – a position that was arguably comparable to a faculty position. She had good writing and management skills in addition to research skills.
Slowly she started getting all the writing tasks - proposals, marketing reports, and what not. To cut a long story short, when she objected she was fired (well not exactly fired, but told put up or get out). Her self-esteem thoroughly thrashed, she ended up in a position where all she does is writing and a smattering of management. This is where I met her. I found the whole thing quite puzzling.
How is it that men don’t end up like this, or do they?
I’d like to put forth a view point here. Men carefully screw up tasks they don’t like. Carefully of course, because it is a risk – a risk they are willing to take – to ensure career success. Writing tasks are minimally acceptable. Accents get thicker when doing tedious tasks. On top of that male supervisors, feeling a sort of kinship, aren't too surprised. Female supervisors might find it more annoying, but in the end brush it off as men aren't the best communicators anyway. So any risk is mitigated to an extent. This is a more risky tactic for women.
What's the thinking on this?
