Call me paranoid, but whenever I start a new job at a company that’s not a web development company, I feel like I have to work extra hard to prove myself as competent in my line of work. While I know that there is that feeling whenever one starts a job, I definitely feel more pressure in a company where there is no one but me who has expertise in my field (which is strange, because shoudln’t it be harder at a company where everyone does the same thing as me?). It’s hard working without peers… but is this the only reason for my sense of unease?
There’s one thing that always nags me at these companys in which all the more skill-involved jobs are done by men and the only jobs held by women are accounting assistants, HR, secretaries, and other phone picker-uppers and paper shufflers:
Would I have to work this hard for respect if I was a guy with the same amount of experience?
I’ll never know for sure… but I have a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn’t like the real answer.
