Nothing new here

It happened to me all the time.  Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente's column today described what life was like in the average office when she began her career.  About the same age, I began mine when she did, in the early seventies.   

What was it like?  It was fending off pass-after-pass-after-pass from male co-workers and bosses, which we did with a laugh here and a chuckle there.  It was all part of the office contract about which we didn't give an extra thought.  In my case I sometimes used it to my advantage because the deck was stacked against my earning what my male colleagues did, thus I had no qualms about teasing my boss to get what I deserved in my salary cheque.  And I got it. 

"Fending off the unwanted attentions of men you worked with was just the background noise of life," writes Wente.  "I learned that even the nicest guy might mash you up against the wall and slobber you with kisses."  Oh boy, can I relate. 

Yes, indeed.  She says she didn't complain to anyone because what would have been the point?  No harm done.  No repercussions.  She managed.  That's what women did.  That's what I did.  "We spent much of our working lives in a world where crude advances and petty harassment were just something you coped with," says Wente.  Was it right?  No.  Was it a fact of life?  Yes. 

In my case, I experienced more than just "advances".  I will leave that to your imagination, but I got on with it, advanced my career and never looked back.  But I am very proud that young career women today do not put up with what we had to take.  Good for them.  I like to think that those of us who went before in the first vanguard of  "women's lib" paved their way.