I had that job – sexist job ad goes viral

I’m not one for burning bridges, so I will name no names. If anyone from my past reads this and recognise themselves, I hope it makes them think a little and maybe, just maybe, question their behaviour: what they think is normal, is pretty damaging.

A job ad on LinkedIn went viral a couple of days ago. A Canadian company advertised for Content Writers, requesting that candidates spoke Russian, had strong linguistic abilities, a wide knowledge of SEO and a bunch of other skills. The really interesting bit came at the end: “Please note the Position requires filling in the responsibilities of a receptionist, so female candidates are preferred.” 

The ad was spotted by several media outlets after it was shared and retweeted countless times and, unsurprisingly, it was finally removed. The Pool has featured a brilliant article written by Marisa Bate and I beg you all to go read it if you want some extra reading on the topic.

Weirdly, I wasn’t shocked about the ad, nor I was outraged. The fact that looking good as a receptionist trumps education and experience practically meant nothing to me, why? Because I worked at a job like that for an entire year.

An office run by men, in which men held the managerial positions and repeatedly hired girl after girl like me, with languages, degrees and exceptional computer skills. Why young women? Because they also wanted us to cover reception duties.

During my time at that company, I was asked to drop any writing work if reception had to be covered. Texts I had been working on for days were taken from me so I could order cabs for the managers, translations I excelled at were re-assigned, so I could make my male bosses coffee.

Whenever I asked for a rearranging of my hours, to be changed to a shift in which more content writing was available, or to be allowed to work remotely once a week, the answer was no: “we won’t have you here in case we need someone to cover reception” When I enquired why they wanted me to focus on phone duties instead of getting more content writing done, all I got was shrugged shoulders.

It didn’t matter that I had postgraduate studies, that I wrote and spoke several languages, and that my experience in the field of content writing mounted to more than 10 years. A decade of experience was hardly important. The salary reflected it and the hours I spent at reception being told to “smile more” reminded me every day that they didn’t care.

I did try to speak up -politely- and tried to change things -professionally organising meetings with my manager-, but nothing ever evolved. In an office created by men and controlled by men, the voice of a woman was easily replaced by another. After a year, I left.

This is what happens when you don’t let multilingual content writers do their job

That Canadian company should be deeply embarrassed. Not only are they stuck in the past but, like many, are perpetuating a vision of life that will justify every single word of disrespect their daughters, nieces, sisters and wives will hear, limiting them for the rest of their lives.

To my former bosses and those behind the Canadian company: content writing is sex-less, receptionist duties should be sex-less too. Yes you may have a penis but you also have hands, so make your own coffee and stretch your narrow minded heads to hire people because of what they can do, not what they look like.

Self-Care Sunday – Just STOP

This is a Self-Care Sunday post, which was started by wonderful blogger and social-media expert Elizabeth from Rosalilium: a weekly post to talk about self-care. And because I believe self-care is extremely important, I have decided to join my fellow blogger and write about it.

This week I’ve been thinking about stopping: dropping everything and just standing still. It’s like when you used to be a student with no car and had to walk or take public transport to go to the supermarket. You would put all of your groceries in plastic bags and carry a week’s worth of shopping home. You’d begin with a lot of energy and determination, to soon start questioning how smart it was to buy a box of detergent and that huge bottle of milk. With those crappy plastic bags cutting your fingers, your back seizing up, you quickly realise how worthless it was to shower that morning, now that you are completely drenched in sweat. You spot a bench, drop the bags, sit and you’re in heaven. Not only does it feel wonderful, but that short pause gives you the extra energy you need to get home, with a better stance so your back suffers less and an actual smile when you walk into the guy you like.

Self-care is self-preservation. Animals know it best. They won’t put themselves at risk if they feel weak or vulnerable, because they don’t want to pay with their life.

Why is it that some of us ignore the warning signs and carry on? Why is it that when we know, deep down, that we are not functioning, we still keep at it? We become snappy towards those we love, we get sick, we take stupid risks like driving under extreme stress, or make the worst decisions of our lives out of a form of self-inflicted pressure.

On Friday I stopped. I just couldn’t function anymore. Sick, weak and in a lot of pain I held on to the idea of walking my dogs. I kept thinking I had to do it even when I broke down in tears, even when a coughing fit almost made me choke, even when my abdomen hurt so much I could scream of pain. All I had to do was stop. Nothing else.

I spent the day on my sofa. I watched Jane The Virgin, I took a couple of naps. The world didn’t stop spinning, I still have to do the dreaded tax-return, finish knitting some 2,000 pieces, unpack my travel bag, dye my hair, go to Yoga… the list goes on.

If you don’t stop, how are you going to be the best version of yourself? How are you going to function when your body shuts down? You are of no use to anyone or yourself if you are not strong and healthy.

If you don’t practice self-care, who is going to do it for you?