Editor’s Letter: Leave my gender out of my job

As a former Co-President of Warwick Anti-Sexism Society (WASS), I consider myself to be pretty damn aware of how sexism can arise in various different forms. From gross comments to literal harassment, sexism is all around – it’s a sad fact of the society we live in. But, to be honest, I’ve never experienced it to the same extent before I became News Editor for The Boar.

I don’t know what it is, but people really just can’t deal with a woman in authority. From being called a ‘bitch’ to just plain ‘bossy’ – terms you never hear a man in a leadership role be called – my being a strong, successful woman has been frequently bashed since taking on this job. Even more so, it seems, since I’ve been doing well outside of university, too: what is it about a woman doing well that is so utterly intimating to a particular type of person?

I don’t know what it is, but people really just can’t deal with a woman in authority.

I can only say: enough is enough. If you can’t handle being told what to do by someone because of their gender, do not write for me. I am sick and tired of being undermined by people because they think my gender means I am not cut out for this job. Believe it or not, women are beyond capable of leading.

We live in a world where a racist businessman is elected President over a woman – putting aside her massive flaws – with gallons of experience, in part because people just can’t abide successful, strong women. We are against what the world tells us to be; what it tells women to be. But it is not acceptable in this day and age to frequently undermine and downright abuse a person just because they are a woman.

Believe it or not, women are beyond capable of leading.

Yes, I’m tough: this does not make me a bitch. Yes, I know my own mind: this does not make me bossy. And I will not sit and take your passive aggression or abuse just because you are stuck in the Stone Age. Women can, and should, take positions of authority. If you have a problem with my gender, then I’m afraid to say the problem actually lies with you.