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SOMETHING LIGHT Girl Power
Girl Africa is a media platform dedicated to changing the narrative of young African women through story-telling in a safe space and community for women from all walks of life to share stories of trial, tribulation and triumph overthe patriarchy, while being empowered and informed about gender inequality and how to overcome it. We are more than a social initiative; we are a platform where young African women and girls can be seen and heard. Join the sisterhood!
HERSTORY: The Corporate Millennial Heroine
What Did She Do?
The Corporate Millennial Heroine: I work for a financial institution, one of the biggest in the country, a brand that has invested millions into women’s economic empowerment interventions and continues to advocate for women in their corporate culture and policies. My head of department and line supervisor is a woman who is strong, intelligent, and has built an impressive career for herself with years of hard work, and battling gender-based discrimination at different levels of her career. So, it is quite amusing to me to see that a woman of her status and background would end up being a sexist. I was super excited to work with her when I first joined the team. I was looking forward to being mentored and inspired by the powerful 'female boss'. One week into my new role, I was hit with some shocking realizations.
The usual practice at the office was that the line supervisor would complete an on-boarding session with new employees. I was excited for our first opportunity to touch base. But my excitement was paused when I walked into her office to be introduced and her first words to me were “A woman? Can you do the
work? Please send her to Tola”, (one of her male colleagues)”, I was dumbfounded. Nonetheless, I let it slide. I mean, it could have just been a bad day. I had an older female colleague, Cindy, who had been working in the team for years. She was really intelligent, but I noticed she always seemed to be sidelined on the major projects. One day, our 'female boss' walked out of her corner office with a couple of files. It was just me and Cindy in the office, our other male colleagues had gone out to
work on a deliverable. In a condescending tone, the female boss screamed “Oh my gosh! The 'big dogs' are not around...
Please call me when they get back”. This was extremely embarrassing because she was very loud and our other co-workers in the office (from other teams) could hear her very insulting comments. Cindy looked at me with a sad smile and said “Welcome to the team”. It was in that moment I knew I was working with a sexist, and I knew that I had to do something about it.
I Stood Up to My Sexist Female Boss.
PAGE 11 INSIDE ACCESS | JULY 2020 2ND EDITION