A Man's World by Joan Misek

I have been thinking of the 2016 Presidential Election and have recently read an article in Time Magazine with the title, “A distressing summer of workplace sexism reminds us how far we have to go.” How will the election affect women in the place they work?  My mind wandered to an earlier time.  I had been a housewife, and now my three children no longer needed mommy 24-7.  There was a large insurance company nearby and I decided to apply for a job as a typist.

I went up the ladder quickly in the next three years.  I had gone from typist to Manager of Claim Records in the claims department.  I took every insurance course and started college classes at night majoring in Business.  The insurance company paid for your course if you got decent grades. My grades were excellent and I finally moved to becoming a senior claims examiner handling serious court cases.  It was there that I witness the following story.

Two men and one woman finished their college courses and were due for promotions. She had been an “A” student.  The two men were barely making grades the company would pay for.  She tutored the two and they finally passed.  There were two supervisor jobs available. I couldn’t believe it, but the company gave the jobs to the two men. She went to a lawyer who handled this type of abuse case. She finally threatened them with a suit they would surely lose. The company sent one of the men to a distant regional office and made her supervisor of the claims department. The company was glad they hired her because within two years her group closed more cases fairly.  She then left and got a job with another company. She now heads all of the Claims Department for that company.

Before she left, she told me I was a very good examiner and she recommended me for a promotion, which the company offered me.

I never forgot her, because she was the first woman I ever met who not only worked hard, but taught the rest of us to know their work and to fight for equality in the workplace.

Comments

[LlisRalley]

Joan, you have so many rich stories. Thank you for sharing this one.

[Elizabeth Wunsch]

Joan, this is a wonderful telling of the difficult journey women have had to endure over the years in our workforce.

[Pamela Spence]

Joan,
Thanks for the flash back of all the roles we strong women are able to accomplish.

[Myranette Robinson]

Thank you for sharing your story. The more we tell our stories as women in the workplace we teach the women coming behind us the importance of education, and the strength to fight for their rights.

[Sally Borg]

I can hear your voice as I read this! We had a long way to go back then, and it is refreshing to hear of someone standing up for what is right. We still have a long way to go now.

[Mike Blackstone]

What an inspiring story with a great ending, Joan. And I can get that, even more than that, her behavior was exemplary for others, to stand our ground for fairness to ourselves. Not near enough of stories like these turn out as well, and my heart yearns for and I will work toward more and more and more to do so. Thank you, Joan!